Note for visitors - vehicular access

• The roadway near the northern end of Beddgelert village at Pont Alun/Cwm Cloch is private. It is a registered public bridleway/footpath - private road vehicles are not permitted.

Introduction

Leaving the S-bend, the trackbed faces Beddgelert and Porthmadog as it crosses the Pont Alun bridleway which it has crossed twice on the level further up, this time by the substantial underbridge UB165. This was lacking not only the deck but also a large part of the southern abutment. The bridge is a hybrid of PB&SSR and WHR work. As built by the PB&SSR it had an arch resembling that of the bridge at Cwm Bychan, which was removed and replaced by a flat deck on lowered and concrete-capped abutments in 1922-3, when the height of the embankment was lowered to reduce the gradient. Work on this bridge formed part of the Beddgelert Station contracts.

The final crossing of the Afon Nant Cwmcloch, just before it flows into the Afon Colwyn, is via the arched UB166, a short distance south of UB165. The visible electricity cables had been re-routed as the previous supply was foul of the trackbed at various points in the area. UB166 is a PB&SSR structure, and may also show signs of 1922-3 changes to the embankment, as it appears to have been designed for a rather wider (so perhaps taller) embankment than what is on top of it at present. The station site begins immediately to the south of this bridge.

Beddgelert Station is one of the most important locations on the WHR, and it is anticipated that passengers travelling to this very popular village destination by train from both directions will be a significant part of future traffic patterns. Construction of the new station required a sensitive approach to the location and the railway's neighbours.

The new station extends further at the north end of the site than the original, in order to accommodate modern WHR trains. This required widening of the formation, which is on an embankment at this point, and the underbridge within the embankment (UB167, which was missing its deck) has been rebuilt as part of this work. Initial clearance ahead of this work is seen below in early 2006. The widening is entirely on the mountain (west) side of the site so as not to alter the view from the village side.

Construction access was also from the north end. The Snowdonia National Park Authority granted permission in July 2006 for a temporary access route from the Pont Alun public bridleway (also a private road), which passes under the line a short distance north of the station at UB165. The access route is on the uphill side of the embankment, away from the side facing the road and village. This kept construction traffic out of the village centre, and use of the access was subject to strict guidelines, as was the use of the bridleway for deliveries to the Cwm Cloch construction bases. The WHR Transport and Works Order includes a clause forbidding construction traffic to access the site by the original station entrance at the south end, which is now within the Oberon Wood housing estate; construction staff and contractors were placed under formal orders to comply with this.

Preparations & Clearance

Survey work and marking out for construction was under way in early September 2006.

The September 13th 2006 meeting of the SNPA's Planning Committee approved all the remaining details of Beddgelert Station (e.g. platform shelters, water tank), and also the details of the Cemetery level crossing at the southern exit from the village.

Even before contractors started work on the station, hardware was being accumulated. The loop points feature Automatic Trailing Point mechanisms as seen elsewhere on the line. The mechanisms are seen below in Porthmadog Harbour Station car park on September 17th 2006.

In advance of the start of work on the main station, contract work was done to replace the pole route taken by electricity cables with an underground cable; the location is the top end of the station site, north of UB167 and the embankment widening area. In advance of the contractors moving on site, some clearance of gorse and scrub took place towards the southern end of the site, including the site for the station building.

By November 5th the pole route was gone, and cables crossing UB166 had been properly routed and concreted in. Some clearance work had taken place on the western embankment between UB165 and UB166, including cutting down the tree which had been growing out of the embankment side on top of UB166.

The Beddgelert works were divided into a number of contracts, in the interests of allowing contractors to complete individual specialised jobs without getting in one another's way. The first of these was the site access construction, which was let to William Hughes Civil Engineering Ltd. The location for this access is seen below, on the west side of the embankment between UB165 and UB166.

The access ramp is seen below approaching completion on December 3rd 2006; an offcut of old flat-bottomed rail had found its way into the fill being used to make the ramp (right). The fill was supplied in the form of ungraded "as dug" material from Penrhyn Quarry, and the rail offcut must have reached Beddgelert as part of this.

In the following days the ramp was completed, and Hughes moved into the station site with significant resources. Their contract was for creation of the site formation with associated drainage etc, and trackbed through the station; the subsequent construction of platform, building etc formed separate contracts. The initial work on site involved excavation of the soft ground on the uphill side of the embankment at the top end of the station, where the embankment would be widened. In the initial phase this area formed part of the access route for plant and materials. By the time the pictures below were taken on December 16th 2006, a route for construction vehicles had been created right through the site, joining up with the access from the Bryn y Felin end, and earthworks were well in hand.

When seen below five days later, considerable quantities of spoil had been concentrated in piles as the contractors continued to establish and consolidate the ground. The footpath had been clearly marked out and surfaced, and safety barriers had been put up around the old inspection pit by the water tower base.

In early January 2007 it was already possible to start getting a first idea of parts of the station on the ground. The track around the east side of the platform will be as close as possible to the side of the embankment, regaining the original centreline at UB167. The blue mark on the western wing wall of UB167 (first two pictures below; the wing wall was later demolished for widening of the bridge) shows the future centreline of the track along the western platform face, just short of where the north loop points would be. Further south within the station, clearance had taken place on the rock face (effectively the one-sided northern end of the cutting) so familiar from pictures of the old station. The last of the light rails laid in the cutting in the 1960s were removed to the base of the old station building on January 5th (last picture but one), leaving the cutting ready for drainage works.

A week later a stock of reinforcing mesh and rods had been deposited near UB167, for the concrete cores of the extended abutments and the deck (left-hand picture). The iron structure lying beside the footpath (right) is the aqueduct that used to cross the cutting to the south of Beddgelert, formerly supplying water to the Royal Goat Hotel. It has been earmarked for preservation.

UB165

The second contract was for the bridge works at the north end of Beddgelert, and also the tunnel at the south. Work has also been done on the tunnel and approach cuttings, which are covered on the Beddgelert - Bryn y Felin page. Work on the Pont Alun lane bridge (UB165) started immediately the site access was available (see above) in early December 2006, with demolition of the remains of the damaged south abutment, and cutting back of the embankment behind it, in preparation for building the replacement abutment.

The need for a replacement abutment also allowed the span of the bridge to be increased by two metres, giving better clearance for the modern farm equipment that uses the lane; the wider span eases the awkward reverse curve in the lane at the bridge. .

The foundations for the new abutment were excavated in the third week of January 2007, and the first footing was cast in the void created.

A week later, assembly of the reinforcing mesh around which the abutment would be cast had started. Like the original abutment, the new one incorporates an angled wing wall on the uphill side, as can be seen below.

The pictures below show shuttering in place around the next stage of concreting the abutment foundations on February 1st 2007 (left), and with the shuttering removed three days later (right).

Just another four days on, striking progress had been made with the formwork and mesh, seen below on the occasion of a WHR Construction Ltd Board visit.

The enclosure of the mesh by the formwork was much more advanced still when seen below on February 11th, just one working day on from the above picture. Shuttering of the ends was in hand prior to the concrete pour.

The new abutment wall is seen below on February 18th 2007, with the shuttering removed on the side facing the lane.

A week later, the ground had been made back up on the lane side, and backfilling of the embankment behind the abutment was in hand.

When seen below on March 3rd 2007, backfilling up to the new abutment was almost complete, and scaffolding was in hand for repairs to the north abutment.

The first stage of the work on the north abutment was to remove part of the concrete cap added by McAlpine when the bridge was rebuilt in 1922-3.

Formwork for the new cap is seen below on March 17th 2007; the formwork for the deck would follow. The contractors were at work regrading the lane at the bridge down to close to its eventual final level; the lowering was so that tall vehicles would still be able to gain access. The right-hand picture shows the regraded surface the next day.

When seen on March 23rd 2007, the new cap had been cast, and preparations were well under way for the deck.

The deck had been cast by April 2nd 2007 (second picture), and work then proceeded to add the upstands along its sides, one of which was cast on April 4th (last picture).

The bridge is seen below structurally complete on April 7th 2007. In addition to the stone cladding, some work remained to be done on the north abutment.

The scaffolding had almost all been removed by April 21st 2007. The last picture below shows the west end of the new cap on the northern abutment, which incorporates a small extension to accommodate the width of the new deck, at this side of the bridge only.

Repairs to the stonework of the south abutment were in hand when seen below on April 27th 2007; parts of the top had been broken out to make space for the sides of the new deck, and the resulting gaps were being repaired.

The bridge was fitted with its permanent handrails in late May 2007 - when seen below the panels used temporarily had not yet been fully removed.

The temporary panels were removed early in June 2007 together with their retaining studs, and the vertical concrete surfaces of the bridge were given a top filler coat of cement.

UB166

Once vehicular access to UB165 was no longer needed, the railway formation was remade across UB166 in the third week of April 2007, to join up the section down chainage of UB165 with that within the station. The formation was strengthened along the western side with gabions. Ballast was laid through this section by April 20th, including across UB165 and UB167 at either end of it.

UB167

Work on widening UB167 had started when seen below on February 15th 2007, with the footing under construction for one of the extended abutments after removal of the short wing wall of the original part.

The wing wall on the other abutment was demolished the next day, and the reinforcing mesh for the first of the two extended abutments was put in position.

By February 25th 2007, this extended abutment had been cast, and work was in progress on the core of the second one.

Formwork was in place by March 3rd 2007 for casting the extended northern abutment, which is angled, unlike the first one, and a new cap had been added to the original section of the southern abutment. The last picture, looking north, illustrates the extra width of the eventual formation at the top end of the station.

The north abutment was cast on March 5th 2007, using an excavator bucket to transfer the concrete from the mixer.

By the end of the same week the extended abutment had been revealed, and work had started to prepare for casting the deck. The second picture illustrates the new cap cast on the original part of the abutment.

The core of the deck was being assembled on March 13th (left-hand picture), and the deck was cast on the 15th (middle and right).

Preparations were under way for casting the upstands two days later.

On March 23rd 2007 a section of retaining wall was being cast north of the bridge as part of the embankent repair job (see below); the scaffolding had been removed from the bridge.

UB167 is seen below with its handrails fitted in late May 2007.

Embankment Repair

It was found that the embankment that supported the railway formation on either side of UB167 was of very poor quality. Work was therefore carried out to strengthen about 100 metres of embankment either side of the bridge. The new work was landscaped and planted with gorse and other suitable native planting, so that the strengthened areas quickly matched the remainder of the embankments, which remained undisturbed. The section shown below lies between the old Goods Shed and UB167.

The repair is seen below looking north on April 2nd 2007.

Within the repair, a retaining wall was cast in sections either side of UB167, on the eastern side; it is seen below almost complete on April 7th 2007.

The repaired embankment is seen below on April 27th 2007; the right-hand picture shows the relationship between the old and new parts of UB167.

By mid-July 2007 much of the repaired section of the embankment was greening over and blending back into the landscape.