The Elan Valley Railway (EVR) was a Welsh industrial railway built to assist in the construction of the Elan Valley Reservoirs in mid Wales. It was in operation from 1896 to about 1912/1916.
The four dams in the Elan Valley were built to supply water to Birmingham, and were authorized by an Act of Parliament in June 1891. [1] By 1893 dam construction was underway and the railway was completed in 1896. At its maximum extent, the railway had 33 miles (53 km) of track supporting the construction work, running from a junction with the Cambrian Railways Mid Wales line near Rhayader to, at the furthest point, the Craig Goch dam site.
The railway, built in standard gauge [2] which consisted of four lines, known as Railway No. 1, Railway No. 2, Railway No. 3 and Railway No. 4, [3] was owned and operated by the Birmingham Corporation Water Department (now Birmingham City Council) which also owned the dams and associated works. The railway was mainly operated using a fleet of steam locomotives owned by the Corporation, with occasional assistance from locomotives borrowed from neighbouring railways.
The dams were officially opened by King Edward VII on 21 July 1904, although construction continued until 1906. The railway connection with the Cambrian Railways line was reduced from a loop and double junction to a single junction in June 1908, as traffic reduced. The majority of the EVR was lifted by 1912, with the final main line track being removed in 1916.
As of 1997, most of the line was walkable; and three such walks have been described. [4]
The Elan Valley Reservoirs are a chain of man-made lakes created from damming the Elan and Claerwen rivers within the Elan Valley in Mid Wales. The reservoirs, which were built by the Birmingham Corporation Water Department, provide clean drinking water for Birmingham in the West Midlands of England. The five lakes are known as the Claerwen, Craig-goch, Pen-y-garreg, Garreg-ddu, and Caban-coch.
The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR) was a railway company that planned to build a number of inter-connected 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow-gauge railways across North Wales. The first two of these lines - jointly known as the "Moel Tryfan Undertaking" - were authorised by Act of Parliament 1872 and were built and opened in the 1870s. The original main line ran from Dinas Junction to Bryngwyn and opened in 1877. The second line was a branch from Tryfan Junction to South Snowdon, though shortly after opening, the company designated the Tryfan Junction to Bryngwyn section as the branch, and the Dinas Junction to South Snowdon section as the main line.
The Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) of track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line.
The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway was a 2 ft 3 in gauge narrow gauge railway in Cardiganshire in Mid Wales. It ran from Llanfihangel station on the Cambrian Line, through the village of Tal-y-bont and the valley of the Afon Leri, into the foothills of Plynlimon Fawr. It was built to serve the lead mines at Bwlch Glas and stone quarries around Hafan and opened in 1897, closing just two years later. The line was a little over 7 miles (11 km) long and, despite running a short-lived passenger service, it served no communities of more than 100 people.
The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway company, running a line along the west coast of Wales.
In 1861 the Llynvi Valley Railway was opened in Glamorganshire, Wales, to convey mineral products to the Bristol Channel at Porthcawl. It adopted an earlier tramroad, the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway. The Llynvi and Ogmore Railway was opened in 1865, and the two companies amalgamated to form the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway in 1866. At first Porthcawl harbour was an important destination for onward transport, but this soon declined.
The Mawddwy Railway was a rural line in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales that connected Dinas Mawddwy with a junction at Cemmaes Road railway station on the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway section of the Cambrian Railways.
The Manchester and Milford Railway was a Welsh railway company, intended to connect Manchester and the industrial areas of Northwest England with a deep-water port on Milford Haven, giving an alternative to the Port of Liverpool.
The Van Railway was a standard gauge railway in mid Wales. The line was built in 1871 to link the highly productive lead mines at Van, near Llanidloes to the main Cambrian line at Caersws. The mines closed in 1920, but the railway remained open until 1940.
The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (L&NR) was a railway company between Llanidloes and Newtown in Montgomeryshire, Wales. It was promoted locally when plans for trunk railways passing through the locality were cancelled; local people saw that a railway connection was essential to the flannel industry in the district. The 17-mile (27 km) line opened in 1859, and at first was isolated from any other railway, but from 1861 it became connected to Oswestry by an allied railway company, and other companies also connected to it. From 1864 the company was incorporated into the new Cambrian Railways company.
The Red Wharf Bay branch line was a standard gauge railway line in Anglesey, Wales, a branch off the Anglesey Central Railway. It opened fully in 1909, but closed to passengers in September 1930. Freight operations continued until 3 April 1950, and the tracks were lifted during the summer of 1953.
The Tanat Valley Light Railway (TVLR) was a 15-mile (24 km) long standard gauge light railway. It ran westwards from Llanyblodwel in Shropshire, about 5 miles or 8 km south-west of Oswestry. It crossed the Wales–England border and continued up the Tanat valley, terminating at Llangynog in Powys. It opened in 1904, providing access to a fairly remote area, and transport facilities for slate production and agriculture.
The Morda Tramway refers to two industrial railways south of Oswestry, on the border between England and Wales. They connected the coal pits around Morda to transport networks, the first to the Montgomery Canal and the second to the Cambrian Railways at Whitehaven.
The Hay Railway was a narrow gauge horse-drawn tramway in the district surrounding Hay-on-Wye in Brecknockshire, Wales. The railway connected Eardisley in Herefordshire, England, with Brecon in Wales. The Brecon terminus was Watton Wharf on the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal.
The Mid-Wales Railway was conceived as a trunk route through Wales connecting industrial areas in north west England with sea ports in south west Wales. The company was prevented from reaching its goal by competing proposals in Parliament, and it was only able to build a line between Llanidloes and a junction with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway 5 miles (8 km) east of Brecon. The line was 70 miles (110 km) long and opened in 1864. The company found it impossible to raise the share subscription, but the contractor partnership of Davies and Savin agreed to build the line and take shares in payment,
The North Wales Mineral Railway was formed to carry coal and ironstone from the mineral-bearing area around Wrexham to the River Dee wharves. It was extended to run from Shrewsbury and formed part of a main line trunk route, under the title The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. It opened in 1846 from Chester to Ruabon, and in 1848 from Ruabon to Shrewsbury. It later merged with the Great Western Railway.
The Birmingham Corporation Water Department was responsible for the supply of water to Birmingham, England, from 1876 to 1974. It was also known as Birmingham Corporation Waterworks Department.
The Ely Valley Railway (EVR) was a broad gauge railway company in South Wales, which opened a mineral line between Llantrisant station on the South Wales Railway main line and pits at Mwyndy and Penrhiwfer in 1860.
Cwm Prysor Viaduct, which is occasionally referred to as Blaen-y-Cwm Viaduct, is a railway viaduct which crosses the Afon Prysor in thinly populated uplands east of Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, Wales. It was built by the Bala and Festiniog Railway. It carried a singly track on a line that ran between Bala Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog. The line it was built for went out of service in 1961.
The Merionethshire Railway (MR) was a proposed 1 ft 11+3⁄4 in and 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in dual gauge railway in south Caernarfonshire North Wales, United Kingdom. It was incorporated by an Act of Parliament on 29 June 1871. Powers to build the line lapsed in 1885 and were abandoned on 12 July 1887. Work to build the line never started, though parliamentary extensions of time to do so were obtained in 1876, 1879 and 1882.