With a camera mounted on the front of one of the powerful ex South African NGG16 Garratt locomotives No. 87 our train eases out of Porthmadog station onto the Britannia Road Bridge and level crossing. Number 87 negotiates its way through the town before crossing the Cambrian Coast railway via Britain’s only mixed gauge flat crossing. For a short distance we run next to the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (WHHR) to Pen y Mount junction, passing under the new Porthmadog bypass into open countryside. Shortly after Pont Croesor station is an interesting bridge carrying both road and rail over the Afon Glaslyn (River Glaslyn). With the distant hills looming on the horizon we steam through pleasant farmland punctuated by the odd river bridge to Nantmor halt after which the character of the line changes as we enter the Aberglaslyn Pass via No.4 tunnel. Bursting from the tunnel onto a ledge high above the pretty river below, with glorious mountain scenery all around we are now traversing one of the most photographed locations in the country. We leave the Aberglaslyn Pass via Goat tunnel to enter Beddgelert station where a Porthmadog bound train is waiting for us to clear the single line. The noise from our engine increases as it lifts its train through the wooded slopes to the summit marker board a mile or so short of Rhyd Ddu station.
This video was first posted 15th August 2017. I replaced it on 17th June 2020 when a spelling mistake in the opening title was pointed out, a bit embarrassing, especially as it had gone unnoticed for so long. Original Video - • OLD VERSION - Welsh Hi...
Track gauge - 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm)
One question that has come up many times in the comments for both the Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog Railways is "Why doesn't the train leave the tracks when it passes through a switch set for the opposite track" - it is not east to explain, but I'll try -
The switches at either end on the passing loop are set to allow trains to pass without the need for railway personnel to set them, in this case the train will always take the right hand track in the direction of travel, when the train reaches the end of the loop the switch appears to be set incorrectly. The switch blades are held in place by a spring mechanism that allows them to be pushed over by the weight of a train passing through them. Once the train is clear they are automatically set to allow a train in the opposite direction to take the right hand track, thus making the passing loop automatic. The system works well so long as a train never reverses before clearing the switch as that will de-rail the train. The first time this system is seen in operation it looks wrong, but it is common practice on many lines where speed is low and costs need to be kept to a minimum.