Heritage route
Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland
Caernarfon → Blaenau Ffestiniog · Wales
The world’s oldest narrow-gauge railway company (1836): double-ended Fairlie steam from Caernarfon castle through Snowdonia to the slate town of Blaenau.
How this line was checked
- Line drawn from 2 OpenStreetMap relations, their own nodes end to end: relation 163449 (39 km), relation 163455 (22 km) — 61 km of the route between them
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 4 m from it
- The operator publishes this line's timetable: the railway’s own site — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
- See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it
Questions and answers
How long is the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland?
The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland runs 62 km from Caernarfon to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
How long does the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland take?
The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 4 h for the 62 km. That is an average of 16 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 40 km/h.
Who runs the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland?
Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, with double Fairlie steam.
How old is the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland?
The line has been in service since 1836. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
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