The Llangollen Railway () is a volunteer-run heritage railway in Denbighshire, North Wales, which operates between Llangollen and Corwen. The standard gauge line, which is long, runs on part of the former Ruabon – Barmouth GWR route that closed in 1965. It operates daily services in the summer as well as weekends throughout the winter months, using a variety of mainly ex-GWR steam locomotives as well as several diesel engines and diesel multiple units. A extension of the railway has been built to complete the line to Corwen. In March 2021 the railway company announced that, having made a loss in three consecutive years, they had invited their bank to appoint receivers. Operation of the railway was handed over to the Llangollen Railway Trust, and the line reopened July 2021. History Commercial Service: 1865–1962 Llangollen was already a popular place for tourists by the 1840s. Travel up to this time had been by horse-drawn carriage, but by the 1840s the Shrewsbury to Chester line had been completed, which allowed passengers to alight at (later known as Whitehurst Halt), and then take a coach towards Holyhead. However, the commercial development of the local mining industry meant that the development of a railway became essential to the region's economic development. A number of schemes were proposed, including one by the LNWR, but it was not until 1 August 1859 that a scheme engineered by Henry Robertson received Royal Assent. The Vale of Llangollen Railway left the Shrewsbury to Chester main line south of , and proceeded as a single track line on a double track route via to the new station at Llangollen. The line opened to freight on 1 December 1861 and to passengers on 2 June 1862 at a temporary terminus on the town's eastern outskirts. The extension to was undertaken by the associated but separate Llangollen and Corwen Railway company, and involved constructing a long tunnel under the Berwyn Mountains. It, together with the new centrally positioned and larger station in Llangollen, opened for service on 1 May 1865. Closure Designated for closure under the Beeching cuts, the railway closed to passenger services on Monday 18 January 1965. The section between Ruabon and Llangollen Goods Yard remained open for freight traffic until April 1968, but immediately after the cessation of operations the track was removed from the whole line between Ruabon and Barmouth. Preservation Reopening: 1972–1975 The Flint and