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| Location | |
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| Location | Margam, South Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°33′58″N3°46′06″W / 51.56613°N 3.76831°W |
| Characteristics | |
| Operator | DB Schenker Rail (UK) |
Margam Knuckle Yard is a railway yard in Margam, South Wales, on the South Wales Main Line, operated by DB Schenker Rail (UK). The yard is the major freight yard of the region, handling all of the rail freight movements from Port Talbot Steelworks, and most of the railfreight traffic around South Wales.
The development of Port Talbot as an industrial centre started from the turn of the 20th century. The need for iron and steel producers to now import both ore and fuel, brought about the development of Port Talbot Steelworks, Margam Steelworks and associated expansion of the Port of Port Talbot.
In 1894, the Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company had been formed to directly link the port to the various competitive railways, particularly the South Wales Mineral Railway and the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway; and the coal mines and ironworks in the surrounding Llynfi and Garw valley areas, via the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway. This facilitated a further extension to the dock facilities in 1898. [1]
The PTR&D had developed extensive railway yards surrounding the docks, particularly the pair of Duffryn Yards, Duffryn No.1 and Duffryn No.2. The PTR&D was absorbed by the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922. [2]
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By the 1950s, a combination of factors was bringing about the need for the redevelopment of transport facilities at Margam. The steelworks had integrated under the British Steel Corporation, and the post-war planned Abbey Works had opened in 1951, and was fully operational by 1953. [3]
Further increases in the volume of goods handling at the port were restricted by the docks inability to handle the new bulk carriers, with the old docks unable to accept a ship of greater than 10,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT). In 1966, work commenced on the construction of the new Port Talbot Tidal Harbour, south-west of the existing docks system. Completed in 1970, it was the first dry-bulk cargo terminal in the UK capable of accepting ships in excess of 100,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT).
British Railways was modernising freight distribution, with the former bespoke creation of manually loaded wagons being replaced by larger, bogeyed bulk-freight wagons that were automatically loaded. This resulted in a need for both larger yards to handle the larger wagons, and fewer yards as high speed freight traffic ran between them to reduce speed of delivery for the customer. BSC was becoming BR's most important customer, with coal traffic quickly falling.
Hence, in 1960 the development and construction of Margam Knuckle Yard on a former landfill site to the west, along the lines of the PTR&D towards the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway, consolidated what was one of a series of new rail yard developments that supported major steel making facilities in the UK. The development at Margam also included the redevelopment of locomotive maintenance facilities, with the co-development of Margam TMD.
The strategy of BSC had resulted in an integrated facility plan, with Port Talbot at the centre of steel making system: [4]
However, British Rails biggest problem was the 1.7million tonnes of raw iron ore required to be transported by rail to Llanwern Steelworks. Marshalling 27 × 100-tonne iron ore tipplers, the train was initially headed by three Class 37/0's, which continually caused problems with their couplings. The amount of power was required to climb Stormy Bank, located just west of Margam, where the train would only reach 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) at the top. Eventually replaced by two Class 56's, drivers reported that this combination could reach 12 miles per hour (19 km/h). After experimentation with two refurbished Class 37/7's, the company specially hired-in National Power's newly purchased Class 59/2. By January 2008, EWS was handling all 4.7million tonnes of steel product using either Class 60 or Class 66. With the closure of Margam TMD, locomotive maintenance had moved to Knuckle, with C-Class services and brake tests requiring locomotives to be shipped to Toton TMD. [4]
Margam Knuckle handles other goods shipped through the port, as well as regional traffic including shipments to/from RNAD Trecwn. [4]
The yard is about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Port Talbot Parkway, with few facilities and no bridges by which rail spotters can see operations. However, there is a public footpath that crosses the Northern end of the marshalling yard.
Port Talbot is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately eight miles from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south east of the town. It is one of the biggest steelworks in the world, but has been under threat of closure since the 1980s. The population was 31,550 in 2021, comprising about a fifth of the 141,931 population of Neath Port Talbot.
Briton Ferry is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The Welsh name may indicate that the church, llan, is protected from the wind, awel. Alternatively, Sawel may be a derivative of Saul, St Paul's earlier name. He once landed at Briton Ferry. An alternative Welsh name unused today is Rhyd y Brython, a direct translation of Briton Ferry. The Normans referred to the River crossing as La Brittonne and Leland in 1540 as Britanne Fery.
Port Talbot Parkway railway station is a railway station in Port Talbot, Wales. The station is located at street level near Station Road in Port Talbot town centre. It is 202 miles 59 chains (326 km) from London Paddington.
The Garw Valley Railway is the trading name of the Bridgend Valleys Railway Company Limited. It operates a short section of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge railway located in South Wales, which is being recreated as a heritage railway. Formerly part of the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway (L&OR) and built by the Great Western Railway (GWR), the line was used for freight and passenger services, with most of the track still in place between Brynmenyn and Pontycymer. The project currently has a train shed at Pontycymer, and hopes to initially offer brake van rides between Pontycymer and Pant-y-Gog, a distance of 0.5 miles (0.8 km).
Tondu railway station is a railway station serving the village of Tondu, Bridgend county borough, South Wales. It is located on the Maesteg Line from Cardiff via Bridgend.
Port Talbot Steelworks is an integrated steel production plant in Port Talbot, Wales, capable of producing nearly 5 million tonnes of steel slab per annum. This makes it the larger of the two major steel plants in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. Over 4,000 people work at the plant.
Teesport is a large sea port located in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, Northern England.
Margam TMD was a railway locomotive traction maintenance depot situated in Port Talbot, South Wales. The depot code was MG, which has now been re-allocated to Margam Knuckle Yard service point.
Toton Traction Maintenance Depot or Toton Sidings is a large traction maintenance depot located in Toton, Nottinghamshire. The TOPS depot code for the depot is TO. Before TOPS, the shed code was 16A.
Round Oak Steel Terminal is a railway freight terminal dealing in steel from the Round Oak Steel Works until 1982 and from other sources thereafter, in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England managed by Tata Steel Europe.
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 Port of Port Talbot is located on the River Afan estuary next to Port Talbot Steelworks in the industrial town of Port Talbot, South Wales. The whole basin complex covers about 500 acres (2.0 km2), consisting of: an inner set of floating docks, developed from 1834 onwards; and an outer tidal basin, completed in 1970. Owned and operated by Associated British Ports, the tidal basin has the deepest berthing facilities in the Severn estuary and is one of only a few harbours in the UK capable of handling Capesize vessels of up to 170,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT), mostly for the import of iron ore and coal for use by nearby Port Talbot Steelworks.
The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway was a Welsh railway company formed to connect the upper end of the Rhondda Fawr with Swansea, with the chief objective of transporting coal and other minerals to Swansea docks. It was incorporated in 1882, but at first the connection to Swansea from Briton Ferry was refused.
The Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company (PTR&D) was formed in 1894 to secure the means of bringing minerals, chiefly coal, to the harbour in South Wales. It took over the docks at Port Talbot that had been operated by the Port Talbot Company. It opened its main line in 1897 and reached a connection with the Great Western Railway Garw Valley line the following year. A branch line to collieries near Tonmawr also opened in 1898. The lines were extremely steeply graded and operation was difficult and expensive, but the company was successful. Passenger operation on the main line started in 1898, but this was never a principal part of the business. For some time most of the passenger train service was operated by a railmotor that was the largest ever to work in the United Kingdom. Also in 1898 the Ogmore Valleys Extension (OVE) line, a part of the PTR&D, was opened. It had been projected as a defensive measure against competitive incursion, and it led from Margam Junction towards Tondu.
The Eisenbahn und Häfen GmbH is a service company providing rail transportation and associated storage as well as operating the Rhine ports of Schwelgern and Walsum-Süd.
Llanwern steelworks is located in Llanwern, east of the City of Newport, South Wales.
Ebbw Vale Steelworks was an integrated steel mill located in Ebbw Vale, South Wales. Developed from 1790, by the late 1930s it had become the largest steel mill in Europe. It was nationalised after World War II. As the steel industry changed to bulk handling, iron and steel making was ceased in the 1970s, and the site was redeveloped as a specialised tinplate works. It was closed by Corus in 2002, but is being redeveloped in a joint partnership between Blaenau Gwent Council and the Welsh Government.
Trostre Steelworks is a tinplate manufacturing facility located in Pemberton, Carmarthenshire, just outside Llanelli, West Wales. Planned by the Steel Company of Wales in 1947, today it is part of Tata Steel Europe's infrastructure.
Blyth Cambois TMD was a traction maintenance depot located in Blyth, Northumberland, England. The depot was situated on the west side of the branch line from Bedlington Junction to Blyth Docks.
Redcar Bulk Terminal (RBT), also known as Redcar Ore Terminal, is a privately run dock at the mouth of the Tees Estuary in North Yorkshire, England. The port is used for the transhipment of coal and coke and for many years was the import dock for iron ore destined for Redcar Steelworks under British Steel Corporation, British Steel plc, Corus, Tata Steel Europe and Sahaviriya Steel Industries.
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