| Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Locale | Wales |
| Continues as | Cambrian Railways |
| History | |
| Opened | 1 July 1863 |
| Closed | 5 August 1866 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 86 miles (138 km) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway company, running a line along the west coast of Wales.
The railway was planned to run between Aberystwyth[note 1] and Pwllheli, and on to Porth Dinllaen, with branches to Dolgelly and Machynlleth. These branches joined the Bala and Dolgelly Railway and Newtown and Machynlleth Railway respectively. There were two major river bridges planned: the Dovey Bridge, across the River Dovey, and the Barmouth Bridge, over the River Mawddach. The former proved impracticable to build, so an altered route was built from Aberdovey to Dovey Junction, near Glandyfi, forming a Y-shaped network. Parliamentary powers were also obtained on multiple occasions for a line from Pwllheli to Porth Dinllaen, though this was never built. The routes were opened progressively between 1863 and 1869.
The company was absorbed into Cambrian Railways in 1865. Continuous shortages of money delayed the completion of the network.
The Dolgelly branch was closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts, and the remainder of the line was under threat of closure in the 1970s. In 1980, serious defects were found in Barmouth Bridge due to a marine worm boring into timber piles, which took several years to fix.
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