The Bala Lake Railway, which runs on 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)-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.

Although originally earmarked for dieselisation by the Western Region of British Railways in the early 1960s, the Ruabon 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 Chester in December 1964.

With the help of Tom Jones, 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.

In its first season, it operated a small industrial diesel engine with two open carriages on 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) of track between Llanuwchllyn and Pentrepiod.

The Red Dragon Project, under the auspices of the Bala Lake Railway Trust, has been established to build the £2.5 million extension.

Over the weekend of 12/13 June 2021 the event 'Bala Rerailed', was held on the site of the new station in Bala using Winifred and a Penrhyn coach to provide rides to the public.

[10] Steam locomotives currently in use or stored on the line are: Most of the locos were built by the Hunslet Engine Company for the Dinorwic and Penrhyn Quarries.