Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway

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Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway
Locale	Wales
Dates of operation	1901–1910?
Successor line	Welsh Highland Railway
Track gauge	1 ft 11½ in (597 mm)

1 Origins
2 Background
3 Additional information
4 References
5 See also

[edit] Origins

A Railway scheme that purchased one engine (Russell (locomotive)), constructed some mileage of permanent way and track, and never ran a single paying mile of railway.

[edit] Background

The Portmadoc, Beddgelert & South Snowdon Railway was incorporated in 1901 but never opened to traffic.

There were several attempts by the North Wales Power and Traction Co Ltd to promote lines between Portmadoc and Beddgelert with extensions at either end. This proposal, in 1901, was for a 1 ft 11½ in (597 mm) gauge electric railway using three phase alternating current at about 630 volts - a system devised by Ganz of Budapest.

It would have run from the western end of Black Rock sands via Morfa Bychan, Borth y gest, Portmadoc and, using part of the Croesor Tramway, to Beddgelert to link with the South Snowdon Quarries (hence the title) in the Gwynant Valley. There was no intention initially to connect with the North Wales Narrow Gauge system which, at that time, terminated at South Snowdon (now called Rhyd Ddu).

Ten electric locomotives were ordered from Bruce Peebles & Co. Ltd. of Edinburgh (who held a licence from Ganz) and at least six were actually built, although none were delivered. All six were scrapped during the first world war. The electrification project was abandoned about 1906 and a steam locomotive "Russell" was ordered from the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds.

The electricity was to be produced at a hydro electric power station further up the Gwynant Valley and surplus power was to be available for local domestic & industrial use. This part of the scheme was actually built and the power station still operates.

The North Wales Power and Traction Co Ltd, the sole PBSSR backer, overspent on the Power Station it was building. The Power Station started generating electricity in September 1906, but meanwhile, completion of the railway and electrifying the NWNGR (under an agreement of November 1904) took a back seat, and in January 1906 J.C. Russell (Chairman and Managing Director of the NWNGR) insisted on terms for a two year delay which included expenditure on "restoring the NWNGR for present steam working and providing one steam locomotive a sum not exceeding £2,500" - which resulted in the arrival of Russell as NWNGR property. In the event this delay led to an abandonment.

The P.B.S.S.R. and N.W.N.G.R. were later amalgamated and became the Welsh Highland Railway. Some work undertaken for the P.B.S.S.R. was used for the Welsh Highland. The unused bridge ("Bridge to nowhere") by the Goat Hotel at Beddgelert and nearby bridge abutments in a field are some of the remains of the 1906 construction works.

[edit] Additional information

(needs merging)

No railway construction was started but by 1903 a revised scheme was being put forward to link up with the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Beddgelert extension. This resulted in a further revised scheme being approved in 1904. It appears that there were legal problems with the powers given and in 1906 these were reapproved with amendments. Work started around this time and continued for a couple of years before being abandoned (certainly no work done after 1910). The line from Snowdon (Rhyd Ddu) was virtually complete for well over a mile and was used for a while (mainly during WW1) to extract timber from Beddgelert forest. At the Beddgelert end a roughly laid track for horse drawn wagons was also used for timber.

The original intention to run to Black Rock had been forgotten and no mention was made of the line to South Snowdon quarries. However, in 1908 they did promote a further line up the Gwynant Valley and on to Betws y coed. No work was done on this line.

It was intended to electrify all the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways once the two lines were connected. In 1914 local councils got together to try to get the building restarted but failed due to the start of WW1. Another attempt was made after the war which resulted in the building of the Welsh Highland Railway following most of the same route but with changes made near Beddgelert to ease the gradients to allow the use of steam locos.

[edit] References

Ffestiniog Railway Heritage Group Wiki Welsh Highland Heritage Journals 29, 33 and 34

Dolgellau Record office document Z/CD/162 (1901 scheme), National Archives documents MT6/972/8 (NWNGR Beddgelert extension 1897), MT6/1367/11 & MT 54/435 (1903), MT6/1721 (1906), MT58/317 (1908) plus others