Bala (Penybont) railway station

Bala (Penybont) is the current terminus of the heritage Bala Lake Railway, in Gwynedd, Wales, since 1976. The site was formerly the location of the Bala Lake Halt railway station, a former station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line.

Bala Lake Halt
The station in April 2019
General information
Location	Bala, Gwynedd Wales
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
5 February 1934	Opened[1]
25 September 1939	Closed[1]
25 March 1976	Opens as Bala (Llyn Tegid)[1]

v t e Railway stations in Bala
Legend
Bala and Festiniog Railway Bala Lake Bala (New) Bala Lake Railway Bala Lake Halt Bala (Penybont) Bala Junction Bala and Dolgelly Railway Corwen and Bala Railway

v t e Bala Lake Railway
Legend
Ruabon–Barmouth line Bala (Penybont) ( originally Bala Lake Halt ) Bryn Hynod Halt (closed 2011) Llangower Glan Llyn Halt Pentrepiod Halt Llanuwchllyn Ruabon–Barmouth line

The narrow-gauge Bala Lake Railway originally named the station Bala (Llyn Tegid) (Llyn Tegid is the Welsh name for Bala Lake).

History

The first station for Bala opened on the site in 1868 but closed in 1882 when the Bala (New) station opened nearer the town. Opened by the Great Western Railway in 1934, it closed in 1939.^[1] In 1976 the Bala Lake Railway opened its eastern terminus on the site.^[1] The Bala Lake Railway began passenger services in 1972, and opened extensions in 1973 and 1975. Bala was reached in 1976. Writing in the railway directory "Steam '81" the general manager, G H Barnes, stated: "We aim to be in Bala near Loch Cafe in 1981, distance then 5.25 miles."^[2] This was an official prediction of the further extension of the line into Bala town centre, but the work was not carried out, and the statement was not repeated in the following year's directory, "Steam '82", leaving Bala (Llyn Tegid) as the eastern terminus of the line.

References

Notes

1. Butt (1995), page 23
2. Steam '81 directory, edited by Roger Crombleholme and Terry Kirtland, published 1981 by Allen & Unwin (London), ISBN 978-0-04-385082-4, entry 304.

Sources

• 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.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Ruabon to Barmouth. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 70-73. ISBN 9781906008840. OCLC 651922152.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Llangower		Great Western Railway		Bala Junction
	Heritage railways
Llangower		Bala Lake Railway		Terminus

External links

• Bala (Llyn Tegid) station on navigable 1946 O. S. map Site is on railway at corner of lake labelled Pont Mwngyll-y-llyn
• Railscot on Bala and Festiniog Line
• Bala Lake Railway on the site now
• Bala Lake Halt.

52°54′05″N 3°35′36″W