The Festiniog & Blaenau Railway was a 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge railway built in 1868 to connect the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog with the slate quarries around Tanymanod and the smaller town of Llan Ffestiniog. At Blaenau Ffestiniog it made a direct connection with the Ffestiniog Railway with which it was closely associated during its brief existence. The railway was purchased by the Great Western Railway in 1883 and converted to standard gauge to extend the Bala Ffestiniog line, a branch of the GWR's line from Ruabon to Barmouth.