Harlech Military Railway

The Harlech Military Railway was a military branch line in Merioneth, Wales. It ran roughly west-northwest from a junction with the Cambrian Coast Line north of Harlech, and had another branch running north from a reverse junction at the line's western end. The railway was built solely for military traffic during World War II. Contemporary published sources are reticent about the railway due to its military purpose.

Harlech Military Railway
Operation
Locale	Harlech, Merionethshire, Wales
Open	1941
Close	1944[1] or 1946.[2]
Status	Demolished 1948
Owner(s)	Great Western Railway
Infrastructure
Track gauge	Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s)	Conventional steam
Statistics
Route length	1,320 yards (1,210 m)

The line was a standard gauge branch which veered seawards (westwards) off the ex-Cambrian Railways Cambrian Coast Line approximately 430 yards (390 m) north of Harlech railway station. This junction and a substantial section of the line can be see in two aerial photographs of the period. [3] The line appears on a 1948 Ordinance Survey map of the area.

The line's location north of the village is corroborated by Rail Map Online; however, the producers acknowledge that they are not confident that their map adequately represents the line's seaward end.[4]

The line's primary purpose was to serve a gunnery range which was under the control of a camp at Bronaber, near Trawsfynydd. The line is not to be confused with the Harlech Tramway which was south of Harlech.

References

1. Turner 2003, p. 49.
2. "Notes about the railway, via Visit Harlech". Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
3. The site of the landward end of the line, via Britain from Above (free login needed to zoom)
4. The line and neighbouring lines via Rail Map Online

Sources

• Turner, Alun (2003). Gwynedd's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-259-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)