Bala Junction railway station
| Bala Junction | |
|---|---|
|
Bala Junction station in 1962 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Bala |
| Area | Gwynedd |
| Operations | |
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Platforms | 3 |
| History | |
| 1 November 1882[1] | Opened |
| 18 January 1965[1] | Closed to passengers |
| 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 | |
Bala Junction railway station in Gwynedd, Wales, was formerly a station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965. Bala Junction was unusual since it was inaccessible by road and merely served as an interchange station.
The station was at the junction with the Blaenau Ffestiniog branch. It was built as a crossing point for trains on the Bala Ffestiniog and Ruabon Barmouth lines, and featured three platforms with a small waiting room and signalbox on a central island platform. There was also a cast-iron GWR water tank there.
History
Opened by the Great Western Railway, it remained in that company through the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. Passenger services to Bala and on the Ruabon-Barmouth line ceased in January 1965; the service beyond Bala to Blaenau Festiniog having been withdrawn in 1960.
During its operational life, Bala Junction served as an interchange station for the branch line train to Blaenau Festiniog, usually operated by small tank locomotives such as the 6400 Class 0-6-0PT and 5800 Class 0-4-2T tank locomotives. These trains did not run beyond Bala Junction, instead returning north to the GWR station at Blaenau Festiniog. There were no goods facilities here either; all goods trains stopping here to shunt detached wagons for the branch line train.
As a junction station, Bala Junction was equipped with standard GWR lower quadrant semaphore signals to control train movements between the Bala Ffestiniog and Ruabon-Barmouth lines. These were used particularly when the branch line train was shunting in preparation for its return to Blaenau Festiniog as there were no turning facilities here. To run around, the branch line engine had to cross from Platform 3 (the Bala Ffestiniog platform) onto the main line and run back along Platform 2, used by eastbound trains running to Ruabon.
As of 2014, the only remnants at Bala Junction are the trackbeds of the Bala Ffestiniog and Ruabon-Barmouth lines and the platform faces. The site is close to a nearby dam; part of the access road for this uses the formation of the Bala Ffestiniog line, passing close to the remains of a short bridge that carried the line into Bala Junction itself.
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BR Standard 4MT 75028 arrives at Bala Junction with the 12.45 Pwllheli-Chester.
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View NE from the station along the Ruabon Barmouth Line.
Neighbouring stations
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llandderfel | Great Western Railway Ruabon Barmouth Line |
Llangower | ||
| Bala | Great Western Railway Bala Ffestiniog Line |
Terminus | ||
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.
External links
- Bala Junction station on navigable 1946 O. S. map
- Railscot on Bala and Dollgellau Railway
- Railscot on Bala and Festiniog Line
- Railscot on Corwen and Bala Railway
Coordinates: 52°54′24″N 3°34′53″W / 52.90679°N 3.58135°W