The Carnarvon and Llanberis Railway, built under the
Caernarvon and Llanberis Railway Act 1864, was an eight mile branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

 from the Carnarvonshire Railway

Carnarvonshire Railway

The Carnarvonshire Railway was a railway connecting Caernarvon railway station with Afon Wen.-History:...

 running from Caernarfon

Caernarfon

Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...

 to Llanberis

Llanberis

Llanberis is a village in Gwynedd, North Wales, lying on the southern banks of Llyn Padarn in Snowdonia. It takes its name from Saint Peris, an early Welsh saint.According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the population of Llanberis was 1,954...

, 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...

 via Pont Rhythallt

Pontrhythallt railway station

Pontrhythallt was a railway station located at Pont Rhythallt, Gwynedd. This station was closed for regular passenger services in 1932 but may have bewen used for special trains until December 1964...

 (for Llanrug

Llanrug

Llanrug is a large village in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It lies about 4 miles to the east of Caernarfon, 7 miles south of Bangor and 3 miles to the west of Llanberis. It is the largest populated village in the Arfon area of Gwynedd, Wales. The old name term of the village was initially...

), Cwm y Glo

Cwm-y-Glo railway station

Cwm-y-Glo was a railway station located in Cwm y Glo, Gwynedd, at the north-west end of Llyn Padarn. This station was closed for regular passenger services in 1932 but may have been used for occasional excursion trains until December 1964....

, and Padarn Halt, and terminating at Llanberis. The railway was initially built as a local link between villages, serving the local population. However tourist traffic increased hugely after the Snowdon Mountain Railway

Snowdon Mountain Railway

The Snowdon Mountain Railway is a narrow gauge rack and pinion mountain railway in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a tourist railway that travels for from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon, the highest peak in England and Wales....

 opened in 1897.

Closure and traces of the railway

The Railway was a victim of the Beeching Axe

Beeching Axe

The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...

 and was closed in December 1964. Some evidence of the railbed still exists. The site of the track in Llanberis now carries the A4086 road where it by-passes the village along the lakeshore, and the former station is occupied by a craft centre. An area known locally as the Sidings on the shores of Llyn Padarn

Llyn Padarn

Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately long and at its deepest point is deep. At its south-eastern end it is linked to the neighbouring Llyn Peris...

 also shows some evidence of its past. The next section of railbed runs alongside the lake and is now the Lon Las Peris ("Peris Green Lane") cycle path., There is also evidence of the former railway on bridges and a tunnel near Cwm y Glo, near Llwyncoed Farm - mentioned in the song Tylluanod ("Owls") by the local band Hogia'r Wyddfa ("Snowdon Lads") in 1969. The railbed then follows the line of the A4086 through Cwm y Glo

Cwm y Glo

Cwm y Glo is a small village in Wales, some 4 miles to the east of Caernarfon, between Llanberis and Llanrug. It is in the Caernarfon Parliament constituency and the Gwynedd Council electoral ward....

 past Y Fricsan Inn, the site of Cwm-y-Glo railway station

Cwm-y-Glo railway station

Cwm-y-Glo was a railway station located in Cwm y Glo, Gwynedd, at the north-west end of Llyn Padarn. This station was closed for regular passenger services in 1932 but may have been used for occasional excursion trains until December 1964....

. It then follows the River Seiont

River Seiont

Afon Seiont is a river in Gwynedd, Wales which runs into the Menai Strait.Its source is the outflow of Llyn Padarn near Llanberis, and it flows out in a generally northwest direction. Between the outflow and the village of Llanrug it is known as the Afon Rhythallt, changing its name just after the...

downstream for the rest of its route to Caernarfon.