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Part 3 - Closure
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Merddin Emrys brings a
train across Portmadoc High Street towards Britannia Bridge from the
early 1920s. (FR Archives) |
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The WHR was in trouble from the
start; 1923 was the best year for traffic and it declined each year
thereafter. In conjunction with the LMS and GWR, the FR and WHR were
promoted as a circular tour but, despite this and other marketing
initiatives, a profit was never shown. In 1923 interest on the loans
was paid from capital; no more was ever paid. After the winter of
1923/4 the passenger service became seasonal and the goods service
run pretty much as required.
Colonel Stephens, known for
running a collection of poorly off light railways, had been
appointed engineer in 1923 and a director in 1925 but even his
expertise could not save the WHR. The slate industry was declining,
tourists were discovering the delights of charabancs, locals the
convenience of motor buses and cheap ex-military lorries were coming
on to the market and the WHR stood little chance. The railway was
put into receivership in 1927.
Despite this, there was enough
revenue to keep the railway going, just. Hope remained, and
following a good 1933 season, the FR put forward a plan to operate
the two railways from 1934.
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WHR demolition train in
Aberglaslyn Pass, 13th August 1941
(A.E.Rimmer, FR Archives) |
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A 42-year lease on the WHR was
signed, although this required the FR to pay rent even if the
railway made an operating loss! The railway continued to perform
poorly and the last passenger train ran on 5th September 1936. In
December 1936, the FR asked to be released from the lease and all
traffic on the WHR was formally suspended from 1st June 1937.
In 1941 much of the railway’s
equipment was requisitioned for the war effort with one portion of
track even used for mobile target practice! The Croesor section was
left in situ in case the quarries reopened after the war; but was
finally lifted in 1948. Various legal manoeuvres followed this,
including a serious application to turn the route into a
long-distance footpath. Although these plans were ultimately
unfruitful, they probably ensured that the trackbed was kept mainly
intact, rather than sold off bit by bit. However some parts such as
the site of Rhyd Ddu station were sold off.
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Russell
working at Brymbo Steel Co ironstone quarries, Hook Norton, July 1943.
(L.W.Perkins, FR Archives) |
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Of the locomotives, Moel Tryfan had been dismantled at Boston Lodge
since 1934 and was eventually cut-up for scrap, providing much
needed finance for the early preservationists at the FR. However
Russell went to work in Oxfordshire, and then in Dorset, before
being saved by the Birmingham Locomotive Club for £50 and moved to
the Talyllyn Railway for display. Since then it has been fully
restored and although currently being overhauled, it will see use on
WHR heritage trains come the full reopening of the line.
The section between Dinas and Caernarfon (previously the
Caernarvonshire Railway) was taken over by the London & North
Western Railway in 1870, becoming in turn part of the LMS Railway in
1923. The line was finally closed by British Railways in 1964,
following which the local authority purchased the trackbed to
develop the Lon Eifion cycle track.
Continue to
Part 4 -
"Back to Life".... |
