LLANBERIS LAKE RAILWAY - Llanberis
The Llanberis Lake Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Llyn Padarn) is a 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway that runs for 2.5 miles (4 km) along the northern shore of Llyn Padarnin north Wales in the Snowdonia National Park. The starting point is the town of Llanberis at the eastern end of the lake (53.1175°N 4.1193°W), with the western terminus at Pen Llyn in the Padarn Country Park (53.1370°N 4.1495°W). The return journey takes around 60 minutes.
The Llanberis Lake Railway runs along part of the trackbed of the defunct Padarn Railway, a 4 ft (1,219 mm) gauge line which connected the quarry with Y Felinheli (Port Dinorwic) on the Menai Strait. The Padarn Railway closed in October 1961 and was lifted between 16 May 1962 and February 1963. Following the closure of the Padarn Railway, various plans were made to open a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge tourist railway on the trackbed. The first serious attempt was made by G. Ward a local resident, who proposed a railway that would circle Llyn Padarn using the trackbeds of the British Rail Llanberis branch and the Padarn Railway. This plan would have utilized track and locomotives from the Dinorwic slate quarry, but the company did not pursue the proposal.
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