Newtown and Machynlleth Railway | |||
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![]() Moat Lane Junction, a joint station with the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway. The N&MR to the Cambrian Mountains and Cardigan Bay proceeds ahead, the L&NR to Builth Wells proceeds to the left. Two LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0's work within the station, 11 May 1957. | |||
Overview | |||
Status | Operational, Cambrian Line | ||
Owner | Original: Newtown and Machynlleth Railway Current: Network Rail | ||
Locale | Mid Wales | ||
Termini | |||
Stations | Scafell Halt, Moat Lane Junction, Caersws, Pontdolgoch, Carno, Talerddig, Llanbrynmair, Commins Coch Halt, Cemmes Road | ||
Service | |||
System | Cambrian Railways | ||
Operator(s) | Original: Cambrian Railways Current: Transport for Wales | ||
History | |||
Opened | 1863 | ||
Technical | |||
Line length | 23 mi (37 km) | ||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
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Newtown and Machynlleth Railway |
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The Newtown and Machynlleth Railway was a railway company in Wales. It built a line from a junction with the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway near Caersws to the market town of Machynlleth; the line opened in 1862. Newtown had become the hub of railway lines in the district. Machynlleth was an important town, and extension from there to Aberystwyth and to the coast northward was in the minds of the promoters.
The topography of the district was challenging, and a practicable line had to be routed north of the most mountainous region, and climb steeply. There was a summit at Talerddig, 693 feet (211 m) above sea level; a 120-foot-deep (37 m) rock cutting was made at the summit, to mitigate the climb on the approaches. Another company, the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway, built the line connecting Machynlleth to Aberystwyth, and also to Porthmadog and Pwllheli, and the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway company itself was incorporated into the Cambrian Railways company in 1864. Its line became the main access route for Aberystwyth and the coast, and remains in use at the present day.
In the mid 1850s the railway map of central Wales was still blank. The South Wales Railway opened progressively from 1850; it was in a tense alliance with the Great Western Railway, and ran along the south coast; there were several early mineral lines near its route. The Chester and Holyhead Railway, friendly to the London and North Western Railway ran along the north coast, and the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway demarcated the eastern border. Both the LNWR and the GWR had proposed railways into the interior, but both had withdrawn.
Newtown and Llanidloes were centres of flannel manufacture at the time, and in frustration promoted their own railway joining the towns. The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway was authorised in 1853 and opened in 1859. The L&NR was not connected to any other line, but encouraged by the development, another railway was locally promoted: the Oswestry and Newtown Railway. This was authorised in 1855 and opened in stages from 1860, connecting to the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, and thence the developing English network, at Oswestry in Shropshire. [1] [2] [3]
There was still a considerable expanse of undeveloped territory to the west and south of Newtown, and thoughts returned to railways covering longer distances. A line striking across Wales from northeast to the southwest, possibly developing an Atlantic coast port, seemed attractive, and this led to several ambitious schemes which was later attempted to be built by the Manchester and Milford Railway. Other routes were considered, and one joining Newtown to Aberystwyth was considered attractive. Avoiding the mountainous area surrounding Plynlimon, the easiest and obvious route lay in a sweep north through Talerddig to Machynlleth, an important market town. A solicitor based there, named David Howell, made energetic moves to form a railway scheme, beginning with a public meeting on 20 December 1856 at Machynlleth. There was support for a railway, and the engineer Benjamin Piercy prepared plans for a route. A 23-mile (37 km) line from the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway near Caersws to Machynlleth was shown to be feasible. It involved a climb from 412 feet (126 m) to a summit of 693 feet (211 m) at Talerddig with a maximum gradient of 1 in 71, and an even steeper descent to near sea level at Machynlleth with four miles (6 km) at 1 in 52 to 1 in 60. [4] [3]
The Newtown and Machynlleth Railway was incorporated by Act of 27 July 1857, with authorised capital of £150,000. The Bill was unopposed in Parliament. The first sod was cut in November 1858, the delay suggesting land acquisition and money-raising difficulties. [2] [3] [5] [6] [7]
A contract for the construction was let to the partnership of David Davies and Thomas Savin, in the amount of £130,000, of which £23,000 was to be paid in paid-up shares and £5,000 as a loan. The terrain was not easy for the construction. There was to be a tunnel at the Talerddig summit, but this was changed to a cutting in the rock. Briwnant-Jones suggests that the rock material was found to be suitable for the construction of bridges on the line, and that the change had a beneficial effect on the contractors' costs. When made, the cutting was 120 feet (37 m) in depth: for some years this was the world's deepest railway cutting. Flat-bottom rails were specified for the permanent way, but this was changed to bullhead rail between Caersws and Talerddig. [2] [8]
The partnership of David Davies and Thomas Savin were established and successful railway contractors for the project, and it was their money which enabled the scheme to go ahead, by their agreeing to construct the works and take only shares as payment, when share subscriptions did not come forward as hoped. Savin had plans to develop the coastal area from Aberystwyth northwards as far as Pwllheli, including the construction of hotels and other amenities. Davies was more cautious, seeing this as reckless overreaching, and the difference of view led to the partnership breaking up on 29 October 1860. [9] Davies continued the work on the N&MR; by this time he was the majority shareholder.
The N&MR company had hoped that the Great Western Railway would work the line, but the GWR declined, and the N&MR was worked by the Oswestry and Newtown Railway. The N&MR considered itself to be aligned to the Great Western Railway. The other Newtown railways were in a loose alliance which now included the planned Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway, which was to connect with the London and North Western Railway system at Whitchurch. Those companies negotiated with the LNWR regarding working arrangements, coordination of timetabling and through ticketing. This had not been disclosed to the N&MR, which considered the others to be acting in bad faith. Fearing isolation the N&MR quickly arranged for the GWR to work the line for 40 per cent of gross earnings; the N&MR shareholders were to be guaranteed an annual dividend of 5 per cent. However after ratification of the deal by N&MR shareholders, the GWR failed to get approval from its own shareholders. [10] [3] [2]
The GWR negotiated further but sought to impose conditions which the N&MR found unacceptable, and in December 1862 the discussions were at an end. Davies was asked, at this late stage, to build the stations. The GWR had given the inadequacy—perhaps absence—of the station buildings as a reason for refusing to work the line. [11]
The N&MR now set about getting Board of Trade approval to open the line for passenger operation, and Captain Henry Tyler made two visits; on the second occasion, 30 December 1862, he approved the opening subject to some conditions. Trains started operating the following day, 31 December 1862. [12] [2] It appears that the construction contractor (Davies) conveyed some goods wagons and possibly passengers unofficially before that. A grand opening ceremony was held on 3 January 1863. [12]
The rupture with the GWR over working arrangements having proved final, the company called on the Oswestry and Newtown Railway to work its line; the O&NR was already working the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway. In practice it was Thomas Savin actually working the O&NR by contract, and the contract was extended to cover the N&MR also. The limited motive power and rolling stock of the N&MR was inadequate, and the N&MR arranged with David Davies to spend up to £20,000 on additional rolling stock as a matter of urgency. The negotiation with the O&NR developed into an agreement to amalgamate; the agreement, arranged under the O&NR's 1860 Act, meant that the O&NR leased the N&MR for 100 years. It was signed on 31 August, and backdated to 1 March 1863. [3] [13]
Aberystwyth had a population of 5,561 in 1861. The Newtown and Machynlleth Railway promoters had long harboured designs on reaching Aberystwyth; indeed Thomas Savin thought the entire coast from there northwards needed to be developed by a railway and hotels. Constructing the N&MR's own line exhausted its resources, and it was an independent company, the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway (officially spelt Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway at first), that was authorised on 22 July 1861. [14] It was to build a line from Aberystwyth to Pwllheli, crossing the River Dyfi, then spelt Dovey, near its mouth by a large bridge. There was to be a branch from the line to Machynlleth, on the south side of the Dovey. [15] In fact doubts about the Dovey bridge and a measure of economic reality caused the A&WCR to build the Aberystwyth to Machynlleth section first, opening Machynlleth to Borth on 1 July 1863 and Borth to Abersytwyth to goods May 1864 and to passengers on 23 June 1864. [15] [16]
Doubts about the Dovey bridge became firmer: there was an existing ferry from Ynyslas on the Aberystwyth line, to Aberdovey, so the A&WCR built its line northward from Aberdovey, opening in stages from 24 October 1863. The Dovey bridge scheme was abandoned, and later a line was built from Aberdovey to what became Dovey Junction, opening on 14 August 1867. In this way the Aberystwyth line and the Porthmadog and Pwllheli lines became directly accessible from Machynlleth and Oswestry. [15]
On 25 July 1864 an Amalgamation Act was passed, forming the Cambrian Railways company. Its constituents were the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway, the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway, the Oswestry and Newtown Railway, and the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway. [17] [7] The Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway joined soon after.
The former Newtown and Machynlleth line continues in use, and carries the passenger service between Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. The line is single-track, with stations at at Caersws and Machynlleth, with passing loops at Talerddig and Machynlleth. All other stations were closed during rationalization of the line in the 1960s.
From Moat Lane Junction the line climbed westbound steeply to Talerddig, 10 miles (16 km), in part at 1 in 80. The ascent on the other side of the summit eastbound was much steeper from Cemmes Road to Talerddig for 12 miles (19 km), with the final section through to Talerddig cutting with a gradient up to 1 in 52. [18]
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 Cambrian Line, sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line and Cambrian Coast Line for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury, England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between the western terminals of Pwllheli, Gwynedd, and Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, with the eastern terminal at Shrewsbury, Shropshire as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. The railway line is regarded to be scenic, as it passes through the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales, Snowdonia National Park and along the coast of Cardigan Bay.
The Central Wales Football League(formerly the Mid Wales Football League) is a football league in Wales at tier four of the Welsh Football pyramid, run by the Central Wales Football Association. The league consists of two regionally based divisions - a Northern Division and a Southern Division. The league offers a promotion route to the Football Association of Wales administered tier three Ardal Leagues. Relegation is possible to the relevant tier five level leagues in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion and Montgomeryshire.
The Cambrian Coast Express is an old named passenger train of the Great Western Railway (GWR), and later British Rail, running from London Paddington via Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli over the Cambrian Line.
Newtown railway station is a railway station serving Newtown, Powys, Wales.
Caersws railway station is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the village of Caersws. It is notable that there is a distance of 22 miles (35 km) between this station and Machynlleth, the longest distance between two intermediate stations in Wales.
Machynlleth railway station is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the town of Machynlleth. It was built by the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway (N&MR), and subsequently passed into the ownership of the Cambrian Railways, the Great Western Railway, Western Region of British Railways and London Midland Region of British Railways. It is notable that there is a distance of 22 miles (35 km) between this station and Caersws, the longest distance between two intermediate stations in Wales.
Aberdovey railway station serves the seaside resort of Aberdyfi in Gwynedd, Wales. The station is on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services every two hours calling at all stations between Machynlleth and Pwllheli, including Tywyn, Barmouth, Harlech and Porthmadog. Passengers can connect at Machynlleth for trains to Aberystwyth or Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International.
Afon Wen was a railway station in Afon Wen, Gwynedd, Wales.
The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway company, running a line along the west coast of Wales.
Thomas Savin was a British railway engineer who was the contractor who built many railways in Wales and the Welsh borders from 1857 to 1866. He also in some cases was an investor in such schemes.
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 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 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 Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway was a railway company which was previously owned by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), built to connect Crewe with the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway which was jointly owned with GWR.
Carno is a closed railway station in Carno, on the Cambrian Line, that was part of the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway. The station was closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching Cuts though there are proposals to re-open it.
Moat Lane Junction was a railway junction in Montgomeryshire near to the village of Caersws in mid-Wales. It was the junction where the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway opened in 1863 diverged from the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway which opened four years earlier. Although having only three through platforms, by rural standards it was a busy interchange station and in its heyday possessed a refreshment room.
The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was a British railway company that built a line between Oswestry in Shropshire and Newtown Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The line opened in stages in 1860 and 1861. It was conceived to open up the area to rail transport, when local opinion formed the view that the trunk railway companies would not do so. Subscription money for the construction proved very difficult to generate. It was the action of a contractor partnership, Davies and Savin, in agreeing to accept shares as the majority of their payment for construction work, that saved the company from failure.
The Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway was a railway company that constructed a line from Whitchurch via Ellesmere to Oswestry. Most of the line was in Shropshire but part entered Flintshire, now Wrexham County Borough. It was seen as a link from the local railways around Newtown to the London and North Western Railway, breaking the local monopoly of the Great Western Railway. It opened as a single line in 1863 and 1864. Throughout the construction period it was short of money, and was paid for by the contractor, who took shares. Sporadically through its life it became a useful part of a through route for mineral trains, but it never developed greatly.
The Llangurig branch was a part of a proposed scheme by the Manchester and Milford Railway (M&MR) to connect industrialised Northwest England with the West Wales deep water port of Milford Haven. After various financial and construction difficulties, the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the Llangurig branch is noted as being the shortest lived working branch line in the United Kingdom, receiving only one train.