Rhiw Goch railway station

UK stations
name = Rhiw Goch

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caption = Rhiw Goch passing loop in 1993.
manager = Ffestiniog Railway
platforms = 0
locale = Penrhyndeudraeth
borough = Gwynedd
owner = Ffestiniog Railway
years = 1836
events = Opened
years1 = 1863
events1 = Closed as a horse stabling point
years2 = 1975
events2 = Re-opened as a passing loop
years3 = 1989
events3 = Closed as a passing loop; remained as a siding
years4 = 1999
events4 = Re-opened as a passing loop
years5 = 2006
events5 = Signal box structure replaced

Rhiw Goch is a passing point on the Ffestiniog Railway north of the village of Penrhyndeudraeth in Wales. It was originally a passing loop and an exchange point for the horses that worked the line, opening in 1836. Horses were stabled overnight at Rhiw Goch farm, which adjoins the line further south nearer to the village. When the railway converted to using steam locomotives in 1863, Rhiw Goch passing loop was no longer needed and was closed.

The station reopened in 1975 as a passing loop for trains on the revived railway. Its location, approximately equidistant from Minffordd and Tan-y-Bwlch stations, allowed maximum flexibility in timetabling, allowing up and down trains to cross. The location also allowed a long passing loop to be constructed to accommodate full length Ffestiniog trains. This is the only former 'horse station' at which it is still possible to pass trains.

Rhiw Goch has the only regularly manned signal box on the railway and the temporary box built in 1974 was being replaced by a new permanent box during 2006. Although trains regularly stop here to wait for a train travelling in the opposite direction to pass, passengers cannot alight from or join trains here. There is no public access to Rhiw Goch except by train.

Sources

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* [http://www.frheritage.org.uk/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Rhiw_Goch Ffestiniog Railway heritage group wiki article on Rhiw Goch]