THE REVIVAL AND RESTORATION of the Welsh Highland Railway is one of the greatest heritage railway achievements of the 21st Century, yet its success followed more than one hundred years of failure.Supported by public loans, its first incarnation combined the moribund North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways, some of the abandoned works of the Portmadoc, Beddgelert & South Snowdon Railway and part of the horse-worked Croesor Tramway. Opened in 1923, it was closed in 1937 and the track was lifted in 1941.Serious talk of revival started in the 1960s but restoration did not start until 1997, with the neighbouring Ffestiniog Railway at the helm, supported by generous donors and benefactors, the Millennium Commission, the Welsh Government and teams of enthusiastic volunteers.Author Peter Johnson steers a course through the railways complicated pre-history before describing the events, including a court hearing, three public inquiries and a great deal of controversy, leading to the start of services between Caernarfon and Porthmadog in 2011. A postscript describes post-completion developments.

This is the story of the unique struggle to restore a railway lost to time in Snowdonia National Park.

The rebuilding by the Ffestiniog Railway of the Welsh Highland Railway / Rheilffordd Eryri, a narrow gauge line through the heart of the Snowdonia National Park, was one of the most controversial of the millennium projects. In this paperback illustrated album, compiled by the East Anglian Group supporting the Welsh Highland Railway from the photographs and memories of their members, the changes and memorable events (both positive and negative) that have occurred on the WHR between 1994 and 2019 are shown.

Now available in paperback, this is the first academic book to study railway enthusiasts in Britain. Far from a trivial topic, the post-war train spotting craze swept most boys and some girls into a passion for railways, and for many, ignited a lifetime’s interest. British railway enthusiasm traces this post-war cohort, and those which followed, as they invigorated different sectors in the world of railway enthusiasm – train spotting, railway modelling, collecting railway relics – and then, in response to the demise of main line steam traction, Britain’s now-huge preserved railway industry. Today this industry finds itself riven by tensions between preserving a loved past which ever fewer people can remember and earning money from tourist visitors. The widespread and enduring significance of railway enthusiasm will ensure that this groundbreaking text remains a key work in transport studies, and will appeal to enthusiasts as much as to students and scholars of transport and cultural history.

A ride on a steam train is a popular family outing. More than 100 heritage railways cater for that demand, capturing the spirit of nostalgia while preserving the engines and equipment of past days of rail travel. Their interests even extend to the modern era of 1960's - 70's diesels.Those heritage railways themselves have a long pedigree, back to 1951, when a group of enthusiasts saved the Talyllyn Railway in mid-Wales from closure. They ran this railway as volunteers, out of their love of the little trains and a desire to keep it going. Their example was followed by many more preservation societies who preserved and restored branch lines, country lines and industrial lines for our enjoyment now.Six decades have passed, and we are now beginning to realize what an impressive history the heritage railway movement has. This book traces that history, from the humble beginnings the hopes and ambitions of the pioneers on the different railway projects. There were times of failure and frustration, as some fell by the wayside, but others have made it through times of adversity to become the major heritage businesses of today.

The Snowdon Mountain Railway is one of the great narrow gauge railways of North Wales, with thousands of visitors travelling to the summit of Mount Snowdon along the line each year. This book covers the history of this historic and interesting line from its beginnings in the 1890s through to the present day. The author Peter Johnson has been writing about narrow gauge railways for many years and has a deep knowledge of the lines in North and Mid Wales. The Snowdon Mountain Railway is an important part of the tourist industry in North Wales and plays a vital part in providing transport in this popular and much visited area. This volume looks at the narrow gauge railway's history and development, taking in the present and future development of this fascinating line's operation.

This book is the first in 30 years to take transport museums seriously as vehicles for the making of public histories. Drawing upon many years' experience of visiting and working in transport museums around the world, the authors argue that the sector's historical roots are more complex than is usually thought. Written from a multidisciplinary perspective but firmly rooted in the practice of making public histories, this book brings the study of transport museums firmly into the mainstream of academic and professional debate.