Betws-y-coed railway station
Betws-y-coed's passenger trains began on 6 April 1868. An Act of Parliament in 1865 had permitted the London & North Western Railway to extend the Conwy Valley line, which had opened to Llanrwst in 1863. The Betws-y-coed extension opened in 1867 for freight trains, primarily carrying slate out of Snowdonia. A further extension, to the thriving slate quarries of Blaenau Ffestiniog, opened in 1879.
The station building at Betws-y-coed is large for a country branch line. It was constructed by local contractor Owen Gethin Jones (1816-1883), who also built St Mary’s Church and other local buildings.
He was born in Penmachno. He followed in his father’s footsteps as a stonemason before diversifying into carpentry and civil engineering. He was better known in other areas of Wales as a poet (bardic name: Gethin). He also published volumes of local history and contributed to hundreds of good causes, especially eisteddfodau and literary meetings.
He is commemorated by the name of Pont Gethin, his elegant stone viaduct carrying the Conwy Valley railway over the A470 road and river Lledr south of Betws-y-coed. His portrait is shown here courtesy of the National Library of Wales.
The railway was once the principal means for tourists to reach Betws-y-coed. There were ample station facilities and staff to cope with the crowds, and a long main platform. There was also a large goods yard. Today a railway museum occupies the former goods yard, and the station building houses various tourism-related businesses. The ride on the Conwy Valley line (Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog) is widely regarded as one of the most scenic in Britain.
In 1960 a Pullman coach, withdrawn from service, was shunted into a redundant siding at Betws-y-coed to provide camping accommodation for holidaymakers. Pullman was a luxury travel brand which originated in the USA. In the mid-1960s the camping coach was replaced with another Pullman vehicle, called Emerald, also for camping. This was built in 1910 for the South Eastern & Chatham Railway. It is now part of the railway museum, and can be glimpsed to the south of the station footbridge.
The station photo, taken by Peter Clark in 1963, shows the long platform and the Pullman car in its siding. The footbridge had a roof at that time.
Postcode: LL24 0AE View Location Map