Eryri has a railway heritage unlike anywhere else in Britain. Before roads became widespread, narrow-gauge railways were the arteries of the region — carrying slate from the mountain quarries, workers between valleys, and eventually visitors into landscapes that had been all but inaccessible. Many of those railways survive today as some of the finest heritage lines in the world, offering journeys through mountain scenery that no road can match.
The great railways of Eryri divide into two types: the mountain lines that served the slate industry, and the scenic tourist lines that exploited those industrial corridors for passenger travel. The Ffestiniog Railway, built in 1836 to carry slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coast at Porthmadog, became the world's first narrow-gauge steam passenger railway. The Snowdon Mountain Railway, opened in 1896, remains the only rack-and-pinion railway in Britain. Together with the Welsh Highland Railway, the Talyllyn, the Bala Lake Railway and the Llanberis Lake Railway, they form one of Europe's outstanding collections of historic railways.
The Railways at a Glance
| Snowdon Mountain Railway | Llanberis to summit — Britain's only rack railway, 1896 |
| Ffestiniog Railway | Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog — world's oldest steam narrow-gauge |
| Welsh Highland Railway | Caernarfon–Beddgelert–Porthmadog — longest heritage railway in Wales |
| Talyllyn Railway | World's first preserved railway — beneath Cadair Idris |
| Bala Lake Railway | Bala to Llanuwchllyn — lakeside narrow-gauge journey |
| Llanberis Lake Railway | Short scenic run along Llyn Padarn |
The Great Little Trains of Wales
Six of Eryri's railways (plus several beyond the national park) belong to the Great Little Trains of Wales partnership, which offers a combined rover ticket allowing unlimited travel across the network. For railway enthusiasts, spending several days riding the network provides an unmatched view of the landscape from valley level — the perspective the quarrymen and their families knew for generations.
Independently written — Snowdon.com