BRITISH RAIL AND BEYOND IN GWYNEDD
Unlike many other rural counties in England and Wales, the Welsh Unitary Authority of Gwynedd is fortunate to have retained a good number of railway stations. Most important by far is Bangor, the only station in Gwynedd on the North Wales Coast line, and the busiest station west of Chester. Bangor is the railhead for a large hinterland, including much of Anglesey. The Conwy Valley line bursts into Gwynedd on its climb up from Llandudno Junction, when it emerges from the tunnel at Blaenau Ffestiniog. Most of the line and all the other stations are now within the unitary authority of Conwy County Borough Council (CBC).
The Cambrian Coast Line, however, runs for its entire length within Gwynedd, once it has crossed the Dyfi estuary (this is the name now more commonly used for the Anglicised name Dovey), soon after Machynlleth. It boasts 25 stations up to its terminus at Pwllheli.
This has been the situation since local government reorganisation in 1996, when 22 unitary authorities were created in Wales. Before that, Gwynedd County Council was geographically far larger, extending eastwards to Llandudno, so including the important centre of Llandudno Junction. It also included all the stations on the Conwy Valley line. Gwynedd County Council also incorporated the whole of Anglesey. This structure had been in place since 1974, when the old counties of Anglesey and Meirioneth lost their identities, to the dismay and resentment of many. The pre-1974 county of Caernarfonshire had the honour of hosting the new administrative headquarters in its old county town of Caernarfon.
The rail network in the region when Gwynedd County Council was created in 1974 would be familiar today. As in many parts of the country, closures had taken place in the previous decade. The branch lines from Bangor to Bethesda, Caernarfon to Llanberis, and Penygroes to Nantlle were closed completely, not forgetting the Dinas Mawddwy branch which closed in 1951. The Bethesda branch lost its passenger service on 3rd March 1951 and was closed completely on 7th October 1963, but the other two had lost their regular passenger services before World War II, on 22nd September 1930 and 8th August 1932 respectively. The last passenger train along these branches ran on 20th October 1963 and was a special organised by the Stephenson Locomotive Society, pulled by a pair of Ivatt 2MT tanks Nos.41200 and 41324 of Bangor shed.
On Anglesey, the Amlwch line lost its passenger service at this time (and the Red Wharf Bay branch before the Second World War), but freight services to the British Octel plant at Amlwch continued until 1990. The line has been mothballed since then and there is talk by Transport for Wales (TfW) of reopening, at least to the county town Llangefni. There is a lease for possible operation until 2120.
The lines between Ruabon and Barmouth Junction via Bala Junction and Dolgellau, and the Bangor–Caernarfon–Afonwen lines suffered a similar fate. Withdrawal of passenger services occurred on 18th January 1965 and 7th December 1964 respectively although a landslip near Bala put paid to the through service in December 1964 on the Ruabon– Barmouth line. Between Bangor and Caernarfon a passenger service did linger on until 1970 when complete closure took place on 5th January 1970. This was not the
