Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Region North Wales Mid Wales South Wales National Network Route Sections Gazetteer of Stations About Wales	Location: 52 56N 4 08W; UK National Grid Ref: SH 568 393 Enquiries to: Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, Tremadog Road, PORTHMADOG. LL49 9DY Tel: +44 (0)1766 513402 Email: info@whr.co.uk Scroll to read the entire article, or select items to move directly to topics Opening times and fares ..... How to get there	Preserved: Standard gauge Narrow gauge WalesRails: The Grand Tour Official Websites What's New Back to Welcome page

The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway was formerly known as the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog) but changed its name on January 1 2009 to differentiate itself from the WHR developing the line from Caernarfon to Porthmadog.
The WHHR  is one of the Great Little Trains of Wales. Of 2ft gauge, it operates for three-quarters of a mile from Gelert's Farm to Pen-y-mount, and visitors have the opportunity of travelling in the restored coach used by prime minister William Gladstone during a visit in 1892.
Star locomotive of the Railway is Russell, a 2-6-2 tank built by Hunslet in 1906 and the sole survivor of the original line, which closed in 1937.
The aim of the WHR is to recreate the experience of rail travel in a bygone age, of 'a timeless world of old-fashioned courtesy and a forgotten way of life'. The station at Pen-y-mount is an exact replica of an original WHR station, and a visit includes a tour of the sheds where the historic locos can be seen in their natural environment. Although the present-day journey is a short one, ultimately the WHR is part of the ambitious scheme to reopen the Welsh Highland Railway through the spectacular scenery of Snowdonia, from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, a project being undertaken in conjunction with the Ffestiniog Railway.

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The WHR is open (all dates inclusive, and see also Special Events dates):
March 24th, 25th, 27th, 28th, 28th and 31st Diesel services
April Daily from 1st to 30th. Diesel services, except for steam services 7th to 15th
May Diesel services, except for steam services on 7th, 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th
June Diesel services except for Steam services on 4th, 5th, 16th, 17th and 30th
July 2nd to 6th, 9th to 13th and 16th to 20th Diesel services. Remaining dates are Steam services
August Steam services every Day
September Diesel services Mondays to Fridays; Steam Saturdays and Sundays. No services on 17th, 21st, 24th and 28th.
October 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th Diesel Services. Steam services on Saturdays and Sundays and 22nd to 26th.

See also Special Events dates.

Departure Times

Trains depart Porthmadog for the 40-minute round trip at 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.00pm, 2.00pm, 3.00pm and 4.00*pm
* The 4.00pm service does not run in October
There is a different service pattern on Special Event days

Fares (not applicable on some Special Event days)

On selected trains, adults can also gain a driver's eye view of the line with a footplate pass for a supplementary fare of £10.00 (Steam) or £6.00 (Diesel)

You can also ride on the 15:00 train, followed by a Welsh cream tea in our Tea Room. £8.00 adults, £7.00 concessions

Special Events 2012 (Special fares and timetables apply for some events. Contact the WHR for details)

• April 8th Easter Bunnies. Free chocolate for everyone who travels - if you can find it!

• May 5th and 6th Elements Gala. The theme is Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

• June 2nd and 3rd Family fun weekend

• June 9th and 10th Teddy Bears' Picnic. Children and their teddy bear travel free and can try to Spot the Bears in the Big Engine shed.

• June 23rd and 24th Slate Industrial Exhibition

• July 7th 8th Steam in the Shed Over a hundred small steam engines in the Shed demonstrating the power of steam. Also the chance to ride on a miniature steam locomotive

• Bank Holiday Weekend August 25th, 26th Hunt the Dragons. Fun whatever the weather

• October 27th Spooky Halloween goings-on around the railway

• Dates in December (TBA) Santa Specials Contact the WHR for details

Driver Experience

The WHR offers two driving experiences
The Evening course costs £75 and begins with a trip on the footplate of the 4.00pm train. When the passengers have gone, it's your turn!

The Full Day course costs £275 and you have the railway to yourself for the day with individual instruction from the driver and fireman, and lunch in the 'Russell' tea room.

Both courses include a year's free membership of the WHR.

The railway is about 100 metres from Porthmadog station on the Cambrian coast line from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli, operated by Arriva Trains Wales.
There are regular bus services from Caernarfon, Pwllheli and Dolgellau, all of which stop within a few hundred metres of the WHR.
For details of connecting services, including travel planner and timetables, visit the Traveline Cymru website.

Select link for the WHR's official web pages.

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Copyright © 1997/8/9/2000/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12 by Deryck Lewis. All rights reserved
Page created July 23 1997; Redesigned July 24 1999; Last update January 22 2012
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