Pontypridd Graig railway station

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Pontypridd Graig
General information
Location Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Wales
Coordinates 51°35′54″N3°20′43″W / 51.5982°N 3.3453°W / 51.5982; -3.3453
Grid reference ST069896
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Barry Railway
Pre-groupingBarry Railway
Post-grouping Great Western Railway
Key dates
16 March 1896 (1896-03-16)Station opened as Pontypridd
1 July 1924Renamed Pontypridd Graig
5 May 1930 (1930-05-05)Station closed

Pontypridd Graig railway station was a railway station located in the South Wales valleys town of Pontypridd, on the Barry Railway. Although the line was opened for mineral traffic on 18 July 1889 to take coal from Rhondda to the Docks, the passenger service did not start until 16 March 1896 after much lobbying from local residents along the line. On that date, Barry services commenced between the Taff Vale station at Porth and Barry where the train terminated in the bay platform (Platform 4). On 7 June 1897, a new passenger service began between Pontypridd and Cardiff Clarence Road via St Fagans and Cardiff Riverside. Train journeys commenced at Pontypridd because the Taff Vale was not willing to allow direct competition with its own services from Porth to Cardiff Queen Street. The station was closed to passengers on 5 May 1930 by the GWR who diverted trains via Treforest Junction to its main station at Pontypridd Central.

Contents

History

A 1912 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Pontypridd (upper left). Barry Railway in orange; Taff Vale Railway in green. Coity, Biglis, Bridgend, Peterston, Pontypridd, St Fagan's, Treforest & Trehafod RJD 127.jpg
A 1912 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Pontypridd (upper left). Barry Railway in orange; Taff Vale Railway in green.

The station was opened by the Barry Railway on 16 March 1896. [1]

The Barry Railway was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922, and the station was renamed Pontypridd Graig on 1 July 1924, to avoid confusion with the former Taff Vale Railway station, which had also been named Pontypridd, and which was renamed Pontypridd Central the same year. [1]

Passenger services along the former Barry line north of Tonteg Junction were diverted via Treforest Low Level (also on the former Taff Vale Railway) and Pontypridd Central from 5 May 1930, [2] and Pontypridd Graig station was closed. [1]

Present day

The tunnel mouth of Pontypridd Graig station Pontypridd Graig Tunnel.jpg
The tunnel mouth of Pontypridd Graig station
The inscription above the tunnel mouth of Pontypridd Graig station Pontypridd Graig Tunnel Inscription.jpg
The inscription above the tunnel mouth of Pontypridd Graig station

Today, nothing of the station or platforms remain. The tunnel mouth is situated in the grounds of Dewi Sant Hospital car park, just behind the modern day Pontypridd railway station, on Albert Road, the Graig, Pontypridd. The other end of the tunnel is in the grounds of the University of South Wales, which is some distance away.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 188. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. ↑ Quick, M E (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 347. OCLC   931112387.
Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Trehafod
Line closed, station open		  Barry Railway
Porth-Barry and Pontypridd-Cardiff Clarence Road		  Treforest High Level
Line and station closed
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