With stunning photographs and detailed decriptions, this book explores the history and use of the 12 narrow gauge lines of North Wales, including the Great Orme Tramway at Llandudno.

The Snowdon Mountain Railway is one of the great narrow gauge railways of North Wales, with thousands of visitors travelling to the summit of Mount Snowdon along the line each year. This book covers the history of this historic and interesting line from its beginnings in the 1890s through to the present day. The author Peter Johnson has been writing about narrow gauge railways for many years and has a deep knowledge of the lines in North and Mid Wales. The Snowdon Mountain Railway is an important part of the tourist industry in North Wales and plays a vital part in providing transport in this popular and much visited area. This volume looks at the narrow gauge railway's history and development, taking in the present and future development of this fascinating line's operation.

Narrow gauge railways, so well suited to difficult, mountainous terrain, were built in many of the UK's most scenic locations. Their genesis was in mines and quarries where they replaced manor horse-pulled wagons, but their adaptability meant that by the 1860s they were also carrying passengers, in some cases over quite considerable distances. Today a good proportion of all the important lines survive in the service of tourists, whose appreciation of the landscape, and the railways themselves, keep these relics of industrial Britain alive in all their variety. Peter Johnson has been researching and writing about narrow gauge lines for many years, and this is the perfect introduction to a rich and appealing corner of British railway history.