Gaerwen railway station explained

Gaerwen
Status:Disused
Borough:Gaerwen, Anglesey
Country:Wales
Coordinates:53.2126°N -4.2702°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:3
Original:Chester and Holyhead Railway
Pregroup:LNWR
Postgroup:LMS
Years:January 1849
Events:Opened
Years1:14 February 1966
Events1:Closed for passengers
Years2:1984
Events2:closed for goods

Gaerwen railway station was situated on the North Wales Coast Line, serving as the junction for the Anglesey Central Railway line to Amlwch.

History

The Station was built by the Chester and Holyhead Railway (C&HR) and opened in January 1849. The C&HR was acquired by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 1 January 1859 and the LNWR was merged into the London Midland and Scottish Railway on 1 January 1923.

The main station building was located on the north side of the line, serving eastbound trains. There was a small shelter on the Holyhead bound platform.

The station was closed to passengers by British Railways on 14 February 1966,[1] but the adjoining freight yard remained open for coal and fertiliser traffic[2] before it also closed in 1984.

There were two signal boxes close to the station, one of which remains in use.[1] It is located on the north side of the line at the east end of the old station site and adjacent to a level crossing which is now guarded by lifting barriers. The junction to the Anglesey Central Railway has been disconnected after services were discontinued on the branch line.

In August 2020 a bid was made to the Government's Restoring Your Railway initiative, for funding to carry out a feasibility study to reopen the line between and Gaerwen. The bid was successful during the third round of that scheme, and received £50,000 to fund the study. When the bid was submitted, the Welsh government stated that they would match fund any award that was received, raising the value of the award to £100,000.[3] [4]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Jones, Geraint: Anglesey Railways, page 28. Carreg Gwalch, 2005
  2. Web site: Railways of North Wales 1975–1983: Gaerwen . 2008-04-02.
  3. Web site: Anglesey Beeching axe railway bids for funding to reopen . 2020-08-30 . 2020-08-30 . BBC News website.
  4. Web site: Restoring your railway: successful bids . https://web.archive.org/web/20211103151006/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1028949/restoring-your-railway-successful-bids.csv/preview . 3 November 2021 . live . Department of Transport . 27 October 2021.