Llanberis Lake Railway
The Llanberis Lake Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Llyn Padarn) is a 1 ft 11½ in narrow-gauge heritage railway running 2.5 miles along the shore of Llyn Padarn in Snowdonia, through the country park that occupies the site of the former Dinorwic Quarry — once the largest slate quarry in Wales and the second largest in the world. The railway's motive power comes directly from the quarry's own locomotives: preserved Hunslet quarry saddle tanks that spent their working lives hauling slate within the quarry now carry passengers along the lakeside in the same landscape where they once worked.
The original Dinorwic Quarry Hunslet engines were built to a succession of slightly different designs from the 1880s onward, their compact 0-4-0ST configuration perfectly suited to the quarry's tight curves and steep gradients. Several of the preserved examples now on the Llanberis Lake Railway worked at Dinorwic throughout their commercial lives — locomotives with a direct and unbroken connection to the landscape through which they now run.
The Lake Railway sits alongside the Snowdon Mountain Railway — which shares Llanberis as its base station — as part of the remarkable concentration of railway heritage in the Snowdonia village. Llanberis itself offers the Welsh Slate Museum (in the former Dinorwic quarry workshops, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the lakeside country park, making a combined visit to all three an exceptionally rich day of industrial and landscape heritage.
History
The line opened in 1971, using the former Dinorwic Quarry workshops site (Gilfach Ddu) as its base, the same buildings that now also house the Welsh National Slate Museum. The railway was rebuilt at 1 ft 11½ in gauge using locomotives originally built for the quarry workings themselves, giving the operation strong authenticity. The line was extended to Penllyn in 2003 and to Brynrefail (a station nearer to the head of the lake) shortly afterwards.
Original line history
The Padarn Railway was a 4 ft gauge line built in 1843 to carry slate from the Dinorwic Quarry above Llanberis down to Port Dinorwic (Y Felinheli) on the Menai Strait, where it was loaded onto coastal vessels for export. The railway was entirely owned and operated by the Assheton-Smith family, owners of the quarry, and never carried public passengers. The Dinorwic Quarry was at its peak in the late Victorian era, employing up to 3,000 quarrymen, and the Padarn Railway handled the enormous output of dressed slate that made the Welsh slate industry one of the most important in the world. The quarry and railway closed in 1961 as cheap alternatives to Welsh slate eroded the market. The Padarn Railway trackbed along the lakeside was subsequently relaid at the narrower 1 ft 11½ in gauge and reopened as the Llanberis Lake Railway in 1971.
Stations and infrastructure
Gilfach Ddu is the headquarters, occupying the former quarry workshops complex (which also houses the Welsh National Slate Museum). Cei Llydan is an intermediate halt with picnic facilities, and Penllyn and Brynrefail are at the far end of the lake.
Route and stations
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Special events and operations
Events include steam galas with visiting industrial locomotives, photographic charters, and Santa Specials. The line's connection with the National Slate Museum allows combined visits.
Visitor information
Llanberis is on the A4086 between Caernarfon and Capel Curig. Padarn Country Park provides parking, walking trails and lakeside access. The Snowdon Mountain Railway is a short walk away.
