Trawsfynydd Branch Line
The line through the station closed to passengers in January 1960 and to freight a year later. In 1964 the line was still technically 'operational' northwards from the station in case it reopened for freight or military traffic, but none materialised and the tracks were lifted northwards to the site of Trawsfynydd Lake Halt.Tracks north of that halt sprung back to life in 1964 to. A walk I did along this disused railway line in North Wales, its about 6.5 miles long and the tracks still intact. It was built in 1882. The last time a train went down it was October 1998. Trawsfynydd nuclear power station (Welsh: Atomfa Trawsfynydd) is a decommissioned Magnox nuclear power station situated in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, Wales.The plant, which became operational in 1965, was the only nuclear power station in the UK to be built inland, with cooling water that was taken from the man-made Llyn Trawsfynydd reservoir. It was closed in 19. Taking advantage of the opening of the Trawsfynydd branch for a regular DMU train service, on Sunday 20th August 1989, Hertfordshire Railtours ran their 'Trawsfynydd Flyer' tour along the branch. This tour started at London Euston, but because of the lack of run-round facilities on the branch, the participants were forced to change into a DMU. Beyond No3 GF the line ends at buffer stops, where a very short (approx 6') section of rail has been cut out before a fence at the start of the disused Trawsfynydd branch. The OOU No4 ground frame (27m 53ch - 25m 25ch from Bala Junction!) was inspected.
| Trawsfynydd nuclear power station | |
|---|---|
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Location | Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd |
| Coordinates | 52°55′29.51″N3°56′54.38″W / 52.9248639°N 3.9484389°WCoordinates: 52°55′29.51″N3°56′54.38″W / 52.9248639°N 3.9484389°W |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Construction began | 1959 |
| Commission date | 1965 |
| Decommission date | 1991 |
| Construction cost | £103 million |
| Owner(s) | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority |
| Operator(s) | Magnox Ltd |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | Magnox |
| Reactor supplier | Atomic Power Constructions |
| Power generation | |
| Units decommissioned | 2 x 235 MW |
| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
Trawsfynydd nuclear power station (Welsh: Atomfa Trawsfynydd) is a decommissioned Magnoxnuclear power station situated in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, Wales. The plant, which became operational in 1965, was the only nuclear power station in the UK to be built inland, with cooling water that was taken from the man-made Llyn Trawsfynydd reservoir. It was closed in 1991. Work to completely decommission the site is expected to take almost 100 years.[1]
Trawsfynydd Branch Linear
History[edit]
The power station, which takes its name from the nearby village of Trawsfynydd, was designed by Basil Spence. The construction, which was undertaken by a consortium involving Crompton Parkinson, International Combustion, Fairey Engineering and Richardsons Westgarth, and known as the Atomic Power Constructions (APC),[2] began in July 1959, and both of the reactors were in operation by March 1965, with the station opening fully in October 1968, at a cost of £103 million.[3] It had two Magnoxreactors producing 470 megawatts (MW) in total.[3] The reactors were supplied by APC and the turbines by Richardsons Westgarth.[3] The civil engineering work was undertaken by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts[4] and Trollope & Colls.[5] The architectural consultant for the buildings was Sir Basil Spence and the landscape architect was Sylvia Crowe.[6]
Nuclear flasks were transported to Trawsfynydd on a section of the former Bala to Blaenau Ffestiniog railway that had been closed in January 1961. A single track was restored northwards with an entirely new line through the centre of Blaenau Ffestiniog that connected to the Conwy Valley branch. Alienware aurora r2 desktop. In 1963-4 a 'Goliath' gantry crane was installed over sidings about 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) east of the power station.[7][8][9][10] Beginning on 20 April 1964, nuclear flasks could be transported by rail between destinations such as Sellafield in Cumbria. The last regular departure was on 8 August 1995.[11] The last train to carry nuclear material from Trawsfynydd left on 22 April 1997 hauled by EWS Loco 37426.[12] The line was subsequently mothballed.[13] In 2016 enthusiasts, who want to create a heritage railway, began clearing vegetation along the route but have since been halted and are negotiating a new licence to clear.[14]
Decommissioning[edit]
Trawsfynydd was shut down in 1991. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has the responsibility of decommissioning the site.The work is expected to last decades.[15]
Beginning in 1993, the highly-radioactive spent fuel rods were removed from both Magnox reactors and sent by rail to Sellafield. This was completed in 1997. Intermediate level waste - such as on the walls of the cooling ponds or pipes - has been carefully removed using robots over the next decades. Contaminated material is stored in a specially-designed building on the site.[15] It will eventually be removed for deep burial in the 2040s. Between 2020 and 2026, the top parts of the two reactor buildings will be partially demolished to reduce their height,[16] but the steel reactor cores - that housed the fuel rods - will not be removed because they are still far too radioactive. The final clearance of the site is scheduled to begin in 2071.[16] By 2083 the area is expected to have been restored to its pre-nuclear state; 124 years after construction started and 92 years after the closure of Trawsfynydd power station.[1]
See also[edit]
- Wylfa Nuclear Power Station, shutdown Magnox reactor in Anglesey
Citations[edit]
- References
- ^ ab'So just how do you decommission a nuclear power station?'. www.walesonline.co.uk. 30 December 2015.
The plans call for the waste to be moved from Trawsfynydd in the 2040s.
- ^'The UK Magnox and AGR Power Station Projects'(PDF).
- ^ abcNuclear Power Plants in the UK - Scotland and WalesArchived 2009-07-19 at the Portuguese Web Archive
- ^An historical survey of Cubitts, from the Company's inception in 1810 to the present day Page 25, Cubitts, 1975
- ^'Trollope & Colls'. National Archives. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^'Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station | Canmore'. canmore.org.uk.
- ^'Railways of North Wales 1975-1983: blaenauffestiniog:Trawsfynydd Branch 1'.
- ^Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photo 28.
- ^Southern 1995, p. 71.
- ^'Llwytho fflasg Niwclear ar wagen reilffordd gorsaf bŵer Trawsfynydd 1993. Nuclear flask loading onto railway wagon Trawsfynydd power station 1993'. January 23, 2013 – via Flickr.
- ^'The last train of three flasks of spent fuel from the Trawsfynydd power station in 1995, seen here entering 'Twnel mawr' in Blaenau Ffestiniog'. December 28, 2015 – via Flickr.
- ^Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photo 66.
- ^'Inquiry into radioactivity scare'. The Independent. 22 April 1997. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^'Clearance work on disused Trawsfynydd railway line to start'. BBC NEWS. 21 September 2016.
- ^ ab'How do you close a nuclear power station?'. BBC. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ ab'So just how do you decommission a nuclear power station?'. Wales Online. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- Bibliography
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bala to Llandudno: Featuring Blaenau Ffestiniog. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press (MD). ISBN978 1 906008 87 1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Southern, D. W. (1995). Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Scenes from the Past, Railways of North Wales, No. 25). Stockport: Foxline Publishing. ISBN1 8701 19 34 7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
External links[edit]
- Trawsfynydd , Nuclear Engineering International wall chart, January 1961
Locations
CHESTER & MOLD JN
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COLWYN BAY
LLANDUDNO JCN
DEGANWY
LLANDUDNO
BLAENAU FFESTINIOG
CONWY
PENMAENMAWR
ABER & BANGOR
MENAI BRIDGE
BRITANNIA BRIDGE
LLANFAIR PG
GAERWEN
AMLWCH
VALLEY & HOLYHEAD
WREXHAM
SHREWSBURY
CAMBRIAN ML
CAMBRIAN COAST
Miscellany
25 YEARS AGO
TRIP DIAGRAMS
TIMETABLES
TIMETABLE GRAPHS
SECTIONAL APPENDICES
TRACK & SIGNALLING
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THE BLUE PAGES
In the 1980s, Sunday trains from Llandudno to Blaenau were sponsored by Gwynedd County Council and run under the title 'Super Sunday Shuttles'. In the summer of 1989, these trains were extended from Blaenau along the Trawsfynydd branch to a temporary platform at Maentwrog Road.
On the 20th August 1989 a 3 car DMU is seen at the temporary platform at Maentwrog Road. Although the original station here survived, it was a private dwelling, so a short scaffolding and wood platform was built on top of the disused siding next to the old goods shed (seen left). The intention behind this was that an additional bus tour was available to the nuclear power station and this was the only suitable location for a transfer to road vehicles. However, most passengers came to ride the branch, and so from the next year the trains did not stop at Maentwrog Road, but carried on to the end of the branch but were not allowed to alight.
The section of the Trawsfynydd branch between Blaenau and Llan Ffestiniog was originally constructed as a narrow gauge line, and this could certainly be seen by the way the line weaved around the hillside. Here the final trip of the day from Blaenau to Maentwrog Road heads towards Manod.
Trawsfynydd Branch Line Map
Returning towards Blaenau Ffestiniog, the 3 car DMU is seen approaching the site of Teigl Halt, with the remains of the old platform visible on the curve.
The following week, the promise of fine weather drew me back for another ride. Here the returning train passes the site of Tan-y-Manod sidings and engine shed. The constrained site of the GWR station at Blaenau meant that locomotive servicing facilities were not available there so a small loco shed and turntable were provided here at Tan-y-Manod. The shed and turntable were located at the end of 2 sidings, roughly straight ahead in this shot, right against the rough slope. The turntable (but not the engine shed) remained in use until the line from Bala closed. There were also sidings here for Craig Ddu Quarry. In narrow gauge days, there had been a passenger station here, on the right hand side of this curve.
This picture, taken on the approach to Tan-y-Manod viaduct, gives some indication of the character of the branch. Coming out of a left hand curve it is only a few yards before we are into a sharp right hand bend. Both curves are sharp enough for check rails to be required, and close enough for them to overlap.