Cwmmawr railway station

Last updated

Cwmmawr
General information
Location Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
Wales
Coordinates 51°47′33″N4°07′58″W / 51.7926°N 4.1327°W / 51.7926; -4.1327 Coordinates: 51°47′33″N4°07′58″W / 51.7926°N 4.1327°W / 51.7926; -4.1327
Grid reference SN530125
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway
Pre-grouping Great Western Railway
Post-grouping Great Western Railway
Key dates
29 January 1913 (1913-01-29) [1] Station opened
21 September 1953 (1953-09-21) [1] Station closed

Cwmmawr for Tumble railway station,Cwm Mawr railway station or Cwmmawr railway station was opened in 1913 to timetabled passenger services. [1] [2] It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Cwmmawr area and hinterland between 1913 and 1953; it was one of several basic stations opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Contents

History

Cwmmawr was opened for passengers on 29 January 1913 by the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway on the Kidwelly and Cwmmawr section of the line and was closed by the Great Western Railway on Saturday 19 September 1953. [1] It was on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway with Pontyates located to the south and Cwmmawr for Tumble as the terminus. [1]

The railway was originally a freight only line apart from passenger trains for miners, [3] but stations were established due to pressure from the public. The freight service continued for coal traffic until 1996 by which time the last of the local collieries had closed down. [4] [5] The line was carrying traffic from the washeries at Cwmmawr and Carway until closure.

Infrastructure

The station had a single straight platform with a wooden ticket office and shelter. A goods shed stood to the west and several sidings together with a water tank. [2] The line to the east of the platform continued to the north in 1915 and served a transfer point for the tramway down from Clos-yr-yn Colliery. To the south in 1915 was the extensive rail network that served the New Dynant Colliery. [2]

The line was partly built on the old Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal however incline planes existed at sites such as Ponthenri. [6]

The BP&GVR system in 1909. BP&GVR.png
The BP&GVR system in 1909.

Remnants

The section south of Pinged, between Burry Port and Craiglon Bridge Halt is now a footpath and cycleway, however other sections of the line have formal and informal footpaths on the old trackbed.

Routes

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Pontyberem
Line and station closed		  Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway
Great Western Railway		 Terminus
Line and station Closed

See also

Related Research Articles

Burry Port Human settlement in Wales

Burry Port is a port town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, on the Loughor estuary, to the west of Llanelli and south-east of Kidwelly. Its population was recorded at 5,680 in the 2001 census and 6,156 in the 2011 census, and estimated at 5,998 in 2019. The town has a harbour. It is also where Amelia Earhart landed as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Nearby are the Pembrey Burrows sand dune and wetland system, forming a country park, and the Cefn Sidan sands. Its musical heritage includes Burry Port Opera, Male Choir and Burry Port Town Band.

The Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway (BP&GVR) was a mineral railway company that constructed a railway line in Carmarthenshire, Wales, by conversion of a canal, to connect collieries and limestone pits to the sea at Kidwelly. It extended its network to include Burry Port, Trimsaran and a brickworks at Pwll, later extending to Sandy near Llanelli. For a time the company worked the separate Gwendraeth Valleys Railway. The BP&GVR was notable because of the very low height of some overbridges, a legacy of the canal conversion.

Kidwelly railway station Railway station in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Kidwelly railway station serves the town of Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The station is situated on the coast just southwest of Kidwelly itself.

The Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway was a 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge railway line in Wales that was intended to connect Carmarthen on the South Wales Railway with Cardigan. In fact, it was unable to raise the necessary capital and was loss-making from the time of opening the first short section of its line in 1860, and it was in receivership for much of its life. It eventually reached Llandysul in 1864 but was not extended further during its independent existence.

Pontyates is a village straddling two communities situated in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. the population in 2011 was 1,449.

Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal Former canal and tramroad system in southwest Wales

The Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal was a canal and tramroad system in Carmarthenshire, Wales, built to carry anthracite coal to the coast for onward transportation by coastal ships. It began life as Kymer's Canal in 1766, which linked pits at Pwll y Llygod to a dock near Kidwelly. Access to the dock gradually became more difficult as the estuary silted up, and an extension to Llanelli was authorised in 1812. Progress was slow, and the new canal was linked to a harbour at Pembrey built by Thomas Gaunt in the 1820s, until the company's own harbour at Burry Port was completed in 1832. Tramways served a number of collieries to the east of Burry Port.

The Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway was authorised in 1875. It made use of part of the long defunct Carmarthenshire Railway or Tramroad of 1801. The older line began running trains in 1803, and was a plateway of about 4 feet gauge, with horse traction, for the purpose of bringing minerals from the Mynydd Mawr to the sea for onward shipment at Llanelly Docks.

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Kidwelly Flats Halt railway station

Kidwelly Flats Halt railway station served the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) and RAF Pembrey at Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales between 1941 and 1957. It was on the West Wales Line.

Craiglon Bridge Halt railway station may have served the Craig-Lon Colliery and its workers near Pembrey, but this business was closed in the 1930s. It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Lando area between 1932 and 1953 and was one of several basic halts opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales. A firing range was located nearby in WWII.

Pinged railway station

Pinged Halt railway station was opened in 1909 but was renamed Pinged railway station in 1922. It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Pinged area between 1909 and 1953 and was one of several basic halts opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Trimsaran Road railway station was opened in 1909 at Morfa It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Trimsaran area between 1909 and 1953 and was one of several basic halts opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lay some distance to the west of the village of Trimsaran.

Glyn Abbey railway station

Glyn Abbey railway station was opened in 1909 as Pontnewydd Halt It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Pont-newydd area and hinterland between 1909 and 1943; it was one of several basic halts opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Pontyates railway station

Pontyates railway station was opened in 1909 It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Pontyates / Pont-iets area and hinterland between 1909 and 1953; it was one of several stations opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Ponthenry railway station was opened in 1909 It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Pont-henri area and hinterland between 1909 and 1953; it was one of several basic stations opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Pontyberem railway station was opened in 1909 to timetabled passenger services however services for miners began in 1898. It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Pontyberem area and hinterland between 1909 and 1953; it was one of several basic stations opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Ty-coch Halt railway station,Ty Coch Halt railway station or Tycoch Halt railway station had been opened by 1927 to passenger services for miners use only. A halt is however marked on the 1913 OS map. It was opened by the Great Western Railway and served the colliers from the Kidwelly area working at the collieries in the Gwendraeth Valley between 1927 and 1949; several basic halts were opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales, however most were also opened to public use.

Pembrey railway station or Pembrey Halt railway station served the village of Pen-bre or Pembrey. It continued to serve the inhabitants of the area between 1909 and 1953 and was one of several basic halts opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Burry Port railway station served the town of Burry Port. It continued to serve the inhabitants of the area near Llanelli between 1909 and 1953 and was one of several basic halts opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Burry Port Harbour is a former industrial harbour which mainly served the coal industry, on the Loughor estuary. It is now converted into a marina. The town of Burry Port grew around the harbour.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 75. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. 1 2 3 Carmarthenshire, LIII.8, Revised: 1913, Published: 1915
  3. ↑ 1:1 million - 1:1 10K, 1900s
  4. ↑ Colonel Stephens Society
  5. ↑ SN40SW - A, Surveyed / Revised:Pre-1930 to 1963, Published:1964
  6. ↑ Bowen, R.E. (2001). The Burry Port & Gwendreath Valley Railway and its Antecedent Canals. Usk : The Oakwood Press. ISBN   085361685X. p. 156.
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