Bala to Llandudno

This is the story of two lines that originally didn't quite meet at Blaenau Festiniog. From the north-east came the London & North Western Railway and from the south-east the Great Western Railway, each with its own station in this small hilltop town. Not only that, but the Festiniog Railway (the oldest of the three lines), came from the west, had three stations in the area of the town. Of course, they were all there for the slate, which was needed in vast quantities as a roofing material. Trains had reached Llandudno in 1858, becoming part of the LNWR 15 years later. The LNWR extended to Blaenau Festiniog in 1881 and a year later the GWR branch to the town opened. In 1921 the northern route became part of the LMS and in 1948 the London Midland Region. The southern route remained part of the GWR until Nationalisation, when it became the Western Region. The southern route closed in 1965 although it was later used for nucular wast traffic until 1995. The LNWR line remains open for passenger traffic. The book has the usual good collection of photographs and OS map extracts to help the modeller.

A Model Railway Express Review