Afon Wen railway station

Afon Wen
Pwllheli - Bangor train in 1962
General information
Location	Afon Wen, Gwynedd Wales
Coordinates	52.90909°N 4.31348°W / 52.90909; -4.31348
Grid reference	SH 444 371
Platforms	3[1][2]
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway
Pre-grouping	Cambrian Railways
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
2 September 1867	Opened
7 December 1964[3][4][5]	Closed

v t e Carnarvonshire Railway
Bangor and Carnarvon Railway to Bangor Caernarvon Carnarvon and Llanberis Railway Caernarfon (WHR) Quay sidings Caernarvon (Morfa) Carnarvon (Pant) Pont Rug Halt Pontrhythallt Bontnewydd (WHR) Cwm-y-Glo Llanberis Tunnel Glynrhonwy Quarries Padarn Halt Llanberis Dinas Junction Welsh Highland Railway Llanwnda Groeslon Penygroes Nantlle Branch Junction Nantlle summit Pant Glas Brynkir Ynys Llangybi Chwilog Aberystwith & Welsh Coast Rly to Pwllheli Afon Wen Aberystwith & Welsh Coast Rly to Porthmadog

v t e Aberystwith & Welsh Coast Railway
Porthdinllaen authorised but unbuilt Pwllheli Abererch Penychain Carnarvonshire Railway Afon Wen Criccieth Black Rock Halt Wern Goods Portmadoc Croesor Tramway flat crossing Britannia and Traeth Mawr bridges over Afon Glaslyn Portmadoc Harbour (FR) Boston Lodge Halt (FR) Minffordd Festiniog Railway Penrhyndeudraeth Pont Briwet over Afon Dwyryd Llandecwyn Talsarnau Tygwyn Harlech Llandanwg Pensarn Llanbedr Dyffryn Ardudwy Talybont Llanaber Barmouth Barmouth Bridge over Afon Mawddach Barmouth Junction Arthog Penmaenpool Dolgelly Bala and Dolgelly Railway Fairbourne Fairbourne (FR) Fairbourne Railway Llwyngwril Llangelynin Tonfanau Towyn King's station Talyllyn Railway Aberdovey Aberdovey Harbour Penhelig Abertafol Gogarth Corris Railway Newtown and Machynlleth Railway Machynlleth Afon Dyfi Glandovey Junction Glandovey Ynyslas Borth Llanfihangel Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway Bow Street Aberystwith Vale of Rheidol Railway Manchester and Milford Railway

Afon Wen was a railway station in Afon Wen, Gwynedd, Wales, four miles (6 km) west of Criccieth.^[6]

The station formed a junction between the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway and the Carnarvonshire Railway and opened to traffic in September 1867.

History

Trains on the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway line were operated by the Cambrian Railways, 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 was host to a GWR camp coach from 1934 to 1939.^[7]

The station passed on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948 (later passing to the London Midland Region in 1963). It was then closed by the British Railways Board on 7 December 1964 (concurrently with the line from Caernavon, both as a result of the Beeching Axe).^[4]

In addition to local services Afon Wen was served by trains from both London Paddington and London Euston. Those from Paddington would reach it on Cambrian rails through Machynlleth and Porthmadog, proceeding onward to terminate at Pwllheli. From Euston the train would travel via Crewe, Bangor and Caernarfon: at Afon Wen the front portion of the train would proceed forward to terminate at Porthmadog and the rear carriages would be detached for Pwllheli.

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).^[8]

The signal box and passing loop initially remained in use after the station closed, but after the lifting of the Caernarfon line, these were decommissioned in 1967 and removed three years later (leaving only the old westbound platform line in use as the running line to Pwllheli). Demolition of the surviving buildings and westbound platform followed by the late 1970s.^[4]

The site today

Trains on the Cambrian Line pass the site of the former station.

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.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Abererch Line and station open		Cambrian Railways Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway		Criccieth Line and station open
Chwilog Line and station closed		London and North Western Railway Carnarvonshire Railway		Terminus

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 Fôn.^[9]

References

1. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photos 76-80 & Map XXI.
2. Mitchell & Smith 2009, Photos 88-96 & Map XXI.
3. Butt 1995, p. 13.
4. Disused Stations - Afon Wen Fifoot, L and Wright, P Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 2 August 2017
5. Turner 2003, p. 7.
6. "Afon Wen station". flickr.
7. McRae 1997, p. 31.
8. Jones & Jenkins 1995, Plate 56.
9. Sain Records

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Jones, Gwyn Briwnant; Jenkins, David (1995). Great Western Railways in Wales. The work of the official photographer. Cardiff: Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center. ISBN 0-7200-0425-X.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bangor to Portmadoc: Including Three Llanberis Lines. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-906008-72-7.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2009). Barmouth to Pwllheli. Western Main Lines. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-906008-53-6.
• Turner, Alun (2003). Gwynedd's Lost Railways. Catrine, Ayrshire: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 9781840332599.

Further material

• Clemens, Jim (2003) [1959-67]. North Wales Steam Lines No. 6 (DVD). Uffington, Shropshire: B&R Video Productions. BRVP No 79.

External links

• The station site on a navigable OS Map, via National Library of Scotland
• Afon Wen station on a 1940s navigable O. S. map
• The station and line, via Rail Map Online
• The line CNV with mileages, via Railway Codes
• The line DJP with mileages, via Railway Codes
• Images of the station, via Yahoo
• The station and line, via LNWR Society
• By DMU from Pwllheli to Amlwch, via Huntley Archives