Afon Wen railway station
| Afon Wen | |
|---|---|
|
Pwllheli - Bangor train in 1962 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Afon Wen |
| Area | Gwynedd |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Cambrian Railways |
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Platforms | 3 |
| History | |
| 2 September 1867[1] | Opened |
| 7 December 1964[1] | Closed |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
|
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z | |
| UK Railways portal | |
Afon Wen was a railway station located in Afon Wen, Gwynedd.
The station formed a junction between the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway and the Carnarvonshire Railway.
History
Trains on the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway line were operated by the Cambrian Railways, then absorbed into the Great Western Railway. Trains from the Carnarvonshire Railway were operated by the London and North Western Railway and so passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. The station passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. It was then closed by the British Railways Board.
In addition to local services Afon Wen was served by trains from both London Paddington and London Euston. Those from Paddington would reach it on Cambrian rails through Machynlleth and Portmadoc, proceeding onward to terminate at Pwllheli. From Euston the train would travel via Crewe, Bangor and Caernarvon: at Afon Wen the front portion of the train would proceed forward to terminate at Portmadoc and the rear carriages would be detached for Pwllheli.
Afon Wen is often quoted as a defining feature of the Great Western Railway in Wales, namely its inheritance of junctions in unlikely and inconvenient locations. Other examples are Moat Lane Junction, Talyllyn Junction, Dovey Junction and Barmouth Junction (renamed Morfa Mawddach in 1960).
The site today
Trains on the Cambrian Line pass the site of the former station.
The only evidence of the junction that can now be seen from Cambrian Coast trains is the earthworks of the line heading north and the island platform, although the branch side has been filled in.
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criccieth Line and station open |
Great Western Railway Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway |
Penychain Line and station open | ||
| Chwilog Line and station closed |
London and North Western Railway Carnarvonshire Railway |
Terminus | ||
In popular culture
- Afon Wen station is known to many through the song Ar y Trên i Afon Wen (On the train to Afon Wen) by the popular Welsh pop group, Sobin a'r Smaeliaid, fronted by Bryn Fôn.
References
Sources
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687.
- Afon Wen station on navigable O. S. map
Coordinates: 52°54′33″N 4°18′49″W / 52.90909°N 4.31348°W