BALA BRIDGE WIDENING WILL REPLACE TRAMWAY
The Bala Lake Railway Trust is adopting a proposal by Gwynedd Council to modify the route of its proposed extension into Bala town. Instead of constructing a Welsh Highland Railway-style tramway over the B4391 River Dee bridge, space for the railway will be created by extending the parapets by 750mm on the lake side and widening the deck.
The loss of one pavement will be compensated for by installing pedestrian zebra crossings at either end of the bridge. This modification will ultimately lower the extension’s operating costs by reducing the amount of level crossing equipment needed. There will still be a level crossing over the B4403, the minor road towards Llangower and Llanuwchllyn.
Details of the extension appeal can be found at www.balalakerailwaytrust.co.uk
●● After its visit to the Ffestiniog Railway’s ‘Hunslet 125’ event in June, the Bala-based ‘Quarry Hunslet’ 0-4-0ST Maid Marian resumed service with its cab reinstated on July 13. It ran without its cab during 2017.
Maid Marian is also the first BLR locomotive to be equipped with FR-style chopper couplings, a development that will be rolled out to the remainder of the BLR fleet. The couplings are being changed because the locomotive owners’ preference for restoring their engines with authentic dumb buffers is incompatible with the screw couplings previously used.