Cwm Prysor Viaduct Explained

Bridge Name:	Cwm Prysor Viaduct
Official Name:	Cwm Prysor Viaduct
Carries:	Ex-Bala and Festiniog Railway
Crosses:	Afon Prysor
Locale:	Cwm Prysor, east of Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, Wales
Design:	9 36feet brick arches on stone piers
Length:	490feet
Width:	Single Standard Gauge Rail
Height:	105feet^[1]
Traffic:	Footpath
Open:	1 November 1882
Closed:	28 January 1961
Coordinates:	52.9323°N -3.8235°W

Cwm Prysor Viaduct, which is occasionally referred to as Blaen-y-Cwm Viaduct, is a railway viaduct which crosses the Afon Prysor in thinly populated uplands east of Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, Wales. It was built by the Bala and Festiniog Railway. It carried a single track on a line that ran between and . The line it was built for went out of service in 1961.^{[2] [3]}

History

The structure consists of nine stone arches carrying a single bi-directional track over which passenger trains ran from 1882 to 1960, with freight trains lasting until 1961. The viaduct was the most substantial single structure on the line. It is sharply curved, necessitating the provision of a check rail in its active railway days.

In 1953 extensive repair work was undertaken in which the opportunity was taken to raise the parapet and add metal railings on top.

A "Last Train" special crossed the viaduct a week before final closure.^[4] The track was lifted in the 1960s.

The prospect of rail traffic returning over the viaduct is very remote, not least because part of the route has been flooded by the construction of a dam at Llyn Celyn.

The viaduct is the location of a spectacular suicide in episode 8 of the 2018 S4C drama Hidden (Craith).

Modern access

The structure is Grade II Listed.^[5] In 2015 the public had a Permissive Right of Access to the viaduct, but no right of way.^[6] It is included in widely publicised walks.^{[7] [8] [9]}

Gallery

• Web site: Cwm Prysor Viaduct . flickr .
• Web site: Cwm Prysor Viaduct . flickr .
• Web site: Cwm Prysor Viaduct . Treasure Maps . 19 August 2016 . 22 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160822145135/http://robinsonmaps.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/nant-prysor-viaduct.html . dead .
• Web site: Cwm Prysor Viaduct . Geograph .
• Web site: The viaduct on 22 January 1961 . Harold Bowtell .
• Web site: The viaduct and line in BR days . RM Web .
• Web site: The viaduct and line in BR days . Forgotten Relics .
• Web site: The viaduct and line in BR days . Penmorfa .

References

Sources

• Book: Baughan, Peter E. . 1991 . 1980 . A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: North and Mid Wales v. 11 . . David St John Thomas Publisher . 978-0-946537-59-4 .
• Boyd . James I.C. . James I.C. Boyd . K.G. . Mansell . October 1959 . Bala & Festiniog Section - W.R. . Railway World . 20 . 233 . Railway World Limited . London .
  • Book: Gammell . Chris J. . Around the Branch Lines . No.2 Great Western . 1983 . Oxford Publishing . . 978-0-86093-213-0 .
• Book: Green . C.C. . North Wales Branch Line Album . 1996 . 1983 . . . 978-0-7110-1252-3 . registration .
• Book: Mitchell . Vic . Smith . Keith . Bala to Llandudno: Featuring Blaenau Ffestiniog . 2010 . Middleton Press (MD) . . 978-1-906008-87-1 .
• Book: Southern . D. W. . Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog . Scenes from the Past, Railways of North Wales . No. 25 . 1995 . Foxline Publishing . . 978-1-870119-34-4 .
• Book: Southern . D. W. . Leadbetter . H.J. . Weatherley . S.A. . Rails to Bala . 1987 . Charter Publications . . 978-0-907157-03-8 .

Further material

• Ferris . Tom . British Railways Volume 4 - Bewdley To Blaenau (DVD) . 2004 . 1961 . demanddvd . DEMDVD084.
• Book: Turner, Alun . Gwynedd's Lost Railways . 2003 . Stenlake Publishing . . 978-1-84033-259-9 .

External links

• The line LJT2 with mileages Railway Codes
• Reminiscences by a local railwayman Forgotten Relics
• 1960 Working timetable 2D53
• Special train on the viaduct NW Rail

Notes and References

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEPRfAm0HNk The viaduct, via Forgotten Relics
2. http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=52.9324&lon=-3.8246&layers=6&b=1 The viaduct on an Edwardian 6" OS map, via National Library of Scotland
3. http://www.RailMapOnline.com/UKIEMap.php?lat=52.93221&lng=-3.82331 The viaduct, via Rail Map Online
4. Web site: 1961 last train at Bala, Arenig and Cwm Prysor Viaduct . NW Rail .
5. Web site: Viaduct over Nant y Lladron. British Listed Buildings. 20 August 2018.
6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/63164772@N05/7190796990/in/photostream/ The viaduct, via flickr
7. http://dolgellau.wales/walks/cwm-prysor.php A walk incorporating the viaduct, via Delgellau.com
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEPRfAm0HNk A walk incorporating the viaduct, via YouTube
9. http://www.pbase.com/gefailgof/cwm_prysor_railway A walk incorporating the viaduct, via Keith O'Brien