Croesor Tramway
From Festipedia, hosted by the FR Heritage Group
*Date February 2007
*Photo: Dan Crow
With construction of the Welsh Highland Railway in 1922, the bulk of the route was taken over and re-laid. The join point became known as Croesor Junction. Though there is no actual closure date for the rest of the route, most was out of use by the cessation of WHR operations in 1937. Unofficial usage apparently continued until the early 1950's. It is reported that some early reclamation of items was undertaken by Ffestiniog revivalists.
The seaward end of the Croesor Tramway was at Porthmadog, home of the more famous FR Co., with whose lines it connected around the harbour. It ran in a north easterly direction into the Croesor valley, initially along the Creassy Embankment, for a distance of about 5 miles where it served a number of slate quarries located along the southern side of the valley. The tramway opened to traffic in 1864 and survived in a number of forms until the 1930s, by which time regular traffic over the line had ceased. The rails remained in place until 1948 when the lower section was lifted (as part of the dismantling of the WHR), the upper section succumbing during the 1950s.
The route of the tramway is still clear to see throughout most of its length and the final three miles at the south western end of the line are now being restored as part of the Welsh Highland Railway project. The route can be seen on this Map link
For a more illustrated description of the sections not being rebuilt in connection with the Welsh Highland, see the official WHR site here (external site)
See also for more information and a set of photographs of the Croesor Tramway and its environs taken by Tony Statham in the early 1970s is to be found here