Snowdon Mountain Railway

Snowdonia's Mountain Railway rises 3,152 feet (961m), and covers a distance of 4.6 miles (7.4km) from the town of Llanberis to the summit station. Built by Messrs A H Holme & C W King of Liverpool, it took just over a year to complete opening on Easter Monday 1896, and is the only remaining public rack and pinion railway in Great Britain.

The effort involved in constructing the Snowdon Mountain Railway must have been considerable, with the majority of the work being done by the use of picks, shovels and explosives only. Heavier equipment, when required, was dragged up the mountain by horse. The workers actually lived on the mountainside during its construction and, although beautiful on a good day, Mount Snowdon can be an unforgiving place. Therefore, living and working through two, long winters must have been a great hardship.

The design was brought over from Switzerland, as were the original locomotives. The idea for the railway was first proposed in 1869 with a chance comment by the Chairman of the London and North Western Railway Company. When the Llanberis to Caernarfon rail link was first completed, he remarked "the next extension must be to the top of Snowdon". Even when this original line was closed in the 1960s, the Snowdon Mountain Railway survived.

Throughout the two world wars the service continued, and in the 1940s a covert passenger service was still run when the summit station was being used as a secret radar platform.

Today, the Snowdon Mountain Railway transports a huge volume of tourist traffic to the summit station, and in the height of the season the carriages are full to capacity. Personally, I thought they were also quite small and uncomfortable. The journey time each way is between two to two-and-a-half hours, being a bit longer on the descent as there are several stops to allow the upward trains to pass safely. It is, however, a truly breathtaking journey on a reasonable day, and one that visitors to this area will always remember.