Fairbourne & Barmouth Railway
 

This delightful railway runs from Fairbourne village to Penrhyn Point. It was built in 1895 to transport construction materials to Fairbourne. In 1916 it was converted from 2 foot gauge to 15 inch gauge and became a passenger carrying railway. It closed completely in 1940, but was rescued in 1946 by several Midlands businessmen, reopening in 1947. It was extremely popular in the 1960's and 1970's, but thereafter there was a decline in it's fortunes. In 1984, the Ellerton family acquired the line, re-gauged it in 1986 to 12.25 inches, and introduced 4 new steam locomotives: Yeo, Sherpa, Beddgelert, and Russell. Yet a further change of ownership occurred in 1995, and the new owners have since invested heavily in the railway and in a Nature Centre.

At Penrhyn Point, the view that includes Barmouth, Barmouth Railway Bridge, Cader Idris, and the Mawddach Estuary, is considered to be one of the finest in the UK.
 
The first group of photos below include two photographs of Russell below, which are scans from 1988 prints. The remaining photos in the group were taken during a short afternoon visit to the railway in August 2004, when it rained. On that day, Beddgelert and Russell were operating. The diesel locomotive was on standby.
 
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All of the photos in the next group were taken during a late afternoon visit to the railway in June 2005. Locomotives in service were Yeo, Sherpa, and Beddgelert. The Diesel loco operated the final train of the day.  
 
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The final group of photos, below, were also taken in June 2005, a few days after the earlier visit. A family afternoon spent relaxing in the sand dunes overlooking the Mawddach estuary. Again superb weather. Locomotives operating were Yeo, Sherpa, and Beddgelert.
 
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 A 1954 view of the railway looking towards Fairbourne Village (photo John Tennent)
 

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