NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 84
Glyndyfrwdwy
Michael L. Roach
In Part 52 I described an hour spent in Barmouth on the afternoon of 4 July 1964 after arriving from Gloucester by train. In Part 70 I set out on the journey back up the line to Ruabon which is 4½ miles south of Wrexham in north east Wales. I stopped off to describe Corwen in Part 74 and at the next station Carrog in Parts 77 and 82. Journeying on a little over two miles the next station is Glyndyfrwdwy which like Carrog had, and has, a passing loop and signal box. It also has a level crossing. The 1897 GWR signal box on the platform was demolished but has been replaced with a working typical GWR wooden box (brought from Leaton) controlling the level crossing. There are only a couple of similar wooden boxes left on the national network of which two of the best examples are at Abergavenny and Liskeard. Unusually for a station on a heritage railway Glyndyfrwdwy has a second signal box which will be seen in the photographs.
The village of Glyndyfrwdwy lies up the hill to the south of the railway along the A5 road which is unchanged from the day that Telford built it some two hundred years ago. The main station building is also on the other (westbound) platform compared to Carrog and was sold off to become a private dwelling. This building was also designed by Samuel Pountney Smith who had an architectural practice in Shrewsbury in Victorian times. Although Carrog station building still looks much as it did when built in 1864/5, Glyndyfrwdwy has lost many of its features because it has been out of railway use for a long time. The oriel window has gone (if it ever had one); the doors from the single story extension onto the platform have been changed to windows and the canopies over those doors have also gone. The building is plainer and less noteworthy.
My train stopped for 7½ minutes at Glyndyfrwdwy that day in 1964 and still left one minute early so leisurely was the schedule. That enabled me to alight and take a couple of black-and-white photos, while the colour photos were taken in the heritage railway era. The station lies in the beautiful Dee Valley not far from the River Dee, but far enough away and high enough not to have been flooded I think. The station is located midway between Llangollen and Corwen and a passing loop / second platform was provided just 12 years after the line opened controlled at first by a McKenzie & Holland signal box.
Glyndyfrwdwy Station is pleasantly situated with a long curving approach from the east. This is the area where Owain Glyndwr had his base and strongest support and the name Glyndyfrwdwy reflects that – he is reputed to have lived locally. As one comes down the hill from the A5, and the village, to the railway station the first view is of the signal box and level crossing, and I always think there is no finer advert for a railway station than a signal box and semaphore signals, particularly a wooden box. Many rural stations like this one lost between 40 and 50 percent of their passenger numbers between 1923 and 1933. In the case of Glyndyfrwdwy the public would have found the new motor buses much more convenient if they were only travelling to Llangollen or Corwen as they passed along the A5 through the village. Glyndyfrwdwy lost 43 percent of its passenger numbers in that 10-year period. In the Summer 1932 timetable the station had 7 departures to Llangollen at 8.06am, 9.30, 4.00pm, 4.38, 5.16, 6.35 and 9.08; and 7 departures to Corwen, Monday to Friday, at 8.16am, 10.10, 1.09pm, 2.28, 4.32, 7.07 and 9.45. The first up departure from Glyndyfrwdwy was the 7.30am from Bala to Wrexham – the train later went on to Birkenhead – and it was timetabled to leave at 8.06am. The first down train was the 7.20am Wrexham to Barmouth timetabled to leave Glyndyfrwdwy at 8.16am. So how could two trains that might have crossed in the passing loop at Glyndyfrwdwy leave at such different times. The answer is that they actually crossed at Deeside Loop which the GWR opened in 1908 to break up the 4¾ miles of single track from Llangollen Goods to Glyndyfrwdwy. It was two miles east of Glyndyfrwdwy in an isolated location with no road access meaning that the signalman had to cross fields or walk down the track to reach the box. Yet the GWR chose to open the box specially for the first two passenger trains to cross on weekdays.
Level crossings are inherently dangerous places especially for pedestrians when there is no footbridge as here at Glyndyfrwdwy. Passengers from the village for up trains had to cross both lines of rails to reach the up platform, and if there was a down train signalled as well there was potential for an accident. I have witnessed at my local station passengers alight from a down train and cross the line behind the last coach on the board crossing despite the footbridge, and continue to do so after the board crossing was removed with the potential to be killed by an up train that was already signalled with the level crossing gates staying closed. The end of the platform is now fenced. The 7.30am Bala to Wrexham was probably a school train taking secondary age pupils to Wrexham, and perhaps this was the GWR's way of ensuring that all the pupils reached their train safely by crossing the trains at Deeside rather than Glyndyfrwdwy. Very commendable on the part of the GWR.
Glyndyfrwdwy signal box was not provided with a switch so had to be open all the time trains were running. In 1945 it opened at 4.15am for the passage of a freight train and closed after the last train had cleared, normally about 11.30pm. There were no trains on Sundays. Deeside Loop was provided with a switch and was normally switched in only at busy times according to all the books I have read. Even five years before the line closed to passengers there were still three down freight trains passing through Glyndyfrwdwy before the first passenger train departed. In Summer 1959 they were the 3.15am Chester to Barmouth (via Bala Town) conveying mail and newspapers; the 4.50am Croes Newydd to Barmouth Junction; and the 5.50am Croes Newydd to Bala.
The Llangollen Railway first gained access to Llangollen Station fifty years ago in 1975 and has gradually relaid and extended the railway south westwards for ten miles reaching Corwen Central in 2023, through some of the finest scenery and landscapes in the Dee Valley and of any heritage railway in England and Wales. Indeed the area has quite recently been proposed, with the Clwydian Range of Hills, as the basis for a new National Park.
The Friends of Glyndyfrwdwy Station has its own facebook page and it was the Friends who decorated the station for Christmas 2025.
The village of Glyndyfrwdwy lies up the hill to the south of the railway along the A5 road which is unchanged from the day that Telford built it some two hundred years ago. The main station building is also on the other (westbound) platform compared to Carrog and was sold off to become a private dwelling. This building was also designed by Samuel Pountney Smith who had an architectural practice in Shrewsbury in Victorian times. Although Carrog station building still looks much as it did when built in 1864/5, Glyndyfrwdwy has lost many of its features because it has been out of railway use for a long time. The oriel window has gone (if it ever had one); the doors from the single story extension onto the platform have been changed to windows and the canopies over those doors have also gone. The building is plainer and less noteworthy.
My train stopped for 7½ minutes at Glyndyfrwdwy that day in 1964 and still left one minute early so leisurely was the schedule. That enabled me to alight and take a couple of black-and-white photos, while the colour photos were taken in the heritage railway era. The station lies in the beautiful Dee Valley not far from the River Dee, but far enough away and high enough not to have been flooded I think. The station is located midway between Llangollen and Corwen and a passing loop / second platform was provided just 12 years after the line opened controlled at first by a McKenzie & Holland signal box.
Glyndyfrwdwy Station is pleasantly situated with a long curving approach from the east. This is the area where Owain Glyndwr had his base and strongest support and the name Glyndyfrwdwy reflects that – he is reputed to have lived locally. As one comes down the hill from the A5, and the village, to the railway station the first view is of the signal box and level crossing, and I always think there is no finer advert for a railway station than a signal box and semaphore signals, particularly a wooden box. Many rural stations like this one lost between 40 and 50 percent of their passenger numbers between 1923 and 1933. In the case of Glyndyfrwdwy the public would have found the new motor buses much more convenient if they were only travelling to Llangollen or Corwen as they passed along the A5 through the village. Glyndyfrwdwy lost 43 percent of its passenger numbers in that 10-year period. In the Summer 1932 timetable the station had 7 departures to Llangollen at 8.06am, 9.30, 4.00pm, 4.38, 5.16, 6.35 and 9.08; and 7 departures to Corwen, Monday to Friday, at 8.16am, 10.10, 1.09pm, 2.28, 4.32, 7.07 and 9.45. The first up departure from Glyndyfrwdwy was the 7.30am from Bala to Wrexham – the train later went on to Birkenhead – and it was timetabled to leave at 8.06am. The first down train was the 7.20am Wrexham to Barmouth timetabled to leave Glyndyfrwdwy at 8.16am. So how could two trains that might have crossed in the passing loop at Glyndyfrwdwy leave at such different times. The answer is that they actually crossed at Deeside Loop which the GWR opened in 1908 to break up the 4¾ miles of single track from Llangollen Goods to Glyndyfrwdwy. It was two miles east of Glyndyfrwdwy in an isolated location with no road access meaning that the signalman had to cross fields or walk down the track to reach the box. Yet the GWR chose to open the box specially for the first two passenger trains to cross on weekdays.
Level crossings are inherently dangerous places especially for pedestrians when there is no footbridge as here at Glyndyfrwdwy. Passengers from the village for up trains had to cross both lines of rails to reach the up platform, and if there was a down train signalled as well there was potential for an accident. I have witnessed at my local station passengers alight from a down train and cross the line behind the last coach on the board crossing despite the footbridge, and continue to do so after the board crossing was removed with the potential to be killed by an up train that was already signalled with the level crossing gates staying closed. The end of the platform is now fenced. The 7.30am Bala to Wrexham was probably a school train taking secondary age pupils to Wrexham, and perhaps this was the GWR's way of ensuring that all the pupils reached their train safely by crossing the trains at Deeside rather than Glyndyfrwdwy. Very commendable on the part of the GWR.
Glyndyfrwdwy signal box was not provided with a switch so had to be open all the time trains were running. In 1945 it opened at 4.15am for the passage of a freight train and closed after the last train had cleared, normally about 11.30pm. There were no trains on Sundays. Deeside Loop was provided with a switch and was normally switched in only at busy times according to all the books I have read. Even five years before the line closed to passengers there were still three down freight trains passing through Glyndyfrwdwy before the first passenger train departed. In Summer 1959 they were the 3.15am Chester to Barmouth (via Bala Town) conveying mail and newspapers; the 4.50am Croes Newydd to Barmouth Junction; and the 5.50am Croes Newydd to Bala.
The Llangollen Railway first gained access to Llangollen Station fifty years ago in 1975 and has gradually relaid and extended the railway south westwards for ten miles reaching Corwen Central in 2023, through some of the finest scenery and landscapes in the Dee Valley and of any heritage railway in England and Wales. Indeed the area has quite recently been proposed, with the Clwydian Range of Hills, as the basis for a new National Park.
The Friends of Glyndyfrwdwy Station has its own facebook page and it was the Friends who decorated the station for Christmas 2025.
75026 stands at Glyndyfrdwy on 4 July 1964. Note the signal box on the platform which was demolished. Its replacement was erected further east on the other side of the level crossing. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The replacement signal box at Glyndyfrdwy seen on 22 May 2010. The box came from Leaton on the Shrewsbury to Chester line where it also controlled a level crossing. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The oil lamps on the level crossing gates are of LNER origin. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
In this view looking west almost everything is different to BR days, when there was no footbridge; and a wooden booking office (which came from Northwich engine shed) has replaced the GWR brick-built waiting room which was demolished. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Glyndyfrwdwy is 10¾ miles from Llangollen Line Junction and midway between Llangollen and Corwen. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The railway is right alongside the River Dee for most of the two miles from Glyndyfrwdwy to Carrog, seen from the train on 22 May 2010. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The crossing gates were manually operated on 25 May 2010. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
BR 2-6-4T 80072 arrives with a train from Llangollen. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
80072 stands at Glyndyfrwdwy. In the distance is the second signal box which is not connected and came from Barmouth South. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The long curving approach to Glyndyfrwdwy from the east on 27 May 2010. The railway follows nearly every curve in the River Dee which is located close to the track among the trees. The A5 and village start top left. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Just one minute later a train, hauled by 80072, approaches Glyndyfrwdwy's inner home signal and the level crossing. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Hinksey Blizzard
Alan Peters
A cold start to the New Year at Hinksey with Freightliner 66551 (on hire to Colas) pictured in the first wintery snow fall of 2026, the train will form 6C23 Hinksey to Foxhall Junction for possession work at Wantage Road on 02/01/26. Copyright Driver Alan Peters.
Brrr! Looks chilly. A great composition, many thanks Alan.
South Devon Railway
Winter Steam Gala - Saturday
Clive Smith
GWR 0-6-0 1369 looks superb in the low winter light at Dartington with the 13.15 Buckfastleigh - Totnes. 03.01.2026, copyright Clive Smith.
GWR class 28xx 2807 on the 14.15 Totnes - Buckfastleigh at Dartington. 03.01.2026, copyright Clive Smith.
Luck wasn't on my side as I endeavoured to get to the field at Bishops Bridge in time for Judy and Newstead on the 14.45 Staverton - Buckfastleigh. Just a few seconds late to joing the throng of photographers at the other end of the field. 03.01.2026, copyright Clive Smith.
Some lovely photos in the super winter light, Clive. This event has been a real treat for photographers. Many thanks for sharing them with us.
January 1976
Part 4
Roger Winnen
Ponsandane Goods Yard. 04.01.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
D1021 Western Cavalier at Penzance. 04.01.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
Penzance shed. 04.01.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
Unidentified Westerns and a Peak at Long Rock. 04.01.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
A Class 50 on an express at Ponsandane. 04.01.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
Ponsandane Goods Yard. 04.01.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
First freight of the year
Jon Hird
The first freight train over Cornish metals this year, and infact for several weeks, ran yesterday. 66122 is seen on the approach to Par, leading a rake of empty JIA's from Exeter Riverside - Goonbarrow as 6V76. 03.01.2026, copyright Jon Hird.
Exeter 'Peak'
Paul Barlow
A shot from winter 1980 of Gateshead based 46055, this loco was cut up at Swindon in November 1984.
46055 at the head of the 1835 Plymouth to Cardiff 1C74 at Exeter St Davids on 8 December 1980. Copyright Paul Barlow.
Many thanks, Paul - a really atmospheric shot.
HST Memories
Steve Clark
Before the Hitachi takeover - 43086 leads the 1C82 13.03 Padd to PNZ at Masters Crossing near Fairwood with IC liveried 43185 on the rear. Copyright Steve Clark.
43185 on the rear of 1C82. Copyright Steve Clark.
Many thanks Steve - a bit of a mix-match of liveries there.
Re: Winnen's Westerns
Guy Vincent
I’ve looked at Roger’s photos of Westerns at Penzance (part 1) and besides D1001 (photo1) can say with certainty that the loco to the right of photo 2 is D1054 Western Governor, ‘A’ end leading. The left hand loco I believe to be D1048 Western Lady, again the ‘A’ end leads. I think the date of this photo is 2nd January 1976 rather than 1st.
Within a few weeks several Westerns were displaying their numbers in one or both headcode panels as the requirement to show train reporting numbers was abolished from January 1st.
Within a few weeks several Westerns were displaying their numbers in one or both headcode panels as the requirement to show train reporting numbers was abolished from January 1st.
What's believed to be D1048 'Western Lady' and D1054 'Western Governor' at Penzance on 01.01.1976. Copyright Guy Vincent.
Many thanks Guy - your abilities to ID a Western from a picture alone never fail to impress.
STEAM Museum - Swindon
Ken Mumford
4248 [a Churchward 2-8-0T] - see STEAM MUSEUM website for details. 03.01.2026, copyright Ken Mumford.
4248 [a Churchward 2-8-0T] - see STEAM MUSEUM website for details. 03.01.2026, copyright Ken Mumford.
4073 'Caerphilly Castle' including underneath the loco from smokebox and tender ends. 03.01.2026, copyright Ken Mumford.
Items of railway road transport from the past. 03.01.2026, copyright Ken Mumford.
3717 [3440] 'City of Truro' - was it the first steam locomotive to do 100 m-p-h? 03.01.2026, copyright Ken Mumford.
2818 - a Churchward designed 2-8-0 freight locomotive. 03.01.2026, copyright Ken Mumford.
Many thanks Ken - interesting photos of an interesting place, well done.