With the uphill climb behind us now, our Garrett locomotive eases its train away from Rhyd Ddu for the largely downhill run to Caernarfon. Soon after resuming our journey we round the first bend to an amazing vista stretching to Lly Cwellym reservoir and beyond. This is wild wales, with mountains all around, the odd farm building and dry stone walls to keep the cattle and sheep from straying. Our train looks small in this vast landscape as we descend to Snowdon Ranger, a small halt serving one of several hiking trails leading up Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at 1,085 m (3,560 ft). With Llyn Cwellyn reservoir to our left and high mountains to our right, we are surrounded by awe inspiring scenery in every direction. We coast past Plas y Nant (Halt) without stopping as there is no one leaving or joining here, we cross the Afon Gwyrfai (River) on one of the bow sting bridges used to carry the original line. The countryside for the next few miles is influenced and shaped by the winding course of the Afon Gwyrfai, first passing the disused station at Betws Garmon, before stopping a Waunfawr station and passing loop. Our train gets underway again, staying close to the Afon Gwyrfai as far as Tryfan Junction where a line once branched off to serve Bryngwyn Slat Quarry, now a footpath. Our journey continues through typical Welsh farmland to Dinas (Halt) where the original line terminated, at the one time station on the now closed standard gauge line to Afon Wen. There is a substantial railway presence here, with the motive power depot, carriage sheds, coaling stage and sidings. For the run into Caernarfon the track bed of the closed standard gauge line is shared by both the WHR and a cycle track. Our train terminates just short of the castle at a temporary structure soon to be replaced by an eye catching new station with the facilities needed to cater for the increasing passenger numbers to this popular Welsh tourist destination.

This video was first posted 19th August 2017. I replaced it on 18th June 2020 when a spelling mistake in the opening title was pointed out, a bit embarrassing, especially as it had gone unnoticed for so long. Original Video    • OLD VERSION  Welsh Highland Railway ...  

One question that has come up many times in the comments for both the Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog Railways is "Why doesn't the train leave the tracks when it passes through a switch set for the opposite track" it is not east to explain, but I'll try
The switches at either end on the passing loop are set to allow trains to pass without the need for railway personnel to set them, in this case the train will always take the right hand track in the direction of travel, when the train reaches the end of the loop the switch appears to be set incorrectly. The switch blades are held in place by a spring mechanism that allows them to be pushed over by the weight of a train passing through them. Once the train is clear they are automatically set to allow a train in the opposite direction to take the right hand track, thus making the passing loop automatic. The system works well so long as a train never reverses before clearing the switch as that will derail the train. The first time this system is seen in operation it looks wrong, but it is common practice on many lines where speed is low and costs need to be kept to a minimum.