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Bala
Bala railway station in June 1962
General information
Location	Bala, Gwynedd Wales
Coordinates	52°54′45″N 3°35′39″W / 52.9126°N 3.5942°W / 52.9126; -3.5942
Grid reference	SH 928 362
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Bala and Festiniog Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1 November 1882	Opened
18 January 1965	Closed

v t e Bala & Festiniog Railway
Legend
Conwy Valley line to Llandudno Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog Harbour Blaenau Festiniog Junction Blaenau Ffestiniog North Blaenau Ffestiniog Ffestiniog Railway to Duffws (FR) Diphwys (F&BR) Glynllifon Street (F&BR) Former wooden viaduct Tan-y-Manod (F&BR) Graig Ddu Quarry Pengwern Quarry Tyddyngwyn (F&BR) Manod Teigl Halt Festiniog Maentwrog Road Line to south dismantled Trawsfynydd power station loading point Trawsfynydd Lake Halt Trawsfynydd Camp Trawsfynydd Llafar Halt Bryn-Celynog Halt Cwm Prysor Viaduct Cwm Prysor Halt Arenig Capel Celyn Halt Section flooded by Llyn Celyn Tyddyn Bridge Halt (under dam wall) Frongoch Bala (New) Bala Junction Ruabon–Barmouth line to Llandderfel Bala (Penybont) (original Bala Lake Halt) Bala Lake Railway to Llanuwchllyn Ruabon–Barmouth line to Barmouth

Bala railway station was on the Great Western Railway's Bala Ffestiniog Line in Wales. It replaced the first Bala station which was further away from the town, on the Ruabon–Barmouth line.

The route to Blaenau was single track throughout. The stations at Bala, Arenig, Trawsfynydd and Festiniog had two platforms, each with its own track. This both allowed for potential traffic and provided passing loops. A fifth loop was provided between 1908 and 1950 immediately north of Cwm Prysor, when intermittent heavy military traffic to and from Trawsfynydd Camp was likely.

Decline

The line northwards to Blaenau Ffestiniog closed to passengers on 2 January 1960 and to freight on 27 January 1961, following a "Last Train" special a week earlier. The short section to Bala Junction closed on 18 January 1965.

The goods shed was an unusual feature. Local landowner Mr. Price of Rhiwlas objected to the construction of the line, and to appease him the goods shed was built to resemble a castle, with mock battlements and turrets.*

There was a small engine shed - a sub-shed of Croes Newydd - to the south east of the station. It opened and closed with the line and was subsequently demolished.

History

The station was opened by the Bala and Festiniog Railway, which was bought by the Great Western Railway in 1910. The station passed to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. It was closed by the British Railways Board.

The site today

The station was demolished and a fire station built on the site. The goods yard is now in light industrial use.

References

1. Southern 1995, pp. 25-36 & 101.
2. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photos 6 & 8.
3. Turner 2003, p. 17.
4. Christiansen 1976, p. 54.
5. Johnson 1995, p. 40.
6. Bannister 1975, pp. 83 & 86.
7. Butt 1995, p. 23.
8. Quick 2009, pp. 70.
9. Jowett 2000, Map 45.
10. Bannister 1975, pp. 82–86.
11. Boyd 1959, p. 549.
12. "1961 last train at Bala, Arenig and Cwm Prysor Viaduct". NW Rail.
13. Bannister 1987, Chapter Bala Jcn-Blaenau Festiniog.
14. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photo 5.
15. Southern 1995, pp. 25 & 30.
16. Clemens 2003, 8 mins from start.
17. Griffiths & Smith 1999, p. 195.
18. Boyd 1988, p. 47.

Sources

• Bannister, Geoffrey F. (1987). Branch Line Byways Volume 2 Central Wales. Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-26-7.
• Bannister, Geoffrey F. (1975). Great Western Steam off the Beaten Track. Truro: D. Bradford Barton. ISBN 978-0-85153-161-8.
• Boyd, James I.C. (October 1959). Mansell, K.G. (ed.). "Bala & Festiniog Section - W.R.". Railway World. 20 (233). London: Railway World Limited.
• Boyd, James I.C. (1988) . Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire – Volume 1. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-365-7. OCLC 20417464.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Christiansen, Rex (1976). Forgotten Railways: North and Mid Wales. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-7059-9.
• Clemens, Jim (2003) . North Wales Steam Lines (DVD). The Jim Clemens Collection No.6. Uffington, Shropshire: B&R Video Productions. Vol 79.
• Griffiths, Roger; Smith, Paul (1999). The Directory of British Engine Sheds and Principal Locomotive Servicing Points: 1 Southern England, the Midlands, East Anglia and Wales. OPC Railprint. ISBN 978-0-86093-542-1. OCLC 59458015.
• Johnson, Peter (1995). North Wales (Celebration of Steam). Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-2378-9.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bala to Llandudno: Featuring Blaenau Ffestiniog. Midhurst: Middleton Press (MD). ISBN 978-1-906008-87-1.
• Quick, Michael (2009) . Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
• Southern, D. W. (1995). Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Stockport: Foxline Publishing. ISBN 978-1-870119-34-4. Scenes from the Past, Railways of North Wales, No. 25.
• Turner, Alun (2003). Gwynedd's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-259-9.

Further material

• Coleford, I. C. (October 2010). Smith, Martin (ed.). "By GWR to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Part One)". Railway Bylines. 15 (11). Radstock: Irwell Press Limited.
• Coleford, I. C. (November 2010). Smith, Martin (ed.). "By GWR to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Part Two)". Railway Bylines. 15 (12). Radstock: Irwell Press Limited.
• Cowlishaw, Brian (2001) . North Wales Branches (DVD). Ultimate Archive Steam. Uffington, Shropshire: B&R Video Productions. Vol 38.
• Ferris, Tom (2004) . British Railways Volume 4 - Bewdley To Blaenau (DVD). demanddvd. DEMDVD084.

External links

• The station site on a navigable OS Map, via National Library of Scotland
• The station on a navigable 1953 OS map, via npe Maps
• The station and line, via Rail Map Online
• The line LJT2 with mileages, via Railway Codes
• Remisinscences by a local railwayman, via Forgotten Relics
• Images of the station, via Yahoo
• Festiniog and Blaenau Railway, via Festipedia
• Driver's view north of Bala to Blaenau, via YouTube
• Train leaving the station, via alamy
• Several photos of the line, via Penmorfa
• Several photos of the line, via Penmorfa
• The line in 2009, via The Railway Muddler
• The station, via RailScot
• A special through the station site, via 2D53
• 1960 Working timetable, via 2D53
• Details of Summer 1989 excursions through the station, via Six Bells Junction
• Deatails and photos of 22 Jan 1961 railtour, via Six Bells Junction
• The 1961 last train special, via YouTube
• An inspection saloon ride on the line, Part 1, via YouTube
• An inspection saloon ride on the line, Part 2, via YouTube
• Mothballed tracks at the station site in 2015, via RailScot
• Signal box diagram, via Signalling Record Society

• Disused railway stations in Gwynedd
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1882
• Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965
• Former Great Western Railway stations
• Beeching closures in Wales
• Bala, Gwynedd
• 1882 establishments in Wales
• 1965 disestablishments in Wales