Dinas Track Construction, July 1997

Dinas station, looking northwards from the road overbridge over the newly laid and still incomplete trackwork, July 1997. The original North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway station building still stands on the right hand platform. Beyond it, a large new railway yard is being developed, the centre for W.H. Light Rly operations on this line.

Rick Beton 1997

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All new volunteers must undertake induction training before starting construction work. We were fortunate to include a guided tour in our training. Roland Doyle (W.H. Light Railway General Manager) is seen on the left, Nigel Hanwell (WHR Ltd Civil's Week Foreman) on the right.

Just behind the men is Bontnewydd underbridge, where the railway crosses the river and a minor road on a fine three-arch viaduct. On the right is the Lôn Eifion footpath/cycleway, a popular recreational route reaching from Caernarfon past Dinas and further on southwards. On the left, a new access footpath leads from Lôn Eifion down to the road.

Rick Beton 1997

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We loaded up tools in Dinas yard and climbed in for the mile-long ride to the railhead. With so many real sheep around about, Flossy the Sheep^* gets a strong warning from The Boss not to misbehave!
* a mascot. There's the pirate flag, too! Just a bit of fun...

Rick Beton 1997

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Although the contractors had distributed sleeper stacks right along the trackbed to assist with construction logistics, this stack of around a hundred sleepers was in the wrong place (back at Bontnewydd bridge). So we had to carry them to the railhead, helped by a pair of hand-pushed Hudson bogies.

Rick Beton 1997

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100m beyond the railhead, the view southward (back toward Dinas) was of virgin first-level ballast. Gates had been provided by the contractor for a farmer's occupation crossing.

Rick Beton 1997

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A few hours later, the same spot is about to become the railhead. Sleepers have been brought out and are being aligned.

Rick Beton 1997

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Each track panel requires two 60 foot rails, 18 sleepers, fishplates, and four fixing clips per sleeper. The four clips are all different, so care is needed to avoid putting them in the wrong holes.

Two yellow rail movers are used to bring the rails to the railhead and move them onto their sleepers. These basic trolleys have latching rail grasps and greatly simplify the task of lifting and moving heavy rails.

Rick Beton 1997

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With the track complete on this section, these six newly laid panels bring the railhead 120 yards nearer Caernarfon. An occupation crossing has been provided for the farmer.

Rick Beton 1997

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At the start of the day, the view northwards toward Caernarfon was of bare ballast. This photograph is taken from the same occupation crossing shown in the previous photographs.

Rick Beton 1997

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A few hours later, new track brings the works train to fetch men and materials home. The railhead is another 120 yards nearer its destination.

Our day had set a new tracklaying record - twelve panels had been completed, plus an occupation crossing. This was a tribute to an effective team of volunteers (consisting of the WHR Ltd gang and some from the WHRS too) and comprehensive logistical support from the W.H. Light Rly staff - very much a joint effort.

Rick Beton 1997

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Two days later, the gang returned at the request of a film producer to help in a television feature about the construction of the railway. (This involved a lot of cold wet riding in the open wagon up and down whilst the crew filmed different angles!)

With only an afternoon available, and with a film crew busy around us, our record breaking tracklaying crossed a new threshold - this time we laid just one panel and set the record for the fewest panels in a day! (Not quite true - there have been plenty of days at zero too!)

Peter Johnson

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The new track-laying vehicle was undergoing testing and commissioning during our visit. It's larger than most of the girder bridges on the railway!

Rick Beton 1997

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It is hoped to double the average tracklaying speed with this machine. However, it has certain drawbacks, including requiring dismantling to get through some underbridges, and causing considerable vertical stress to the panels, as shown here. Furthermore, it still requires people to assemble track panels elsewhere - this is likely to be as hard if not harder than assembling them at the railhead. A simpler hydraulic rail-crane might have been a more cost-effective item of plant.

Since this photo was taken, the machine has been painted yellow. It became operational shortly afterwards.

Rick Beton 1997

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