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Porthmadog cross town link
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Porthmadog cross town link is a section of the 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, specifically built to link with the Ffestiniog Railway in Porthmadog,[1] and runs along partly what was called the Junction Railway,[2] previously existing as part of the original Welsh Highland Railway. This had been removed some time after that railway closed in 1936.
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It has been built using the new powers obtained by the Ffestiniog Railway and runs from Harbour station on the Ffestiniog Railway to Pen-y-Mount Junction close to Pen-y-Mount on the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway.
The route is as follows:[3][4]
- Junction with the Ffestiniog Railway at Harbour station.
- Cross Porthmadog High St and the River Glaslyn across the Britannia Bridge with road traffic stopped by lights when trains pass.
- Around the back of the former Wilko now B&M supermarket. As such this is a deviation from the original line, that broadly speaking went in front of what is now the supermarket.
- Across the back streets, in front of the old mill.
- Across the standard gauge Cambrian Line on the level.[5] This is the only mixed gauge flat rail crossing in the United Kingdom.
- Along the track bed of the Welsh Highland Railway.
- Junction just north Pen-y-Mount with Welsh Highland Heritage Railway to Porthmadog (WHHR).
For reference, the Junction Railway was empowered to run:
- Junction with the Ffestiniog Railway at Harbour Station.
- Cross Porthmadog High St and the River Glaslyn across the Britannia Bridge with street running.
- a short small curve onto Madoc Street to join to the existing Croesor Tramway line which was taken over by the Welsh Highland Railway.
The line reopened on 8 January 2011,[6] linking the Ffestiniog Railway with the Croesor Tramway allowing passenger trains to run between Caernarfon and Blaenau Ffestiniog.