Tywyn Wharf railway station is the western terminus and principal station of the Talyllyn Railway

Talyllyn Railway

The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...

 in Tywyn

Tywyn

Tywyn is a town and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd , in north Wales. The name derives from the Welsh tywyn and the town is sometimes referred to as Tywyn Meirionnydd...

, Gwynedd

Gwynedd

Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...

 in mid-Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

History

Originally called King's station after a local landowner, it was not a passenger station at first, but a place for transhipment of slates

Slate industry in Wales

The slate industry in Wales began during the Roman period when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the late 19th century, at which time the most important slate producing areas were in...

 from the narrow gauge to the adjoining Cambrian Railway

Cambrian Railways

Cambrian Railways owned of track over a large area of mid-Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904...

. Passenger trains started at the next station, .

Even after passenger services started running, the station had no run-round loop; shunting was carried out by propelling trains up the gradient out of the station and allowing them to run in under gravity. It was only after the line had been preserved in 1951 that a loop was finally provided.

As with all stations on the railway, there is only one platform, on the north side of the line, and the coaches have doors on that side only. This is due to tight clearances under the bridges. There are also sidings, a water tower and coaling stage. Llechfan, the hostel provided for volunteers on the railway, is a former private house on the opposite side of the line.

Station environment

As the line leaves the station it passes under a road bridge that carries the A493 Macyhynlleth to Dolgellau road. This bridge was rebuilt in 1955 by Merioneth County Council

Merionethshire

Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...

 (as it was at the time), as it had become unsafe due to the heavier traffic passing over it. The council had argued that the Talyllyn, as builders and therefore owners of the bridge, should pay for repairs. However, the secretary of the society replied that the contribution towards repair would be "limited to the cost of putting the decking into a safe condition to carry the loads for which it was originally designed. If the council wishes the bridge to carry heavier loads than those envisaged in 1865 then it would have to be responsible for the additional strengthening required."

Narrow Gauge Railway Museum

The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum

Narrow Gauge Railway Museum

The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is a purpose-built museum dedicated to narrow gauge railways situated at the station of the Talyllyn Railway in Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales....

 was first built here in 1955 in a disused gunpowder store, housing some relics and locomotives that had been donated to the Talyllyn but for various reasons were not suitable for use. This was later moved into a separate building. Since then, the station building and museum have both been extended, culminating in the opening in 2005 of a brand new museum, shop and cafe by H.R.H. Prince Charles

Charles, Prince of Wales

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

 and The Duchess of Cornwall

Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and is the current holder of the titles of Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay and Countess of Chester...

, following demolition of the previous museum building.

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