A photo shows a railway tunnel running under a UK seaside resort that had become overgrown with vegetation after it was abandoned for 30 years. Caernarfon, in North Wales, boasted three railway stations in various parts of the town more than 160 years ago. All were operated by London and North Western Railway - one served the Afon Wen line down the Llyn Peninsula, another managed trains on the Menai Bridge Line, while the third was the terminus for the Llanberis line.
On 5 July 1865, an Act for the construction of the 'Carnarvon Town Line' was granted. This line, just over a mile long, connected all three separate railways - creating a through route between Menai Bridge and Afon Wen, near Pwllheli. This required a tunnel under the historic coastal town, resulting in a 163-yard tunnel built just east of Caernarfon Castle. According to Sabre-roads.orgU.K., it seems to have been constructed as a cut and cover structure as the roof of the tunnel below Castle Square "appears to be too thin for a bored tunnel".
The new line opened to goods services on 5 August 1870 and to passengers on January 3, 1871. Disused Railway Tunnels UK stated: "The line appeared to be double-track for most of its length, but it was in fact two parallel single-track railways between Caernarfon station to a point just north of the River Seiont, at that point the lines separated, one continued south crossing the river on a stone viaduct to link to the Afon Wen line and the other turned east to connect to the Llanberis branch.".
They noted that the lines between Caernarfon and Afon Wen, as well as the Llanberis branch line, both ceased operations for all trains in 1964. Following this, there were no scheduled trains over the Carnarvon Town Railway, reports North Wales Live. The Llanberis line was reportedly lifted from February 1965 leaving only the single track of the former Afon Wen line in situ. It was used in July 1969 for the storage of excursion trains that visited Caernarfon for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales, and then in May 1970 the line was lifted.
The Caernarfon tunnel then lay dormant for over 30 years, becoming derelict and overgrown. Nick Catford shared an image on the www.disused-stations.orgU.K. site illustrating the dilapidated state of the tunnel and former railway tracks. However, in the 1990s, efforts began to repurpose it - this time as a road link beneath the town. The tunnel was reopened in 1999, with cars and other vehicles taking the place of trains, connecting St Helens Road and Crown Street.
