Minffordd Railway Station

Minffordd railway station station, is actually two adjacent stations operated entirely independently of each other. The mainline station opened as Minfford Junction on 1 August 1872 at the point where the then newly built Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway line from Dovey Junction to Pwllheli passes under the existing narrow gauge Festiniog Railway built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea, which had carried passengers from 1865 onwards. It was renamed Minffordd in 1890. A short walk, advertised near the station, leads to Portmeirion. Standard gauge facilitiesThe standard gauge station consists of a single platform with a simple shelter linked to the narrow gauge station by way of an underbridge and a pedestrian ramp. Access to the Cambrian Line is thus by way of the Ffestiniog Railway "Up" platform. Passenger service on the Ffestiniog Railway was withdrawn on 15 September 1939, and reopened to Minffordd 19 May 1956, but easy pedestrian access to the Cambrian Line was maintained throughout the closed period. Mr Parry, GWR and BR stationmaster at Minffordd for 40 years, retired in 1964 and the BR station then became an unstaffed halt. At some point the facilities were replaced by the standard small halt "bus stop" shelter. Narrow gauge facilitiesThe present substantial stone built Ffestiniog Railway station buildings, at a height of above sea level and a distance of just over 2mi from, are on the "Up" platform and date from 1887, but there is as yet little evidence of earlier buildings. There was a small wooden building on the "Down" platform and this building (possibly dating from the 1870s) was in a derelict condition when it was demolished in 1956. A replica was completed in spring 2002 and was later shortlisted in the National Railway Heritage Awards (2002).

Minffordd railway station station, is actually two adjacent stations operated entirely independently of each other. The mainline station opened as Minfford Junction on 1 August 1872 at the point where the then newly built Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway line from Dovey Junction to Pwllheli passes under the existing narrow gauge Festiniog Railway built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea, which had carried passengers from 1865 onwards. It was renamed Minffordd in 1890. A short walk, advertised near the station, leads to Portmeirion. Standard gauge facilitiesThe standard gauge station consists of a single platform with a simple shelter linked to the narrow gauge station by way of an underbridge and a pedestrian ramp. Access to the Cambrian Line is thus by way of the Ffestiniog Railway "Up" platform. Passenger service on the Ffestiniog Railway was withdrawn on 15 September 1939, and reopened to Minffordd 19 May 1956, but easy pedestrian access to the Cambrian Line was maintained throughout the closed period. Mr Parry, GWR and BR stationmaster at Minffordd for 40 years, retired in 1964 and the BR station then became an unstaffed halt. At some point the facilities were replaced by the standard small halt "bus stop" shelter. Narrow gauge facilitiesThe present substantial stone built Ffestiniog Railway station buildings, at a height of above sea level and a distance of just over 2mi from, are on the "Up" platform and date from 1887, but there is as yet little evidence of earlier buildings. There was a small wooden building on the "Down" platform and this building (possibly dating from the 1870s) was in a derelict condition when it was demolished in 1956. A replica was completed in spring 2002 and was later shortlisted in the National Railway Heritage Awards (2002).