The LNWR developed plans for two branch lines on Anglesey in 1897: one to Beaumaris (which was abandoned), and another to serve the growing tourist trade of Benllech.
The autotrain was so successful that many more old carriages were converted for push-pull operation on other branch lines, a pair of which replaced the original railmotor set after opening to Red Wharf Bay.
Seven return services to Red Wharf Bay were provided each day, from either Gaerwen (where the Anglesey Central Railway met the main line) or Holland Arms.
Twelve special trains took five hundred tons of herring from Red Wharf Bay to London, Liverpool, Manchester and other cities, all in the space of two weeks.
[11] The growth of road motor transport was particularly damaging for the branch: the remote terminus of the railway meant their passengers had a long walk to get to either Benllech or Red Wharf Bay, but buses could operate all the way to the villages.
Some special passenger trains continued to run on Saturdays in the summer months until 1939, as the light buses used could not cope with the density of traffic from Benllech.
[14] Due to a lack of wartime maintenance, the post-nationalisation owner British Railways considered closing the line in 1948, but decided to maintain the freight services with an overall speed restriction of 15 mph.
It was decided to close the branch for a six-month experimental period, transferring the remaining traffic to other stations and to road transport.
[16] The track was sold to Messrs James N. Campbell Ltd. of Coatbridge for £19,000, and demolition started on 9 April 1953, with the junction at Holland Arms taken up on 16 October.
The sleepers were sold to local people as firewood, but the timber buildings at Pentraeth and Red Wharf Bay remained for some years after.