Anglesey Railways Through Time

A railway arrived on Anglesey in 1848 linking London and Dublin. It was the great railway engineer Robert Stephenson who effectively ensured the railway link to Ireland would run along the North Wales coast when he presented plans that overcame the engineering challenges of the route. The Chester & Holyhead Railway Act received royal assent in 1844 and work started on St David's Day. A branch was subsequently built from Gaerwen to Amlwch. This Anglesey Central Railway was first opened in around 1865 and the line was completed in 1867. The LNWR won the contract to carry the Royal Mail by rail, but it was the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company that carried the mails across the Irish Sea. The LNWR did, however, operate steam packet services to Ireland and built a magnificent inner harbour in the 1880s to cope with the demands of traffic at Holyhead. Today, the railway still runs from London to Holyhead and boats still sail from Holyhead to Ireland, although the mails are now carried by air to Dublin.