The Bala Lake Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid) is a narrow-gauge railway along the southern shore of Bala Lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. The line, which is long, is built on a section of the former standard-gauge Ruabon–Barmouth GWR route that closed in 1965. Another section of the former permanent way is used by the Llangollen Railway. The Bala Lake Railway, which runs on -gauge preserved rolling stock, is a member of the Great Little Trains of Wales. The railway now has the largest collection of historic narrow-gauge quarry locomotives built specifically for the slate industry in North Wales by the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds. History Standard Gauge The narrow-gauge Bala Lake railway uses the permanent way of the former standard-gauge GWR Ruabon–Barmouth line. The railway, which opened in August 1868, was built by the Bala and Dolgelley Railway Company. Its original route ran between the Corwen & Bala Railway at and Cambrian Railways' station at . In 1877 it became part of the network operated by Great Western (GWR). In 1896 was redeveloped with the addition of a passing loop and second platform, extended building and a new signal box. Passenger services through Bala Junction ceased on Monday 18 January 1965 when the line from to was closed. Although originally earmarked for dieselisation by the Western Region of British Railways in the early 1960s, the to Bala–Barmouth line was included in the 1963 Beeching Report. Traffic on the line was gradually reduced and facilities rationalised; the last scheduled through-rail service was the mail train from in December 1964. Long-distance holiday charter trains and through freight traffic were diverted on to the Cambrian main line via . Goods traffic finally ceased on 1 January 1968 when the branch at Pontcysyllte was closed. Narrow gauge By 1969 the track had been lifted. Reuse of the line as a narrow-gauge railway began when local engineer, George Barnes, saw the potential of the lakeside section for both local and tourist traffic. With the help of Tom Jones CBE, then chairman of Merioneth County Council's Finance Committee, they established Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid Ltd, the first company in Wales to be registered exclusively in the Welsh language. Bala Lake Railway opened on 13 August 1972. In its first season, it operated a small industrial diesel engine with two open carriages on of track between Llanuwchllyn and Pentrepiod. Extension work continued throughout this period with