Cambrian Coast - spot the station

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Some holiday pics - posted on my blog at  http://www.wellho.net/horse

Can you name the stations?

P.S. Permalink the the blog archive will be http://melksh.am/4131

[trainer]

1. Penychain

I think I know some more, but I assume we are having the usual rules of one guess each for the first 24 hours?

[grahame]

1. Penychain

I think I know some more, but I assume we are having the usual rules of one guess each for the first 24 hours?

Yes, that's Penychain.  Don't assume "usual rules" ... this one's all out of area, so I don't expect too many people will know too many of them - go ahead and try some more.  I'll be back on later as I need to visit a few more hills, beaches, sheep and stations this afternoon.

[trainer]

OK then. Two more:

8: Porthmadog
9.Talsarnau

Hope you're enjoying one of my favourite areas. 

[Southern Stag]

9. Penryndeudraeth?

I had some fun requesting that the train called there, luckily I'd heard the guard announce it before which made it a little easier for me to pronounce.

[trainer]

I think the Stag has it and I was wrong!  Memory eh?...what was I saying?   

[grahame]

Indeed ...
8 is Porthmadog
9 is Penryndeudraeth

[grahame]

...and the complete solution is

0. Portmadoc / Porthmadog (Harbour)
1. Penychain
3. Penychain (again)
5. Abererch
7. Tygwyn
8. Porthmadog / Portmadoc (main line station)
9. Penryndeaudraeth
(Mostly an odd selection - I missed out posting numbers 2, 4 and 6!)

[grahame]

Talsarnau 



Turned out he did NOT need to signal the train to stop, as there were more getting off than on!

[Chris from Nailsea]

Sadly, even at Talsarnau, the flower tub apparently needs to be chained to a lamp post, lest those with more time on their hands than is healthy might feel the need to push it onto the track ... 

[grahame]

Sadly, even at Talsarnau, the flower tub apparently needs to be chained to a lamp post, lest those with more time on their hands than is healthy might feel the need to push it onto the track ... 

I noticed that too ... and looked back at my Tygwyn pictures to see if the same thing applied.  I can't see any chains there, but looking at the Wikipedia page and picture, I notice there are no plant pots shown, so perhaps they are seasonal or a picturesque case of fly tipping there by a garden centre with excess stock.

Talsarau (population 525) is quite a busy station - 12,064 journeys in the 2011/12 year - more that the 11,330 at Melksham (population 24,000) which I use as a benchmark because I know it quite well.   There are no major toutist attractions at Talsarnau, though you could use it as a base for walking in lovely countryside.  7 northbound / 8 southbound service may call there in each direction Monday to Saturday and 3 each way on Sunday.   The longest you'll have to wait if you turn up at the station during the daytime on a weekday is 2 hours and 20 minutes, and there are 2 trains southbound just 51 minutes apart in the morning peak time. There's a longer gap in the evening northbound, with a last train available at 22:51.

A similar level of service at Melksham (where you'll have to wait for up to 12 hours and 33 minutes) would be most welcome and appropriate as a realistic first improvement.  If passenger traffic rose to the same level per head of population at is already achieved at Talsarnau, you're looking at over half a million journeys a year.  It's not quite that simple, of course.  You have some tourists at Talsarnau, you have lots of international businesses and business visitors in Melksham ...

[grahame]

Sadly, a scene not to be repeated for at least a year ... engineering works closed the line north of Harlech in November, and it's not now expected to re-open until 2015.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pont-briwet-closed-trains-until-6445894?

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Meeting over Pont Briwet bridge work concerns


Pont Briwet was a single-lane toll road which also carried a railway line

Residents of a north Wales town unhappy with traffic delays caused by work on a new river bridge will have a chance to air their views at a meeting with the council later.

The 154-year-old Pont Briwet bridge in Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd, closed in January amid safety fears.

The council dropped plans to build a temporary bridge and began a convoy system on a detour along the A496.

A local councillor said some businesses were concerned over loss of trade.

The meeting is being held at Penrhyndeudraeth Memorial Hall at 19.00 BST.

Originally it had been hoped the Grade II-listed bridge would remain open while work took place to build a new rail and road crossing by 2015.

But in January the council confirmed that Pont Briwet would close permanently amid safety fears, and said a temporary bridge would be installed in May.

The closure meant an eight-mile (12km) diversion for motorists via Maentwrog to the Harlech road, with buses replacing trains until the new railway line opens this summer.

The council shelved plans for a road crossing in March after safety fears due to increased traffic on the A496 between Maentwrog and Llandecwyn.

[Chris from Nailsea]

An update, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Pont Briwet: Rail line opening is delayed until September

The new Pont Briwet bridge that will carry the Cambrian Coast railway line over the Dwyryd estuary will not open until September, say council officials.

Replacing the 154-year-old bridge in Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd, is a "complex" operation, say engineers.

They had hoped the construction would be ready by early summer after it closed in January amid safety fears.

But Gwynedd Council has now confirmed trains will not start running over the new bridge until September.

The new structure is due to open to vehicles by Christmas.

The EU^» (European Union - about)-funded project includes the installation of a rail bridge and a two-lane vehicle bridge along with a cycle path.

Rock armour has been put on the new embankments this month as storm protection.

The council said concrete decking will be poured in coming weeks allowing work on the railway line itself to start.

Other work will see Welsh Water replacing and relocating an old high-pressure water main to the new bridge.

Pont Briwet connects Llandecwyn and Penrhyndeudraeth.

Gwynedd council dropped plans to build a temporary bridge and installed an eight-mile (12 km) detour along the A496.

Gwynedd council cabinet member for environment Gareth Roberts said: "Whilst buses have been ferrying passengers between stations, it has obviously not been as convenient as the train, and we understand everyone's eagerness to be able to resume their rail journeys and experience the first stage of this exciting project.

"Work is also progressing well on the vehicle bridge, and we are still confident that cars will be using the new Pont Briwet by Christmas."

[chrisr_75]

Talsarau (population 525) is quite a busy station - 12,064 journeys in the 2011/12 year - more that the 11,330 at Melksham (population 24,000) which I use as a benchmark because I know it quite well.   There are no major toutist attractions at Talsarnau, though you could use it as a base for walking in lovely countryside.  7 northbound / 8 southbound service may call there in each direction Monday to Saturday and 3 each way on Sunday.   The longest you'll have to wait if you turn up at the station during the daytime on a weekday is 2 hours and 20 minutes, and there are 2 trains southbound just 51 minutes apart in the morning peak time. There's a longer gap in the evening northbound, with a last train available at 22:51.

A similar level of service at Melksham (where you'll have to wait for up to 12 hours and 33 minutes) would be most welcome and appropriate as a realistic first improvement.  If passenger traffic rose to the same level per head of population at is already achieved at Talsarnau, you're looking at over half a million journeys a year.  It's not quite that simple, of course.  You have some tourists at Talsarnau, you have lots of international businesses and business visitors in Melksham ...

One reason these stations, particularly Talsarnau, are quite busy is that they are used (for a long time) for school runs to and from Harlech and possibly Barmouth, so this perhaps skews the numbers somewhat in relation to Melksham. The Cambrian coast railway is perhaps more important to the local community than might be expected of such an apparently minor branch line.

I recognise (but not to be able to name!) many of the stations in the pics you posted as I assisted in clearing vegetation back to the fences on the whole length of the line from Mach to Pwllheli a number of years ago...I still have the scars from the blackthorn...!