Brecon Free Street railway station

Brecon Free Street railway station
View westward, towards Neath. Shortly before closure in 1962
General information
Location	Brecon, Powys Wales
Coordinates	51°56′47″N3°23′05″W / 51.9463°N 3.3846°W / 51.9463; -3.3846
Grid reference	SO049284
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1 March 1871	Joint station opens
31 December 1962	Station closes to passengers
4 May 1964	Station closes to goods

Brecon Free Street railway station served Brecon, in the historic Welsh county Brecknockshire, now Powys.

The Brecon and Merthyr Railway (B&MR) obtained an Act of Parliament on 1 August 1859 to construct a line between Talybont and Pant. Train services between Brecon and Pant officially began on 23 April 1863 but two trains per day ran from 19 March 1863 from its first station in Watton. The Neath and Brecon Railway (N&BR) had a temporary station at Brecon Mount Street by 1868, but a joint station was opened at Free Street on 1 March 1871 replacing the two separate stations. Initially used only by the B&MR, trains of the Mid-Wales Railway used Free Street from May 1871, and the N&BR also used the station from 1874. ^[1]

The line and station finally closed in 1964.

History

The Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway became part of the Great Western Railway during the Grouping of 1923.

The joint engine shed in June 1962

A special train ran to Free Street on 2 May 1964, named Last Train to Brecon. ^[2]

The line closed to passengers on 31 December 1962 and to goods on 4 May 1964.

The site today

Heol Gouesnou approximately follows the course of the railway from The Struet to the site of Brecon Free Street station (near the bus station).

References

1. Kidner, Roger W. (2003) [1990]. The Mid-Wales Railway. The Oakwood Library of Railway History (2nd ed.). Usk: Oakwood Press. p. 26. ISBN   0-85361-606-X. OL79.
2. "The Railtour Files". www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

External links

• http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/brecon/stations.shtml

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Cradoc Line and station closed		Neath and Brecon Railway		Terminus
Terminus		Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway Northern section		Groesffordd Halt Line and station closed