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Cwm Prysor Viaduct
Cwm Prysor Viaduct in 2014
Coordinates	52°55′56″N 3°49′25″W / 52.9323°N 3.8235°W / 52.9323; -3.8235
Carries	Ex-Bala and Festiniog Railway
Crosses	Afon Prysor
Locale	Cwm Prysor, east of Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, Wales
Official name	Cwm Prysor Viaduct
Characteristics
Design	9 36 feet (11 m) brick arches on stone piers
Total length	490 feet (150 m)
Width	Single Standard Gauge Rail
Height	105 feet (32 m)
History
Opened	1 November 1882
Closed	28 January 1961
Statistics
Daily traffic	Footpath
Location

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 Bala Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog. The line it was built for went out of service in 1961.

v t e Bala & Festiniog Railway
Legend
Conwy Valley line to Llandudno Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog Harbour Blaenau Festiniog Junction Blaenau Ffestiniog North Blaenau Ffestiniog Ffestiniog Railway to Duffws (FR) Diphwys (F&BR) Glynllifon Street (F&BR) Former wooden viaduct Tan-y-Manod (F&BR) Graig Ddu Quarry Pengwern Quarry Tyddyngwyn (F&BR) Manod Teigl Halt Festiniog Maentwrog Road Line to south dismantled Trawsfynydd power station loading point Trawsfynydd Lake Halt Trawsfynydd Camp Trawsfynydd Llafar Halt Bryn-Celynog Halt Cwm Prysor Viaduct Cwm Prysor Halt Arenig Capel Celyn Halt Section flooded by Llyn Celyn Tyddyn Bridge Halt (under dam wall) Frongoch Bala (New) Bala Junction Ruabon–Barmouth line to Llandderfel Bala (Penybont) (original Bala Lake Halt) Bala Lake Railway to Llanuwchllyn Ruabon–Barmouth line to Barmouth

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. 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. In 2015 the public had a Permissive Right of Access to the viaduct, but no right of way. It is included in widely publicised walks.

Gallery

• The viaduct in modern times

• "Cwm Prysor Viaduct". flickr.
• "Cwm Prysor Viaduct". flickr.
• "Cwm Prysor Viaduct". Treasure Maps. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
• "Cwm Prysor Viaduct". Geograph.
• "The viaduct on 22 January 1961". Harold Bowtell.
• "The viaduct and line in BR days". RM Web.
• "The viaduct and line in BR days". Forgotten Relics.
• "The viaduct and line in BR days". Penmorfa.

References

1. Baughan 1991, p. 131.
2. Boyd 1959, p. 546.
3. The viaduct, via Forgotten Relics
4. Boyd 1988, p. 47.
5. Southern 1995, p. 64.
6. The viaduct on an Edwardian 6" OS map, via National Library of Scotland
7. The viaduct, via Rail Map Online
8. Green 1996, p. 38.
9. Southern, Leadbetter & Weatherley 1987, pp. 62–3.
10. Southern 1995, pp. 58–9.
11. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photo 19.
12. "1961 last train at Bala, Arenig and Cwm Prysor Viaduct". NW Rail.
13. Gammell 1983, Plate 12.
14. "Viaduct over Nant y Lladron". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
15. The viaduct, via flickr
16. A walk incorporating the viaduct, via Delgellau.com
17. A walk incorporating the viaduct, via YouTube
18. A walk incorporating the viaduct, via Keith O'Brien

Sources

• Baughan, Peter E. (1991) . A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: North and Mid Wales v. 11. Nairn: David St John Thomas Publisher. ISBN 978-0-946537-59-4.
• Boyd, James I.C. (October 1959). Mansell, K.G. (ed.). "Bala & Festiniog Section - W.R.". Railway World. 20 (233). London: Railway World Limited.
• Boyd, James I.C. (1988) . Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire – Volume 1. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-365-7. OCLC 20417464.
• Gammell, Chris J. (1983). Around the Branch Lines. Poole: Oxford Publishing. ISBN 978-0-86093-213-0. No.2 Great Western.
• Green, C.C. (1996) . North Wales Branch Line Album. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-1252-3.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bala to Llandudno: Featuring Blaenau Ffestiniog. Midhurst: Middleton Press (MD). ISBN 978-1-906008-87-1.
• Southern, D. W. (1995). Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Scenes from the Past, Railways of North Wales. Stockport: Foxline Publishing. ISBN 978-1-870119-34-4. No. 25.
• Southern, D. W.; Leadbetter, H.J.; Weatherley, S.A. (1987). Rails to Bala. Rhuddlan: Charter Publications. ISBN 978-0-907157-03-8.

Further material

• Ferris, Tom (2004) . British Railways Volume 4 - Bewdley To Blaenau (DVD). demanddvd. DEMDVD084.
• Turner, Alun (2003). Gwynedd's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 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

• Railway bridges in Wales
• Rail transport in Gwynedd
• Llanycil
• Former railway bridges in the United Kingdom