Morfa Mawddach railway station

Morfa Mawddach National Rail
Location
Place Morfa Mawddach
Local authority Gwynedd
Coordinates 52°42′28″N 4°01′54″W / 52.7077°N 4.0316°W / 52.7077; -4.0316Coordinates: 52°42′28″N 4°01′54″W / 52.7077°N 4.0316°W / 52.7077; -4.0316
Grid reference SH628141
Operations
Station code MFA
Managed by Arriva Trains Wales
Number of platforms 1
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 10,902
2013/14 Decrease 9,962
2014/15 Increase 10,758
2015/16 Increase 11,094
2016/17 Decrease 10,880
History
Original company Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway
Pre-grouping Cambrian Railways (GWR)
Post-grouping Great Western Railway
3 July 1865 Opened as Barmouth Junction[1][2]
13 June 1960 Renamed as Morfa Mawddach[2]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Morfa Mawddach from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Morfa Mawddach railway station, formerly Barmouth Junction, is in Gwynedd, Wales, on the Cambrian Coast Railway between Machynlleth and Pwllheli at its junction with the Dolgelley [sic] branch of the Aberystwith [sic] and Welsh Coast Railway part of the Ruabon to Barmouth Line which closed in 1965.

History

The station was built by the Aberystwith [sic] and Welsh Coast Railway and opened on 3 July 1865 as Barmouth Junction. From 1899 to 1903 there was a connection with the Barmouth Junction and Arthog Tramway.

Until the 1960s there was a summer service between London Paddington and Pwllheli, via Birmingham Snow Hill, Shrewsbury and Machynlleth.

On 13 June 1960 it was renamed as Morfa Mawddach.

Background

North of Morfa Mawddach the railway crosses the Afon Mawddach on the famous Barmouth Bridge.

Morfa Mawddach is mainly used by travellers to Barmouth from south of the Mawddach Estuary: parking at the station and taking the train to Barmouth is often much quicker than the 20-mile road journey via Dolgellau. Originally a four-platform station, it is now a single platform unstaffed halt. Trains stop on request.

The Station as it was in 1962

Morfa Mawddach is often quoted as an example of a notable feature of the Great Western Railway in Wales, namely its inheritance of junctions in unlikely and inconvenient locations. Other examples are Moat Lane Junction, Talyllyn Junction, Afon Wen and Dovey Junction.[3]

The trackbed to Dolgellau now forms the Llwybr Mawddach (Mawddach Trail), which officially starts at the station car park.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Butt 1995, p. 27
  2. 1 2 Butt 1995, p. 163
  3. ↑ http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/a/afon_wen/index.shtml

Sources

  • Butt, R. V. J. (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.
  • 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.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

Further reading

  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Ruabon to Barmouth. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 107-116. ISBN 9781906008840. OCLC 651922152.
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Arriva Trains Wales
  Historical railways  
Barmouth
Line and station open		   Great Western Railway
Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway
   Fairbourne
Line and station open
  Great Western Railway
Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway
   Arthog
Line and station closed
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