DescriptionThe Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway was opened in 1903 to link the market town of Welshpool to the rural community of Llanfair Caereinion. Built as a Light Railway and to a gauge of 762 mm to reduce costs of standard-gauge railway construction, the line has tight curves and steep gradients enabling it to follow the contours of the terrain. The line was closed in 1956 but restored in stages as a tourist steam railway from the early 1960s, starting from Llanfair Caereinion station (nprn 404331), until the first train ran through to the present terminus at Raven Square (nprn 415216) in 1981. The section beyond, through the streets and between buildings in Welshpool Town, originally connected with the standard gauge railway at Welshpool Station (nprn 80506), but this has been dismantled.
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 20 May 2008.
