Penychain Station

Penychain railway station, formerly known as Butlins Penychain railway station, is located by an over bridge at Pen Y Chain on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. This railway station is an unstaffed halt on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services to Pwllheli, Porthmadog, Harlech, Barmouth, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury. For many years the station served the large Butlins Holiday Camp at Penychain. HistoryThe station opened on 31 July 1933 as a halt to serve Butlins holiday camp which was under construction. During World War 2 the holiday camp was requisitioned as a Naval Training Base. It was upgraded to a station on 3 April 1947 when the holiday camp reopened for civilian use. The station was particularly busy in the 1950s and early 1960s when most holidaymakers arrived at the camp either by train or coach. Following the closure of the railway line from Caernarfon to Afonwen Junction (about two miles east of Penychain) and the growing popularity of the motor car, fewer campers arrived by train from the mid-1960s onwards. The station was almost universally referred to as 'penny-chain' by non-Welsh speaking holidaymakers. Meanwhile, Butlins had their own road-going 'Puffing Billy' train to ferry Campers to /from the main railway station on Saturdays. This was also used for trips around the camp on other days. The holiday camp was divided into two halves by the railway. A single-span over-bridge connected the South Camp to the West, Middle, and East Camp areas which were located to the north of the railway line. Penychain station also had its own signal box located just beyond the end of the platform - in the picture shown here.

Penychain railway station, formerly known as Butlins Penychain railway station, is located by an over bridge at Pen Y Chain on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. This railway station is an unstaffed halt on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services to Pwllheli, Porthmadog, Harlech, Barmouth, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury. For many years the station served the large Butlins Holiday Camp at Penychain. HistoryThe station opened on 31 July 1933 as a halt to serve Butlins holiday camp which was under construction. During World War 2 the holiday camp was requisitioned as a Naval Training Base. It was upgraded to a station on 3 April 1947 when the holiday camp reopened for civilian use. The station was particularly busy in the 1950s and early 1960s when most holidaymakers arrived at the camp either by train or coach. Following the closure of the railway line from Caernarfon to Afonwen Junction (about two miles east of Penychain) and the growing popularity of the motor car, fewer campers arrived by train from the mid-1960s onwards. The station was almost universally referred to as 'penny-chain' by non-Welsh speaking holidaymakers. Meanwhile, Butlins had their own road-going 'Puffing Billy' train to ferry Campers to /from the main railway station on Saturdays. This was also used for trips around the camp on other days. The holiday camp was divided into two halves by the railway. A single-span over-bridge connected the South Camp to the West, Middle, and East Camp areas which were located to the north of the railway line. Penychain station also had its own signal box located just beyond the end of the platform - in the picture shown here.