There were several attempts by the North Wales Power and Traction Company to promote lines between Portmadoc and Beddgelert with extensions at either end.

These culminated in a proposal in 1901, for a 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge electric railway to use three phase alternating current at about 630 volts using the system devised by Ganz of Budapest.

The PB&SSR would have run from the western end of Black Rock sands via Morfa Bychan, Borth y gest, Portmadoc and, using part of the Croesor Tramway, to Beddgelert to link with the South Snowdon Quarries (hence the title) in the Gwynant Valley.

There was no intention initially to connect with the North Wales Narrow Gauge system which, at that time, terminated at South Snowdon, a station near the hamlet of Rhyd Ddu.

The line from Snowdon (Rhyd Ddu) was virtually complete for well over a mile and was used for a while (mainly during World War I) to extract timber from Beddgelert forest.

The original intention to run to Black Rock had been forgotten and no mention was made of the line to South Snowdon quarries.