I’d be fascinated to know if the ‘G’ thing worked. I’m guessing it might or not depending on what device you’re watching it on. Phone? Tablet? Desktop? TV? Let me know if it worked for you …
It didn't work on my Chromecast I'm afraid 😟 Interesting video though, and I hope to do the line myself before too long. It's free for Welsh bus pass holders I believe.
My Dad was stationmaster at North Llanrwst just after the war when it was called Llanrwst & Trefriw and the only station in the town. He was the only full-time employee.
You pronounce Llandudno wrong, it's "Llan did no"...... The passing loop was for the once a week flask train that ran to Trawsffynedd nuclear power station which lay beyond Ffestiniog on a freight only line, an old GWR line to Bala.......
Thanks for the video. Aren’t we so lucky to live in view of Glan Conwy station with that amazing, ever changing, view! We can tell the time when a train passes by. Mentioning too the occasional ‘special’ steam train that thunders past on its way to Blaenau Ffestiniog 😊
I got to say, that line looks incredible to visit, even if you just ride from end to end as a tourist! I do agree it sounds like the demand is there to trial an hourly service and see how that fares.
Would be cool if you went to the request stops on the North Wales Coast Line. Then, you could do Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
Thank you for a great video as always. I am biased, as I met my better half, on a train, at Pont a Pant station, enroute to a mountaineering course. We have just celebrated our 51st anniversary, at the beginning of this month. I didn't meet Geoff until 2013, when I gave him a guided tour of Charing Cross Underground Station.
Wonderfully filmed as ever, Geoff. Also good to see bonus Jen as well! I think there is a need for an hourly service in the summer, would encourage more tourists out of their cars!
My daughter and I travelled on the line a few weeks ago and greatly enjoyed it. However, the remarks about an hourly service are spot on. We just missed the 11.30am from BF due to not finding the disabled parking easily (another thing to sort out) and had to wait until 3pm for the next train which meant we had to rush our trip on the Great Orme tramway (highly recommended as are all the other steam railways in North Wales which have really improved since I last came in the 1970's). We had a wonderful week travelling on a different train every day. All were especially welcoming to disabled people.
I went to Snodonia for the first time on a school holiday in 1962. There was nothing at Betyscoed (or excuse my spelling), no Sunday train service and forget a cafe being open, I do not remember there being one. It also rained all week. So it looks good for a return visit. A lot has changed in 61 years!
Glan Conwy. Very good garden centre, Snowdonia Garden Centre, very close by and with a very good cafe. Out mother (she passed away last year) lived in Llandudno Junction and the Snowdonia Garden Centre was her favourite cafe for morning coffee, lunch or afternoon tea - oh, and if course you can get items for your garden. Prior to Llandudno Junction, our parents lived in Glan Conwy on the hillside above the church - and what a view. In our fathers final years when he was not well, the first comment from any new nursing staff, etc, would be about the view and then they would remember they had really come to see a patient.
I spent many many happy holidays directly up the hill from Glan Conwy station at my grandparents house over the last 35 years. I always loved the view over the river, estuary and the castle and Holyhead line bridge in the distance. This brings back so many fond memories. Thanks Geoff! ❤
I lived up the hill from the railway station. This train was great when you missed the school bus as there was never enough of them to get you to school on time.
The Conwy Valley is one of my favourite lines. The scenery is amazing. The first time I did it, it was on these totally unsuited 4 wheelers (I forget the class) that squealed horrifically on all the curves. The tunnel into Blaenau Ffestiniog was like crossing the portal into Mordor, a change so stark heralded by squeals of agony. I've cycled it as well.
Travelled on this line in 1988. Took train ( Class 101) from Llandudno to Pont y Pant, and stayed at the Youth Hostel. Next day went to Blaenau Ffestiniog for the narrow gauge railway. I think there was an hourly service at the time, and remember trains crossing and exchanging tokens.
In June I visited Dolwyddelan on my school trip to hike there (we made a class trip to Liverpool by bus from Berlin and did a trip to Dolwyddelan). Funny that I see this station where I filmed some trains on your channel
I wish I'd known you were in the area, I'd have joined you! A couple of things: Technically, the Conwy Valley line also takes in Llandudno and Deganwy, the latter, my local station was a request stop but recently reverted to a normal stopping service pattern. A timetable anomaly when Virgin ran its direct Llandudno to London service, was that I had to catch the train North to Llandudno one stop, before it returned South, passing through Deganwy without stopping(!) Deganwy has also some lovely panoramic views including Conwy Castle, so rivals Glan Conwy for views! There's also 'ample parking' (no-one actually *says* that, bar Alan Partridge) as a mini park n' ride. I agree with the current bizarre timetabling for the valley, which used to include a couple of horrendous dwell times at Llandudno Junction: Certainly a more frequent timetable, particularly during the Summer would benefit the valley tourism as well as local traffic. There is one real improvement which could be made and that is a 'commuter' train for people working in the Llandudno local area, which would be timed to arrive into Llandudno for around 08:30 with a similar journey leaving at around 17:30. Current timing make it impossible to use rail for work for most people. Welsh visitors with a Transport for Wales over 60 Bus travelcard can currently travel free on the line with a concessionary ticket (2023). Anyway, a pretty map of the line is available at: [blah]conwyvalleyrailway[dot]co[dot]uk/map/
Aaah! Geoff and Jen!? 2 of my favorite UK RUclipsrs! Yas! And on the Conwy Line!? YAS! I remember this from the Railway Adventures across Europe VHS I've had for years! So amazing to see an update since the 90s!
We have just got back from the BYC area 😁 Its a beautiful place and very busy around the town but there some very quiet footpaths through the woods up to Swallow Falls. We where surprised that the station has no ticket office or any station staff considering how busy the area is, its a tourist trap but in a nice way. We also did the run from Bangor to Chester, lots of request stops on that line for you to try. As for only two carriages that seams to be a Welsh Railway thing. Our trip out and back where not in rush hour times but still the trains where packed 🥵. Yes they need more services and longer trains 😳
Brilliant video again Geoff. Some beautifully looked after stations on this line as like some on the Heart of Wales Line too. I think i could sit at Glan Conwy all day and not get bored of both that view and the trains passing through.
I live in Glan Conwy and the trains are actually 3 hourly - up to Blaenau 07.30 10.30, 13.30 16.30, 19.30 and so yes a hourly service would be great especially since the bus service up the valley on the A470 was removed meaning that a car is pretty much essential.
I stayed at the Hostel near that Pont-Y-Pant station last month (June) during my trip to Wales. Lledr House. I rode that line up and down nearly every day during my stay. :-)
Fond memories of the Conwy Valley Line from when I used to work at a field centre in Betws y coed. Unfortunately the connecting trains weren't always the best from Llandudno especially when I had to come all the way from home in Sheffield.
You should try and do the Snowdonia loop. TFW from Bangor to Llandudno Junc, TFW Conwy Valley to Blaenau, Ffestiniog from Blaenau to Porthmadog, Welsh Highland to Caernarfon and then unfortunately it's the bus from Caernarfon back to Bangor!
For most of the day, it's more like a 3-hourly service - trains leave Blaenau Ffestiniog at roughly 0630, 0830, 1130, 1500, 1730 and 2030. So with two trains, you could run a 90-minute frequency, as long as there's a passing loop roughly in the right place, which would be a significant improvement - and if they started doing that in the summer, they might well find there was enough demand to keep it going all year round.
If they have trains at 0630 and 0830, then the line takes at most 2h on a round trip, it's probably that the crew has a one-hour break at certain times of the day. So with a second train, it would probably be easier to run hourly service, but with some two-hour gaps at less busy moments which double as the crew's break.
I love those benches with the station names graved into the back lean. Beautiful country side there. About the service. I guess it is a quite slow train. When there is a parallel bus service it will probably faster. But for a train fans like us speed doesn't matter.
As someone who grew up in Glan Conwy, I'll never tire of that view - thanks for giving it the profile it deserves (and to Jen for doing the same for Snowdonia Nurseries 😁)
I grew up in Blaenau Ffestiniog and I think the town deserves more trains. It's such an easy way to get to Llandudno and is very popular - even more demand for it now after the bus service between Blaenau and Llandudno were cancelled/scaled back. Conwy Valley is such a pretty line and it's no wonder so many people use it. My aim this year is to finish my Conwy Valley video. I started it but that was before they introduced the 197s!
Great video of a fantastic line, thanks you very much. £1m for Dolgarrog is questionable value and the line as a whole swallows up "essential maintenance" money without being pushed by the operators. The replacement buses make frequent appearances as their "essential maintenance" doesn't seem to make it resilient from the ever present risk of flooding. A great line that TfW doesn't seem to give two hoots about because it's more hassle than it's worth to them. £1m for a short platform, dot matrix and crap shelter. Yeah right.
Most of the track bed is still there all the way down to Trawsfynydd (it was used to access the nuclear power station). The potential for this railway line for tourism is vast as Llandudno is big (lots of stay and stuff to do) and has good access off the A55 and the coast rail way line to holyhead. This means that you could base yourself in Llandudno then use the line to access, for example if you had a shuttle bus, places such as Bodnant Gardens or if the line was re laid down to Trawsfnydd then you could get near to Coed y Brenin MTB This would cut down road mileage and make visit to the area a real experience as using the railway to see and such places without the stress of driving on poor road with lots of traffic and then finding parking for example at Betws-y-Coed on a busy day?
@@neilbain8736 it used to go to Bala and beyond, but...Beeching... Although there's a great circuit you can do using the Ffestiniog, circumnavigating the whole of north Wales on the Ffestiniog Round Robin rover ticket. Needs very careful planning and takes over 12 hours.
there was loose plans to re-open it as a heritage railway, but looks like they might be re-opening Trawsfynydd Power Station so plans stopped as that would use the line. In the early summer volunteers cut back all the over grown vegetation on the closed line but when i was back there last week it is all back to being overgrown.
One of my old lines I drove along during my employment at Llandudno Junction depot. I will say that some of the stations have been souped up a bit lately. Dolgarrog now has a decent waiting shelter, I see. I didn't know that the 197s work this route now, instead of the 150s or 153s. Enjoyable to watch, Geoff, thanks.
Dolgarrog does seem to have problems with water. If you had had time to visit the village you would have seen the memorial to the 16 people who lost their lives in 1925 when two dams up in the hills to the west collapsed, sweeping away several houses and shops, and the church.
The one time I used Tal-Y-Cafn was when a huge storm flooded the lower part of the line, along with much of North Wales, and my 150 had to retreat back there - no Harrington Hump, instead a portable step, presumably stored at the station \m/
there's a great narrow gauge railway that you can take from blaenau ffestiniog all they way to Porthmadog. I took it last month during my trip to wales. Look up the "Ffestiniog Railway".
Pont-y-pant seemed to be familiar to me for some reason. I remembered being on a train in Wales has a kid on a school trip. Well, looked up Llder hall which i visited in Year 5, well, thats the place where the hall is located, thus the reason it was familiar. Back then i had no idea which train was which, but based on memory and what i know now, i rode a single car 153 that day!
There’s been a lot of talk on train services lately across north wales because of many bus replacement services that seem to be happening further east. But TFW keep on saying they don’t have enough trains, and this gets much worse on days when something like the rugby is on and no extra services are put on to help people to get to Cardiff and back
Well, that was a beautiful place to finish, on what looks like a very nice line. I guess this week will keep you busy with Thanet Portway and Parkway Port and Ride (did I get that right?) opening.
Very interesting video! Very few commentators have mentioned the fact that the line connects at Blaenau Ffestiniog with the Ffestiniog Railway down to Portmadog. If British public transport were properly organised the Conwy Valley line would have an hourly service, run under contract to a North Wales Regional Transport Authority. At Blanaeu Ffestiniog it would connect with an hourly service on the Ffestiniog also contracted to the NWRTA, and charging fares set by NWRTA. The trains could still be steam. There are several narrow gauge lines in Eastern Germany which are steam worked yet integrated (fares and timetables) into the local public transport system.
There's a Ffestiniog Round Robing ranger tickets which allows you to do a full loop of North Wales using those two lines, alrhough it requires military planning and takes over 12 hours.
@@caterhamgraeme Thanks for the information! But I particularly take your point 'it requires military planning' to do the 'full loop'. Unfortunately that comment could also be made about trying to make many other round trips in Britain using public transport.
Been to Llandudno jn 3 times for a bit of spotting, its a nice station, I've also been to Blaenau Ffestiniog back in February when I saw my first ever 197.
Of course, to do this journey properly, you have to go to Blaenau Ffestiniog, at the South, both Llanrwst stations in the middle, and continue onto Deganwy, and Llandudno in the North. The line to Llandudno is thought of as part of the Conwy Valley line as well, and Deganwy is a request stop.
I agree that it should be an hourly service during the summer but November to April the 2 hour service is more than adequate. Numbers from November are very low. Even, on one occasion, had a whole carriage to myself from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
8:20 I'm gratified to learn that Pont-y-Pant is PYP. And Cefn-y-Bedd is CYB. But Pen-y-Bont is not PYB --- perhaps because people might misspell it Pen-y-Pont and think that its code is PYP?
Does anyone remember the Geoff video where he talks about sound and how important getting it right is to his viewers - more so than the visual aspects?
It would be interesting to know which station(s) are the least accessible, in terms of the distance between train and platform. Tal-y-Cafn may well be in the running for Wales, but I suspect the step between train and platform is even worse at Dunkeld & Birnam, especially as it has no 'Harrington Hump' and is instead provided with extremely heavy, 3-steep-step mounting blocks that are usually nowhere near to where the trains actually stop... Last time I went there, no fewer than five other passengers on the platform plus another three on the train assisted me to get off, as there is no time to fetch one of the mounting blocks in the 30 seconds allowed for the stop and most individuals would struggle to move them without further assistance anyway. And on my return, a ticket collector refused to allow me to board the train beside the door he was using as it was at the first class end, even though he could see I was barely able to walk the length of the carriage to the next available door. I complained to Scotrail, which pointed the finger of blame at Perth and Kinross Council for lack of funds to make improvements - but in their defence added that I could hardly expect them to prioritise such a project because of the relatively small numbers of people using the station who could not manage to negotiate the gap of around 2 foot 8 inches themselves; and told to plan my trip in advance in future, so that special assistance could be arranged. So much for equality!
When I was growing up in the late 1960s my grandparents took me to a Llandudno for holidays. Remember getting to Llanwrst and see the single track railway. At that time closing lines - especially single track lines was in fashion. Each year I expected to see the the lines had gone or rusty rails. Thankfully that didn’t happen and the line is still running!
I've done some hiking around the Dolwyddelan area and it is absolutely stunning. I also went to the station just for a quick visit and saw a Class 150 as well. This was before the 197s were introduced
I have to wonder how swamped that service must get (have gotten!) when the Wales Rally GB was going on right around Betws-y-Coed. There was a stage start just a km south of the station. I realize that that's not where the spectator areas were, but there still must have been some opportunistic spectating, even of the transiting cars.
Did that line behind Class 40 and Class 50 double-headed! Geoff was lucky to find the train running - that line seems to be closed due to flooding very frequently.
Next to Tal Y Cafn station there used to be an old Llandudno tram being restored. Very long time ago and no idea what happened to it, but plenty of tram related stuff viewable from the station.
This is my favourite line, albeit I am a bit biased. I'm from Glan Conwy originally - used to have use wooden steps to board the train from platform when I was a little kid there in 1970s :)
So near yet so far Geoff. Blaenau-Ffestiniog has one of "The Little Trains Of Wales", fodder for another series with your unique twist. Visiting some if not all of these wonderful 'Steamers'?
I dropped in a comment with a link to a film about moving along the line of a large electric power station transformer for then being built power station at Bleanau Ffestiniog and it’s journey up the Conwy Valley line. It is in colour and gives an other view to the line and uses in the early 1960’s
I’ve travelled this line once, apart from the idyllic scenery the line is very much underused in winter only 6 passengers on that one day in December 2022.
Regular service of any frequency would be good... For big chunks of the last year they had nothing running because of a lack of rolling stock. Good to see the new trains!
Hi Geoff. I know you’re so busy. I’ve sent you a few messages about Thanet Parkways station. I don’t know if you’re going but I’m local to the new station and if you need any info or tea brought over then I can provide lol. I’m the one with anxiety but I’m going to try and make it over there tomorrow. I can also provide lifts if you want to see any of the local area.
I’d be fascinated to know if the ‘G’ thing worked. I’m guessing it might or not depending on what device you’re watching it on. Phone? Tablet? Desktop? TV? Let me know if it worked for you …
It worked for me for a couple of seconds although the G was way too small
No G on my tablet😢
it worked on my desktop when I put it to full screen
It was too small, but otherwise it worked
It didn't work on my Chromecast I'm afraid 😟
Interesting video though, and I hope to do the line myself before too long. It's free for Welsh bus pass holders I believe.
What a coincidence! 😀
WHO ARE YOU 😅
@@geofftech2 I ask myself this every day
Oh yes of course it was 😂
Yea very much 😂
Oh yes very much so
If you are a tourist, this is a great help. Thanks for posting.
My Dad was stationmaster at North Llanrwst just after the war when it was called Llanrwst & Trefriw and the only station in the town. He was the only full-time employee.
You pronounce Llandudno wrong, it's "Llan did no"...... The passing loop was for the once a week flask train that ran to Trawsffynedd nuclear power station which lay beyond Ffestiniog on a freight only line, an old GWR line to Bala.......
Thanks for the video. Aren’t we so lucky to live in view of Glan Conwy station with that amazing, ever changing, view! We can tell the time when a train passes by. Mentioning too the occasional ‘special’ steam train that thunders past on its way to Blaenau Ffestiniog 😊
I got to say, that line looks incredible to visit, even if you just ride from end to end as a tourist! I do agree it sounds like the demand is there to trial an hourly service and see how that fares.
Really enjoyed this one Geoff, I fully agree with you and Jen that there should be a hourly service in summer.
Would be cool if you went to the request stops on the North Wales Coast Line. Then, you could do Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
Dolwyddelan is only a short walk from the iconic Fisherman's Walk (which was so iconic, the council dismantled it).
Thank you for a great video as always. I am biased, as I met my better half, on a train, at Pont a Pant station, enroute to a mountaineering course. We have just celebrated our 51st anniversary, at the beginning of this month. I didn't meet Geoff until 2013, when I gave him a guided tour of Charing Cross Underground Station.
Wonderfully filmed as ever, Geoff. Also good to see bonus Jen as well! I think there is a need for an hourly service in the summer, would encourage more tourists out of their cars!
If only there was some sort of observation carriage available for that line. It would be so much easier to appreciate the scenery.
@@philiphowley4243 that would be a fantastic idea
My daughter and I travelled on the line a few weeks ago and greatly enjoyed it. However, the remarks about an hourly service are spot on. We just missed the 11.30am from BF due to not finding the disabled parking easily (another thing to sort out) and had to wait until 3pm for the next train which meant we had to rush our trip on the Great Orme tramway (highly recommended as are all the other steam railways in North Wales which have really improved since I last came in the 1970's).
We had a wonderful week travelling on a different train every day. All were especially welcoming to disabled people.
I went to Snodonia for the first time on a school holiday in 1962. There was nothing at Betyscoed (or excuse my spelling), no Sunday train service and forget a cafe being open, I do not remember there being one. It also rained all week.
So it looks good for a return visit. A lot has changed in 61 years!
This made me very homesick 😂 Can confirm the Tal Y Cafn pub is lovely
Glan Conwy. Very good garden centre, Snowdonia Garden Centre, very close by and with a very good cafe.
Out mother (she passed away last year) lived in Llandudno Junction and the Snowdonia Garden Centre was her favourite cafe for morning coffee, lunch or afternoon tea - oh, and if course you can get items for your garden.
Prior to Llandudno Junction, our parents lived in Glan Conwy on the hillside above the church - and what a view. In our fathers final years when he was not well, the first comment from any new nursing staff, etc, would be about the view and then they would remember they had really come to see a patient.
What a lovely railway line! Thanks for that video Geoff and Jen
I think "Got your wide angle?" should be your new slogan! :D
Bet that lady has her own RUclips channel 😅
I missed meeting Jen AND Geoff!! Dang it! 😅
Thankyou for suggesting to TfW the line should have an hourly service. Let’s hope someone listens 🤞
I spent many many happy holidays directly up the hill from Glan Conwy station at my grandparents house over the last 35 years. I always loved the view over the river, estuary and the castle and Holyhead line bridge in the distance. This brings back so many fond memories. Thanks Geoff! ❤
I lived up the hill from the railway station. This train was great when you missed the school bus as there was never enough of them to get you to school on time.
The Conwy Valley is one of my favourite lines. The scenery is amazing. The first time I did it, it was on these totally unsuited 4 wheelers (I forget the class) that squealed horrifically on all the curves. The tunnel into Blaenau Ffestiniog was like crossing the portal into Mordor, a change so stark heralded by squeals of agony.
I've cycled it as well.
I had a holiday in BYC a couple years ago and it’s really terrific! Never knew there was a miniature museum there so I’m going to have to go back 😂
From NYC to the Conwy Valley Line, welcome to my neck of the woods Geoff, great to see you back in North Wales
Fun and informative. Knowing how many RUclipsrs have been heading for North Wales I am surprised you only bumped into just Jen!
Travelled on this line in 1988. Took train ( Class 101) from Llandudno to Pont y Pant, and stayed at the Youth Hostel. Next day went to Blaenau Ffestiniog for the narrow gauge railway. I think there was an hourly service at the time, and remember trains crossing and exchanging tokens.
In June I visited Dolwyddelan on my school trip to hike there (we made a class trip to Liverpool by bus from Berlin and did a trip to Dolwyddelan). Funny that I see this station where I filmed some trains on your channel
Great video with my two favourite railway youtubers!;😎
Nice sounding class 197's with ZF Ecolife transmission.. great video Geoff, that line definitely on my hit lists
I wish I'd known you were in the area, I'd have joined you!
A couple of things: Technically, the Conwy Valley line also takes in Llandudno and Deganwy, the latter, my local station was a request stop but recently reverted to a normal stopping service pattern. A timetable anomaly when Virgin ran its direct Llandudno to London service, was that I had to catch the train North to Llandudno one stop, before it returned South, passing through Deganwy without stopping(!) Deganwy has also some lovely panoramic views including Conwy Castle, so rivals Glan Conwy for views! There's also 'ample parking' (no-one actually *says* that, bar Alan Partridge) as a mini park n' ride.
I agree with the current bizarre timetabling for the valley, which used to include a couple of horrendous dwell times at Llandudno Junction: Certainly a more frequent timetable, particularly during the Summer would benefit the valley tourism as well as local traffic.
There is one real improvement which could be made and that is a 'commuter' train for people working in the Llandudno local area, which would be timed to arrive into Llandudno for around 08:30 with a similar journey leaving at around 17:30. Current timing make it impossible to use rail for work for most people.
Welsh visitors with a Transport for Wales over 60 Bus travelcard can currently travel free on the line with a concessionary ticket (2023).
Anyway, a pretty map of the line is available at: [blah]conwyvalleyrailway[dot]co[dot]uk/map/
P.S. A couple of railtours visit the valley from time to time. Check out your normal sources for dates.
Aaah! Geoff and Jen!? 2 of my favorite UK RUclipsrs! Yas! And on the Conwy Line!? YAS! I remember this from the Railway Adventures across Europe VHS I've had for years! So amazing to see an update since the 90s!
We have just got back from the BYC area 😁 Its a beautiful place and very busy around the town but there some very quiet footpaths through the woods up to Swallow Falls. We where surprised that the station has no ticket office or any station staff considering how busy the area is, its a tourist trap but in a nice way. We also did the run from Bangor to Chester, lots of request stops on that line for you to try. As for only two carriages that seams to be a Welsh Railway thing. Our trip out and back where not in rush hour times but still the trains where packed 🥵. Yes they need more services and longer trains 😳
I did this line last November.
It was a somewhat overcast day, and at Blaenau Ffestiniog I had an excellent view.
Of the inside of a cloud.
Brilliant episode of the Geoff and Jen show 👍
Great work Geoff. Beautiful scenery and a lovely line.
A few months ago, I got the this line from Degawy to Dolgarrog - then inflated canoe and paddled back to Degawy. Superb service, and a great day out 😁
Brilliant video again Geoff. Some beautifully looked after stations on this line as like some on the Heart of Wales Line too. I think i could sit at Glan Conwy all day and not get bored of both that view and the trains passing through.
I live in Glan Conwy and the trains are actually 3 hourly - up to Blaenau 07.30 10.30, 13.30 16.30, 19.30 and so yes a hourly service would be great especially since the bus service up the valley on the A470 was removed meaning that a car is pretty much essential.
Looks like a great line! I've still not got around to doing it apart from the miniature railway at BYC.
Such a pretty place, and you and Jen seem to enjoy it a lot. Nice video ^_^
I stayed at the Hostel near that Pont-Y-Pant station last month (June) during my trip to Wales. Lledr House. I rode that line up and down nearly every day during my stay. :-)
Fond memories of the Conwy Valley Line from when I used to work at a field centre in Betws y coed. Unfortunately the connecting trains weren't always the best from Llandudno especially when I had to come all the way from home in Sheffield.
You should try and do the Snowdonia loop. TFW from Bangor to Llandudno Junc, TFW Conwy Valley to Blaenau, Ffestiniog from Blaenau to Porthmadog, Welsh Highland to Caernarfon and then unfortunately it's the bus from Caernarfon back to Bangor!
Really enjoyed watching this video, The dot matrix G covering missing G the bench that was funny and nice to see Jen as well.
Liked the collab with Jen. 🙂
Maybe you could do one with Nick Badley as well, for he's visiting a lot of request stops!
For most of the day, it's more like a 3-hourly service - trains leave Blaenau Ffestiniog at roughly 0630, 0830, 1130, 1500, 1730 and 2030.
So with two trains, you could run a 90-minute frequency, as long as there's a passing loop roughly in the right place, which would be a significant improvement - and if they started doing that in the summer, they might well find there was enough demand to keep it going all year round.
There is a passing loop at North Llanrws which is fairly close to the middle of the line.
If they have trains at 0630 and 0830, then the line takes at most 2h on a round trip, it's probably that the crew has a one-hour break at certain times of the day.
So with a second train, it would probably be easier to run hourly service, but with some two-hour gaps at less busy moments which double as the crew's break.
I'm just starting to watch this video, and I'm already enthused! How exciting, Geoff!
I love those benches with the station names graved into the back lean. Beautiful country side there. About the service. I guess it is a quite slow train. When there is a parallel bus service it will probably faster. But for a train fans like us speed doesn't matter.
As someone who grew up in Glan Conwy, I'll never tire of that view - thanks for giving it the profile it deserves (and to Jen for doing the same for Snowdonia Nurseries 😁)
As it happens I shall be visiting relatives there on the weekend. That's the exact same view from the bedroom window.
That line looks as great as ever! Well recorded Geoff!
I love the Geoff N Jen shows, especially the unplanned ones
I grew up in Blaenau Ffestiniog and I think the town deserves more trains. It's such an easy way to get to Llandudno and is very popular - even more demand for it now after the bus service between Blaenau and Llandudno were cancelled/scaled back. Conwy Valley is such a pretty line and it's no wonder so many people use it. My aim this year is to finish my Conwy Valley video. I started it but that was before they introduced the 197s!
Great vid Geoff and another gorgeous Welsh line!
What a beautiful area !! Well done !!!
Great video of a fantastic line, thanks you very much. £1m for Dolgarrog is questionable value and the line as a whole swallows up "essential maintenance" money without being pushed by the operators. The replacement buses make frequent appearances as their "essential maintenance" doesn't seem to make it resilient from the ever present risk of flooding. A great line that TfW doesn't seem to give two hoots about because it's more hassle than it's worth to them. £1m for a short platform, dot matrix and crap shelter. Yeah right.
Used to be a parallel bus service, but that got scrapped, so not surprising the trains are busy !
Most of the track bed is still there all the way down to Trawsfynydd (it was used to access the nuclear power station). The potential for this railway line for tourism is vast as Llandudno is big (lots of stay and stuff to do) and has good access off the A55 and the coast rail way line to holyhead. This means that you could base yourself in Llandudno then use the line to access, for example if you had a shuttle bus, places such as Bodnant Gardens or if the line was re laid down to Trawsfnydd then you could get near to Coed y Brenin MTB This would cut down road mileage and make visit to the area a real experience as using the railway to see and such places without the stress of driving on poor road with lots of traffic and then finding parking for example at Betws-y-Coed on a busy day?
There was an aborted plan to turn the line to Traws into a velorail line
It always seemed odd that the service went no further than Blaenau Ffestiniog. They're missing a trick.
@@neilbain8736 it used to go to Bala and beyond, but...Beeching...
Although there's a great circuit you can do using the Ffestiniog, circumnavigating the whole of north Wales on the Ffestiniog Round Robin rover ticket. Needs very careful planning and takes over 12 hours.
there was loose plans to re-open it as a heritage railway, but looks like they might be re-opening Trawsfynydd Power Station so plans stopped as that would use the line.
In the early summer volunteers cut back all the over grown vegetation on the closed line but when i was back there last week it is all back to being overgrown.
One of my old lines I drove along during my employment at Llandudno Junction depot. I will say that some of the stations have been souped up a bit lately. Dolgarrog now has a decent waiting shelter, I see. I didn't know that the 197s work this route now, instead of the 150s or 153s. Enjoyable to watch, Geoff, thanks.
Dolgarrog does seem to have problems with water. If you had had time to visit the village you would have seen the memorial to the 16 people who lost their lives in 1925 when two dams up in the hills to the west collapsed, sweeping away several houses and shops, and the church.
Geoff i love how your still doing request stops great video i like how jen was on the train with you
Surprised you haven’t stopped off in Chester to see the amazing Milton Keynes in miniature railway!
The one time I used Tal-Y-Cafn was when a huge storm flooded the lower part of the line, along with much of North Wales, and my 150 had to retreat back there - no Harrington Hump, instead a portable step, presumably stored at the station \m/
I watched Jen’s video first and I can’t believe Geoff is also around 😂
thank you for these videos, luv seeing new places, and the countryside, learnt so much, can you make this kinda of videos longer plssss
I think I would like to spend my life riding up and down Welsh lines, getting off frequently at so many delightful stations. Balm for the soul.
Watching this, is now making me want to plan a trip to the Conwy Valley line especially seeing the Narrow Gauge railway
There was also a minature electric tramway there too, not sure if still there or not.
@@brianbell4937 oh okay, I’ll have to look that up
there's a great narrow gauge railway that you can take from blaenau ffestiniog all they way to Porthmadog. I took it last month during my trip to wales. Look up the "Ffestiniog Railway".
Pont-y-pant seemed to be familiar to me for some reason. I remembered being on a train in Wales has a kid on a school trip. Well, looked up Llder hall which i visited in Year 5, well, thats the place where the hall is located, thus the reason it was familiar. Back then i had no idea which train was which, but based on memory and what i know now, i rode a single car 153 that day!
There’s been a lot of talk on train services lately across north wales because of many bus replacement services that seem to be happening further east. But TFW keep on saying they don’t have enough trains, and this gets much worse on days when something like the rugby is on and no extra services are put on to help people to get to Cardiff and back
Well, that was a beautiful place to finish, on what looks like a very nice line. I guess this week will keep you busy with Thanet Portway and Parkway Port and Ride (did I get that right?) opening.
Very interesting video! Very few commentators have mentioned the fact that the line connects at Blaenau Ffestiniog with the Ffestiniog Railway down to Portmadog. If British public transport were properly organised the Conwy Valley line would have an hourly service, run under contract to a North Wales Regional Transport Authority. At Blanaeu Ffestiniog it would connect with an hourly service on the Ffestiniog also contracted to the NWRTA, and charging fares set by NWRTA. The trains could still be steam. There are several narrow gauge lines in Eastern Germany which are steam worked yet integrated (fares and timetables) into the local public transport system.
There's a Ffestiniog Round Robing ranger tickets which allows you to do a full loop of North Wales using those two lines, alrhough it requires military planning and takes over 12 hours.
@@caterhamgraeme Thanks for the information! But I particularly take your point 'it requires military planning' to do the 'full loop'. Unfortunately that comment could also be made about trying to make many other round trips in Britain using public transport.
Been to Llandudno jn 3 times for a bit of spotting, its a nice station, I've also been to Blaenau Ffestiniog back in February when I saw my first ever 197.
Of course, to do this journey properly, you have to go to Blaenau Ffestiniog, at the South, both Llanrwst stations in the middle, and continue onto Deganwy, and Llandudno in the North. The line to Llandudno is thought of as part of the Conwy Valley line as well, and Deganwy is a request stop.
Deganwy is no longer a request stop, but a normal stop.
I agree that it should be an hourly service during the summer but November to April the 2 hour service is more than adequate. Numbers from November are very low. Even, on one occasion, had a whole carriage to myself from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
8:20 I'm gratified to learn that Pont-y-Pant is PYP. And Cefn-y-Bedd is CYB. But Pen-y-Bont is not PYB --- perhaps because people might misspell it Pen-y-Pont and think that its code is PYP?
Does anyone remember the Geoff video where he talks about sound and how important getting it right is to his viewers - more so than the visual aspects?
It would be interesting to know which station(s) are the least accessible, in terms of the distance between train and platform. Tal-y-Cafn may well be in the running for Wales, but I suspect the step between train and platform is even worse at Dunkeld & Birnam, especially as it has no 'Harrington Hump' and is instead provided with extremely heavy, 3-steep-step mounting blocks that are usually nowhere near to where the trains actually stop... Last time I went there, no fewer than five other passengers on the platform plus another three on the train assisted me to get off, as there is no time to fetch one of the mounting blocks in the 30 seconds allowed for the stop and most individuals would struggle to move them without further assistance anyway. And on my return, a ticket collector refused to allow me to board the train beside the door he was using as it was at the first class end, even though he could see I was barely able to walk the length of the carriage to the next available door. I complained to Scotrail, which pointed the finger of blame at Perth and Kinross Council for lack of funds to make improvements - but in their defence added that I could hardly expect them to prioritise such a project because of the relatively small numbers of people using the station who could not manage to negotiate the gap of around 2 foot 8 inches themselves; and told to plan my trip in advance in future, so that special assistance could be arranged. So much for equality!
When I was growing up in the late 1960s my grandparents took me to a Llandudno for holidays. Remember getting to Llanwrst and see the single track railway. At that time closing lines - especially single track lines was in fashion. Each year I expected to see the the lines had gone or rusty rails. Thankfully that didn’t happen and the line is still running!
Slate saved this line then there was the nuclear power station at Trawsfynydd. Sadly that part south of Blaenau Ffestiniog has now gone.
I've done some hiking around the Dolwyddelan area and it is absolutely stunning. I also went to the station just for a quick visit and saw a Class 150 as well. This was before the 197s were introduced
Did the same route :D I did a school trip to Liverpool and we made a small trip to Dolwyddelan for hiking xD
Yayyyyy glad to see you came back to N Wales!! I live in Llanrwst
I have to wonder how swamped that service must get (have gotten!) when the Wales Rally GB was going on right around Betws-y-Coed. There was a stage start just a km south of the station. I realize that that's not where the spectator areas were, but there still must have been some opportunistic spectating, even of the transiting cars.
Did that line behind Class 40 and Class 50 double-headed!
Geoff was lucky to find the train running - that line seems to be closed due to flooding very frequently.
Great video Geoff! Maybe the G was stolen by GLovesTrains!
Nice video and lovely views along the line!
Wonder Jen did video to recently .!Nice to see some more !
They are building 3 new stations in Birmingham, more for you to visit in the future.
Next to Tal Y Cafn station there used to be an old Llandudno tram being restored. Very long time ago and no idea what happened to it, but plenty of tram related stuff viewable from the station.
For the new 197s I didn't expect at Tal-y-Cafn to be so high to step up!
This is my favourite line, albeit I am a bit biased. I'm from Glan Conwy originally - used to have use wooden steps to board the train from platform when I was a little kid there in 1970s :)
Giving you a like for Jen’s appearance…..just kidding. Lovely Conwy Valley Line.
Hope you would come to Japan and film !
So near yet so far Geoff. Blaenau-Ffestiniog has one of "The Little Trains Of Wales", fodder for another series with your unique twist. Visiting some if not all of these wonderful 'Steamers'?
I dropped in a comment with a link to a film about moving along the line of a large electric power station transformer for then being built power station at Bleanau Ffestiniog and it’s journey up the Conwy Valley line.
It is in colour and gives an other view to the line and uses in the early 1960’s
Wot, no litter bin at Dolgarrog after £1m. Rebuild it now! Great vid ta.
I’ve travelled this line once, apart from the idyllic scenery the line is very much underused in winter only 6 passengers on that one day in December 2022.
If only we had such nice, new rolling stock on GWR branch lines.
OMG You an Tim Traveller releasing a video in Llandudno within hours of each other!!
Did this line used to go through to Porthmadog and then onto Abersoch? I think I travelled it in 1962 to go to Butlitz, Pwllheli.
Regular service of any frequency would be good... For big chunks of the last year they had nothing running because of a lack of rolling stock. Good to see the new trains!
How kind of someone to run a power supply out to the middle of nowhere for the dot matrix sign at Dolgarrog!
I wish we had 197s on the Borderlands line. The 230s are a disaster.
Hi Geoff. I know you’re so busy. I’ve sent you a few messages about Thanet Parkways station. I don’t know if you’re going but I’m local to the new station and if you need any info or tea brought over then I can provide lol. I’m the one with anxiety but I’m going to try and make it over there tomorrow. I can also provide lifts if you want to see any of the local area.
Suspect, if there was an hourly service in summer, 2-cars would be not enough. Therefore, hourly service all year, but only 2-cars in winter.