Afon Wen railway station
Encyclopedia
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
.
, 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
.
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).
pass the site of the former station.
The station buildings are now in use as a private home. 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.
Afon Wen
Afon Wen is a small hamlet on the Llŷn peninsula in the Welsh principal area of Gwynedd.- Location :It is located at the mouth of the Afon Wen river, half a mile from the village of Chwilog and midway between Pwllheli and Cricieth.- History & Amenities :...
, 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...
.
The station formed a junction between the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway
Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway
The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway built in 1863 connecting major towns on the Welsh coast.- History :...
and the Carnarvonshire Railway
Carnarvonshire Railway
The Carnarvonshire Railway was a railway connecting Caernarvon railway station with Afon Wen.-History:...
.
History
Trains on the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway line were operated by the Cambrian RailwaysCambrian 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...
, then absorbed into the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
. Trains from the Carnarvonshire Railway
Carnarvonshire Railway
The Carnarvonshire Railway was a railway connecting Caernarvon railway station with Afon Wen.-History:...
were operated by the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
and so passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
. The station passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways
London Midland Region of British Railways
The London Midland Region was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to Euston Station and later from Stanier...
on nationalisation
Transport Act 1947
The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...
in 1948. It was then closed by the British Railways Board
British Railways Board
The British Railways Board was a nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that existed from 1962 to 2001. From its foundation until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in Great Britain, trading under the brand names British Railways and, from 1965, British Rail...
.
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
Moat Lane Junction
Moat Lane Junction was a railway junction in Montgomeryshire near to the village of Caersws in mid-Wales. It was the junction where the Newtown and Machynlleth railway opened in 1863 diverged from the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway which opened four years earlier...
, Talyllyn Junction
Talyllyn Junction
Talyllyn Junction was a railway junction located 4 miles east of Brecon, Powys, opened in 1863. The junction was triangular, with north, east and west chords, station platforms being sited at the western junction and also, until 1878, at the eastern junction...
, Dovey Junction and Barmouth Junction (renamed Morfa Mawddach
Morfa Mawddach railway station
Morfa Mawddach railway station, formerly Barmouth Junction, is in Gwynedd, Wales, on the Cambrian Coast Railway between and at its junction with the Dolgelley branch of the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway part of the Ruabon to Barmouth Line which closed in 1965.- Background :North of Morfa...
in 1960).
The site today
Trains on the Cambrian LineCambrian Line
The Cambrian Line is a railway from Shrewsbury to Welshpool, Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. The railway runs first through the central part of Wales and then along the coast of Cardigan Bay....
pass the site of the former station.
The station buildings are now in use as a private home. 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.
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 FônBryn FônBryn Fôn is a Welsh actor and singer-songwriter .- Biography :Fôn attended Ysgol Gynradd Llanllyfni and Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle before going on to study physical exercise and environmental studies at college. He began his career in entertainment by taking part in the opera Dic Penderyn in 1977...
.