 The origins of the WHHR lie in a small group of railway enthusiasts, including some disgruntled volunteers from the Festiniog Railway, forming the Welsh Highland Railway Society in 1961, to preserve and rebuild the original Welsh Highland Railway which had operated from 1922 to 1936.Construction of the line started in the 1970s following the acquisition of land from British Railways running alongside the Cambrian Coast line at Beddgelert Sidings.A substantial works and engineering facility has been constructed on the site of the former farm that was situated in the triangle of land between the Beddgelert Siding, the Cambrian Coast Railway and the original Welsh Highland Railway trackbed.