Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway

Last updated

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.

Contents

The construction required the formation of the Rhondda Tunnel, nearly two miles (3.2 km) long through difficult geological conditions, but the line opened from Treherbert through the tunnel to Port Talbot and Aberavon in 1890. Authorisation to extend to Swansea, and also Neath, was secured and those lines opened in 1894 (goods) and 1895.

The line suffered operational challenges and was never greatly profitable, but it arranged for the Great Western Railway to operate the line and guarantee good dividends from 1906. The GWR incorporated the line's infrastructure in widening its own lines at Court Sart and at Swansea docks. As it was heavily dependent on coal mining activity, the line declined sharply after 1945, and it was progressively truncated. The Rhondda Tunnel suffered a collapse in 1968 and the upper part of the line closed. A short section of the original route is in use near Briton Ferry and in the Swansea docks complex.

Before the railway

Blaengwynfi station and Rhondda Tunnel Blaengwynfi Stn and the Tunnel (4823986112) (2).jpg
Blaengwynfi station and Rhondda Tunnel

Although coal and iron had been extracted for some centuries, the first industrialisation of mining in the Afan Valley was in 1811 when Samuel Lettston obtained a lease of land at Cwmavon and in 1819 established a blast furnace there in 1819. Part of the output was conveyed to Aberavon on the Mynydd Bychan tramroad, a horse-operated wooden waggonway that had been in existence since about 1750. [1] [2] In 1824 transport efficiency was improved by the opening of what became known as the Cwmavon Tramroad, three miles (4.8 km) in length and again horse-operated. The iron company expanded and became known as Vigurs and Co.

It was reported in 1830 that a new railway was under construction, from Oakwood (near Pontrhydyfen) to Aberavon, for the purpose of transporting coal from coalfields above Pontrhydyfen. This became known as the Oakwood Railway, but the colliery business was unsuccessful and the railway fell into disuse. [3] [4]

The South Wales Railway opened as far as Swansea on 2 June 1850. This was the first trunk railway in South Wales and provided a huge boost to trade there; from that time development of the dock facilities and of industry proceeded rapidly. The North Dock was opened in 1852, and the Swansea Harbour Trust was established in 1857, soon followed by the opening of the South Dock in 1859. Both docks were west of the River Tawe but the expansion of dock facilities resulted in much larger facilities east of the river.

The Prince of Wales Dock was opened by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, in October 1881. It was capable of accommodating the largest vessels of the day, and the commercial interest of the dock was, among other things, to participate in the coal traffic that was at the time handled through Cardiff Docks. The Cardiff system had long suffered from extreme congestion of the railways serving the docks there, and of the berthing accommodation itself, with the result that there were constant complaints from shippers of the delay. [5] [6]

Proposals

The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway in 1885 R&SBR 1885.png
The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway in 1885

If a proportion of the Rhondda coal traffic could be brought to Swansea instead, that would be hugely to the advantage of the Swansea Dock interest, but it would be dependent on a direct railway from the Rhondda to Swansea. On 12 November 1880, as the Prince of Wales Dock was nearing completion, a public meeting was held in Swansea at which it was proposed to build a railway connecting the upper end of the Rhondda Fawr to Swansea, by making use of the South Wales Mineral Railway between Glyncorrwg and Neath. A tunnel would be needed at the upper end, and a rope-worked incline on the SWMR would have to be by-passed by means of a deviation. Nonetheless use of the Mineral Railway would still pose considerable operational difficulties. [7]

A rival scheme, which was to become the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway, was promoted, running independently from Treherbert, through a long tunnel to the valley of the River Afan, and then following the valley down to Pontrhydyfen. From there it was to cross to Baglan Bay at Briton Ferry, then following the coast and crossing the River Neath near the sea by a tidal bridge. From Treherbert the line would descend almost all the way, giving an advantage to the loaded trains descending, although much of the colliery output in the Rhondda Valley would have to be hauled uphill to Treherbert to join the line there. [7]

The bills went to the parliamentary session of 1882 and the R&SBR scheme found preference, but there was stiff opposition from interests in Neath. They wished to develop their own wharf facilities, and a combination of resentment of the competition from Swansea and discomfort that the swing bridge crossing would impede their own river traffic, resulted in objection to their river being crossed near its mouth, [note 1] [8] and the promoters of the R&SBR shortened the scheme to end at Briton Ferry. Accordingly, the Act was passed on 10 August 1882; [9] [10] as well as the main line, it authorised branches from Pontrhydyfen to Aberavon and Port Talbot. The Cwmavon Tramway was to be acquired by the new company. [7] [5] [11]

The access to Swansea was of course important both to the railway and to the dock complex there, and in 1883 a further Bill was promoted, to reach Swansea by tunnelling under the River Neath. Against technical opposition, this was passed. The tunnel would have cost £72,000 and in fact an agreement was reached with the Great Western Railway by which the GWR would carry the R&SBR traffic between Port Talbot and the R&SBR lines at Swansea. (The existing GWR main line largely paralleled the proposed R&SBR line.) This enabled the abandonment of the plans to reach Briton Ferry and to make the tunnel, and the Company's capital was reduced accordingly, by Act of 1886. [7] [5]

Opening of the line

The engineer for the construction was S. W. Yockney. The first section of line, between Aberavon and Cymmer, was opened for traffic on 2 November 1885, [8] giving improved access to the exceptionally rich coalfields in the Avon Valley. [7] This section of the route followed the course of the old Cwmavon Tramway, realigned and regarded for locomotive operation. [12] [11] and made a junction with the GWR at Aberavon (Port Talbot GWR). [13]

Land acquisition had been difficult; even now access for the tunnel construction had not been possible, as the Cardiff Times reported:

The difficulties in the way of obtaining possession of the land for the construction of the Rhondda tunnel having been to some extent removed, the directors hope they will shortly obtain possession so as to enable them to proceed with the work, which the engineers are confident can now be completed in two years. [14]

Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway Act 1890
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Long title An Act to authorise the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway Company to construct new Railways and other works and to confer further powers upon that Company and for other purposes.
Citation 53 & 54 Vict. c. cxlv
Dates
Royal assent 4 August 1890
Text of statute as originally enacted

Moreover, it was not until 1888 that the essential junction with the Taff Vale Railway at Treherbert was authorised in Parliament. In 1890 some short extension lines were authorised, at Swansea Docks, in Aberavon and Port Talbot, including the formation of a quay or wharf at Aberavon. [7]

Further construction involved the long tunnel, and inevitably the progress was slow. The rock was extremely hard and the height of the surface above the tunnel prevented the sinking of shafts, so that tunnelling could only proceed from the two ends. 1,100 men were engaged on the work, and compressed air drills, then something of a novelty, and blasting, were employed. The tunnel was finally ready in 1890, the open air section from Cymmer to Blaengwynfi opening on 2 June 1890, followed by opening through the tunnel to Blaencwm on 2 July 1890; the short connection from there to the junction with the Taff Vale Railway followed on 14 July 1890. [8] [11] [10] The Rhondda Tunnel was the longest wholly in Wales, at 3,443 yards (1.956 mi; 3.148 km). The Taff Vale station at Treherbert was used as the terminal station, and from there one-quarter mile (0.40 km) of Taff Vale track was used to reach Blaenrhondda Junction (later R&SB Junction), where the R&SBR itself started. A stiff climb followed to the mouth of the Rhondda Tunnel, and the climb continued in the tunnel, to the summit at the south-western end at Blaengwynfi. From there the line descended steeply. [7] [5]

The line was extended southwards from Aberavon to a dock in Port Talbot and a passenger station named Aberavon Dock was established there; this section opened in 1891. The GWR main line was crossed on the level by this extension. [8] [5] [10]

Extending to Swansea

The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway in 1899 R&SBR 1899.png
The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway in 1899

The relationship with the GWR for onward conveyance of mineral traffic from the R&SBR line proved disadvantageous to the R&SBR, and in 1891 [11] it was decided to cancel the agreement with them regarding the conveyance of R&SBR traffic, and on 27 June 1892 powers were obtained to extend the R&SBR line from Briton Ferry to Swansea, including a swing bridge near Neath, which by now was accepted by the community there. Finally in June 1893 a further Act sanctioned the construction of the line between Aberavon and Briton Ferry in place of the 1891 authorisation. [7]

A branch connection was made from Aberavon (Burrows Junction) to Briton Ferry Dock on 30 December 1893; [5] [12] [10] the line swept to the west of the GWR main line. The line towards Swansea opened on 14 December 1894 to goods; [10] it left the Briton Ferry Dock line (at Briton Ferry Junction) and crossed under the GWR main line, then running northwards, following close on its east side through Briton Ferry village. It was difficult to make a route through this section, as the GWR line, housing and industrial works were all close together; in fact the route picked its way at the back of houses, and the station was on an embankment between two rows of houses. [11]

Neath Swing Bridge Neath Abbey Swing Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1004824.jpg
Neath Swing Bridge

At Court Sart the line turned west, again crossing under the GWR line and crossing the Neath Canal and both parts of the River Neath, then turning south and then west to Danygraig. Danygraig was within the Swansea Harbour complex, giving access to mineral trains to the Swansea Harbour Trust lines there. The main part of the Neath River was crossed by the large Neath swing bridge. [5] The bridge is 388 feet (118 m) in length and the structure contains 1,400 tons of iron. [7]

Passenger services through to Swansea started on 14 March 1895, [10] with passenger trains now diverted away from the Aberavon Dock station and calling at a new Aberavon Seaside station. Swansea itself was reached for the time being over the Swansea Harbour Trust lines. Also on 14 March 1895 the R&SBR opened a passenger service to its own Neath station. [5] [8] [12]

The R&SBR built its own line covering the final mile to its Riverside station at Swansea, opening on 7 May 1899 [note 2] and eliminating the reliance for passenger trains on the Swansea Harbour Trust lines. On the same day several short branches totalling 1 mile 60 chains (2.8 km) were opened on the R&SBR system. [8]

The passenger train service at this time was typically seven trains daily each way between Swansea and Treherbert; two trains ran on Sundays. The R&SBR and the Taff Vale Railway had a mutual arrangement to run trains through between Swansea and Cardiff via Treherbert; the two companies' rolling stock alternated on these trains, running throughout, but engines always changed at Treherbert. [5] [12]

Operation by the Great Western Railway

The old station at Cymmer, now "The Refreshment Rooms" Refreshment Rooms, The Old Station, Cymmer - geograph.org.uk - 4360098.jpg
The old station at Cymmer, now "The Refreshment Rooms"

At the turn of the century new railways were proposed which were likely to enable the Barry Railway to encroach on the GWR area of dominance at Swansea. The R&SBR was a possible means of getting this access if another railway could get control, or running powers, and this motivated the GWR to negotiate with the R&SBR for control. In 1906 agreement was reached by which the GWR took over the management of the R&SBR system in return for generous financial guarantees. The colliery activity in the area was at its peak and the R&SBR directors were able to use this fact to the advantage of their shareholders in the negotiation. [10] The ordinary dividend of the R&SBR had been 1.5% in 1902; the GWR now guaranteed 3% rising to 5% in 1907. [12] This was in effect a lease; the arrangement took effect from 30 June 1906. [note 3] [8] [12] [5]

From this time the GWR drafted in three new 45xx 2-6-2T locomotives, 4504–4506, for use on the passenger trains. The Taff Vale Railway did not consider the GWR a friendly company, and the TVR reminded the GWR that the agreement to use Treherbert TVR station was with the R&SBR, not the GWR: the latter had to rebrand the locomotives and renumber them in the R&SBR stock, as 31–33, to comply. [10] [12]

In 1906 the new trunk route to Fishguard opened, with GWR hopes of making the harbour there an ocean terminal. Congestion delaying express trains through the Swansea area was an issue, and acquiring the R&SBR simplified the building of the Swansea District Line, a long new line avoiding Swansea altogether. The convergence (in the up direction) of the new route with the former South Wales Railway main line at Court Sart was by means of a dive-under, by following the course of the R&SBR line. [8] [5]

The R&SBR company remained in existence, as a financial company only; it was absorbed by the Great Western Railway in the Grouping of the railways of Great Britain in 1923, following the Railways Act 1921. [8] (In fact the R&SBR, now only a financial shell, was absorbed on 1 January 1922, [5] or 9 May 1922. [12] )

Major improvements

Cynonville railway station in 2013 Cynonville railway station - geograph.org.uk - 3472095.jpg
Cynonville railway station in 2013

In 1929 the Government passed the Development (Loan Guarantees and Grants) Act with the intention of encouraging industrial investment that would reduce the high level of unemployment at the time. The Great Western Railway took up this scheme, and among other projects, improved the infrastructure in the Swansea and Port Talbot areas. The main line east from Swansea was exceptionally congested with mineral traffic, impeding the passage of the premium express passenger trains. The section between Court Sart and Port Talbot was widened, subsuming all of the former R&SBR infrastructure in the Court Sart and Briton Ferry area into the main line there. [15]

Considerable investment was made in the GWR dock facilities at Swansea, especially in modern mechanical handling equipment and adaptation to the changing pattern of mineral exports. The numerous small-scale marshalling yards at the Burrows (the R&SBR section near Jersey Marine) were modernised, and the residual passenger service over this section was diverted to the GWR (former Swansea and Neath) line running parallel, so that the former R&SBR lines were dedicated to goods and mineral traffic. The diversion from Riverside freed up the approach of goods traffic at the docks, which had previously conflicted with passenger trains crossing. [15]

The Swansea to Treherbert passenger service was diverted away, to use Swansea High Street station, running via Neath and the GWR main line; a shuttle service of GWR railcars ran from Briton Ferry to Swansea East Dock station instead of Riverside, which was closed to passengers. [15] This change took place on 11 September 1933. (East Dock station closed to passengers on 28 September 1936.) On 16 September 1935 the R&SBR Neath branch closed to passenger traffic. [5] [10]

The R&SBR line from Aberavon crossed under the GWR main line approaching Briton Ferry, but the R&SBR had always had a spur to Briton Ferry Docks on the down side of the line. The scheme altered the two lines to form a burrowing junction for the R&SBR line joining the GWR. [15]

Under British Railways

In 1948 the railways of Great Britain were nationalised under the Transport Act 1947, becoming part of British Railways.

The former Port Talbot Railway had numerous branches in the lower part of the area of the R&SBR main line, and from near Pontrhydyfen to Port Talbot the two lines ran close together in the valley, although the PTR followed a much more tortuous alignment. In 1954 a connection was installed near Pontrhydyfen and the lower part of the PTR was closed. [5]

In 1954 Briton Ferry Dock closed as a trade harbour. [5]

The R&SBR line and the GWR former Llynvi and Ogmore Railway line ran parallel and adjacent from Cymmer to Blaengwynfi. When expensive repairs to Gelli Tunnel and Groeserw Viaduct on the R&SBR line became necessary in 1960, one and a half miles (2.4 km) of the R&SBR line was closed, and the GWR line was used. The L&OR line was connected into the R&SBR station, and east of the station a slue was made into the GWR line. A new junction was made some distance west of Blaengwynfi, where the two routes separated once again. The new arrangement was commissioned on 13 June 1960. [5]

On 3 December 1962 the passenger service between Swansea and Cymmer was withdrawn; the R&SBR route east of Cymmer continued to be served by trains from Bridgend off the L&OR route via Maesteg. [5]

The line remained in use from Duffryn Rhondda downwards for mineral traffic, but with the steep decline of colliery work locally, that section closed on 2 November 1964. [10]

The R&SBR Neath branch had been a goods only line since 1935; on 6 September 1965 it closed completely except for a stub serving a private siding (until 30 November 1983). [5]

The R&SBR part of the Bridgend - Cymmer - Treherbert journey was suspended temporarily on 26 February 1968 after distortion was recorded in the lining of Rhondda Tunnel which was closed as a precaution. The line had already been cited for closure under the Beeching Axe scheme, and the passenger service was maintained by road buses until 14 December 1970, when the line was considered permanently closed. [10] For the time being Bridgend to Cymmer passenger trains used the R&SBR station as a terminus. [10]

Port Talbot harbour declined over the years especially after World War II, but in 1970 it as revived as a modernised bulk handling harbour, and the former traditional dock closed on 1 January 1972. [5]

The remaining parts of the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway still in use are the section from Court Sart Junction to Dynevor Junction that has become part of the Swansea District Line, and part of the Jersey Marine complex. The Neath Swing Bridge is on the District Line section; it was fixed about 1982, and is a grade II listed structure. [16]

Location list

Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway
BSicon CONTg.svg
Treherbert
BSicon KBHFxe.svg
BSicon exABZg2.svg
BSicon exSTRc3.svg
Treherbert Junction
Blaenrhondda
BSicon exSTRc12.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
BSicon exSTR3+4.svg
Taff Vale Railway
to Rhondda Fawr Collieries
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon exKRZr+1o.svg
BSicon exSTRc4.svg
BSicon exTUNNEL1.svg
Rhondda Tunnel
3443 yd
3148 m
Blaengwynfi
BSicon exHST.svg
Gelli Tunnel
174 yd
159 m
BSicon exTUNNEL1.svg
Croeserw Viaduct
BSicon exhSTRae.svg
BSicon ex3STR3+l.svg
BSicon exdCONTfq.svg
BSicon exCONTg.svg
BSicon exBHF-L.svg
BSicon exlvBHF~R.svg
BSicon exv3STR-.svg
Cymmer Afan
BSicon exABZgl.svg
BSicon exKRZu.svg
BSicon exSTRq.svg
BSicon ex3STRl+4.svg
BSicon exdCONTfq.svg
BSicon exCONT3+g.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Duffryn Rhondda Halt
BSicon exHST.svg
Cynonville Halt
BSicon exHST.svg
Pontrhydyfen
BSicon exCONT3+l.svg
BSicon excSTRq.svg
BSicon exdKRZu.svg
BSicon exABZq+l.svg
BSicon exdCONTfq.svg
Cwmavon Glam
BSicon exHST.svg
BSicon exdSTR.svg
BSicon exSHI3g+l.svg
BSicon exvSHI3r-.svg
Aberavon Town
BSicon exBHF.svg
BSicon exkABZg2.svg
East Junction
BSicon CONTg@Gq.svg
BSicon xKRZo+xk1.svg
BSicon ekABZq+4.svg
BSicon dCONTfq.svg
BSicon exABZg+l.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
Port Talbot Railway
to Port Talbot Old Dock
BSicon exABZgl.svg
BSicon exKDSTeq.svg
Port Talbot New Dock
BSicon exHST.svg
Aberavon (Seaside)
BSicon lCONTg@F.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Baglan Sands Halt
BSicon kSTR2.svg
BSicon exSTR2.svg
BSicon exABZgl.svg
BSicon exdSTRc3.svg
BSicon exdSTRq.svg
BSicon exSTR+r.svg
BSicon kSTRc1.svg
BSicon exSTRc1.svg
BSicon xkKRZl+4u.svg
BSicon exSTR+4.svg
BSicon STR+r.svg
BSicon exKDSTe.svg
Briton Ferry Dock
Briton Ferry East
BSicon exHST.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Briton Ferry
BSicon exCONT4+l.svg
BSicon exKRZu.svg
BSicon ekKRZ2+ru.svg
BSicon exkSTRc3.svg
Court Sart
BSicon exHST.svg
BSicon kABZg3.svg
BSicon exkSTR+4.svg
Court Sart Junction
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon STRc2.svg
BSicon xkKRZr+1u.svg
BSicon kSTRc4.svg
BSicon exSTRc2.svg
BSicon STR3.svg
BSicon exSTR3.svg
BSicon exSTRc2.svg
BSicon xABZg+1.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon exSTR3+1.svg
BSicon exdSTRc4.svg
Neath Canal Side
BSicon exKBHFaq.svg
BSicon eABZg+1.svg
BSicon eABZgr.svg
BSicon exSTRc4.svg
Neath Harbour Junction
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon eDBK.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon CONTg.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon dCONTgq.svg
BSicon KRZu.svg
BSicon ABZgr.svg
Jersey Marine South Jn
BSicon STR+c2.svg
BSicon xABZg3.svg
Cardonnel Junction
BSicon dSTRc2.svg
BSicon ABZ3+1g.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Cape Platform
BSicon dCONT1-.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Jersey Marine
BSicon exHST.svg
Baldwins Halt
BSicon exHST.svg
Danygraig Halt
Great Western Railway
to Swansea East Dock
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon exABZgr.svg
BSicon exABZgl.svg
BSicon exKDSTeq.svg
Swansea East Docks
BSicon exKRWgl.svg
BSicon exKRW+r.svg
Swansea Riverside
BSicon exKBHFe.svg
BSicon exCONTf.svg

First main line

Swansea line

Note: the line from Dynevor Junction to Swansea Riverside was almost completely subsumed in marshalling sidings in later years.

Neath branch

The Rhondda Tunnel Society

The Rhondda Tunnel Society was formed in September 2014. The short-term goal of the society was to put on display the tunnel's original cover stone which stood above the entrance of the tunnel at Blaencwm. The society is campaigning to reopen the tunnel as a cycle and walking route. [18]

Remains

The section along the Afan Valley is now the route of the Afan Valley Cycleway, [19]

The former Cymmer station is now a public house, known as "The Refreshment Rooms".

Two original Rhondda and Swansea Bay coaches have survived into the present day. Coaches No. 18 and No. 72 now stand in private residence as holiday homes. [20]

Notes

  1. Brunel had intended to bring the South Wales Railway across the river at this point, but he too had been refused.
  2. Morgan says 1895 but this is contradicted by MacDermot, Arthurton and Quick.
  3. MacDermot; Baughan says 1 January 1906; Morgan says 1 July 1906, and describes the arrangement as a lease.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Talbot</span> Town and community in Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Afan</span> River in Wales

The River Afan is a river in Wales whose valley formed the territory of the medieval Lords of Afan. The Afan Valley encompasses the upper reaches of the river. The valley is traversed by the A4107 road. Settlements in the area include Cwmafan, Pontrhydyfen and Cymmer. The town of Aberavon, whose name in Welsh Aberafan means 'mouth of the Afan', grew up on the banks of the river and was later subsumed by the town of Port Talbot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taff Vale Railway</span> Railway company and line in South Wales

The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stages in 1840 and 1841.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briton Ferry</span> Human settlement in Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff Railway</span> United Kingdom legislation

From 1839 the Trustees of the Marquis of Bute, operated a large dock operation in Cardiff, the "Bute Docks". This was very successful, but was overwhelmed by the huge volume of coal exported through Cardiff. At the same time it was seen that railway companies, especially the Taff Vale Railway (TVR), were making money conveying the coal to the docks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treherbert railway station</span> Railway station in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales

Treherbert railway station serves the village of Treherbert in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is the northern terminus of the Rhondda Line, 23 miles (37 km) north west of Cardiff Central.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Railway Company</span> Former railway and docks company in South Wales

The Barry Railway Company was a railway and docks company in South Wales, first incorporated as the Barry Dock and Railway Company in 1884. It arose out of frustration among Rhondda coal owners at congestion and high charges at Cardiff Docks as well the monopoly held by the Taff Vale Railway in transporting coal from the Rhondda. In addition, the Taff Vale did not have the required capacity for the mineral traffic using the route, leading to lengthy delays in getting to Cardiff.

Cymmer is a small village in the community of Cymer and Glyncorrwg, in Neath Port Talbot in Wales, set on a hillside in the Afan Valley near the confluence of the River Afan and the River Corrwg. In 2001, Cymmer had a population of 2,883.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glyncorrwg</span> Village in Wales

Glyncorrwg is a village in the Afan Valley, in southern Wales.

The Vale of Neath Railway (VoNR) was a broad gauge railway company, that built a line from Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare to Neath, in Wales, mostly to transport the products of the Merthyr iron industries to ports on Swansea Bay.

The South Wales Mineral Railway was a railway built to serve collieries in the upper Afan Valley, and bring their output to a dock at Briton Ferry, in South Wales. It opened in stages, in 1861 and 1863. It was built on the broad gauge and had steep gradients, including a rope worked incline near Briton Ferry.

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 South Wales Railway was a main line railway which opened in stages from 1850, connecting the Great Western Railway from Gloucester to South Wales. It was constructed on the broad gauge. An original aspiration was to reach Fishguard to engender an Irish ferry transit and transatlantic trade, but the latter did not materialise for many years, and never became an important sector of the business. Neyland was the western terminus of the line until 1906.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwynfi</span> Electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot, Wales

Gwynfi is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.

Rail transport in Cardiff has developed to provide connections to many other major cities in the United Kingdom, and to provide an urban rail network for the city and its commuter towns in southeast Wales. Today, there are three train operating companies in Cardiff: Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swing Bridge, River Neath</span> Bridge in Port Talbot, Wales

The Neath River Swing Bridge is a swing bridge over the River Neath, in Wales. It carried the former Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway near Skewen. The bridge was constructed as a result of the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway Act of 1892, which aimed to provide access along the length of the river from wharves and jetties down past Briton Ferry.

The Rhondda Tunnel is an abandoned railway tunnel that runs between the Rhondda and the Afan Valleys in South Wales. It is 3,443 yards (3,148 m) long, making it the third longest railway tunnel in Wales, and the seventeenth longest in the United Kingdom.

Jersey Marine railway station was a railway station on the Rhondda and Swansea Bay line (R&SBR) which ran from the Rhondda Valley to Swansea on the Welsh coast in the county of Glamorgan. It lay 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Swansea.

References

  1. M J T Lewis, Early Wooden Railways, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1970, 0 7100 7818 8
  2. Bertram Baxter, Stone Blocks and Iron Rails, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1966
  3. Clive Smith, Railways of the Llynfi Valley, Alun Books, Port Talbot, 1985, ISBN   0 907117 38 4
  4. Afan Valley Then and Now
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 D S M Barrie, revised Peter Baughan, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 12: South Wales, David St John Thomas, Nairn, 1994, ISBN   0 946537 69 0
  6. John Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1995 reprinted 2001, ISBN   0 14 071056 6
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Alfred W Arthurton, The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway, in the Railway Magazine, March 1914
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 E T MacDermot, The Great Western Railway, volume II, 1863 - 1921, published by the Great Western Railway, London, 1931
  9. E F Carter, An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles, Cassell, London, 1959
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 James Page, Forgotten Railways: South Wales, David & Charles (Publishers) Limited, Newton Abbot, 1979, ISBN   0 7153 7734 5
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Clive Smith, Bygone Railways of the Afan, Alun Books, Port Talbot, 1982, ISBN   0 907117 17 1
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 H Morgan, South Wales Branch Lines, Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton, 1984, ISBN   0 7110 1321 7
  13. Col M H Cobb, The Railways of Great Britain -- A Historical Atlas, Ian Allan Publishing Limited, Shepperton, 2003, ISBN   07110 3003 0
  14. Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway, report in Cardiff Times, 21 February 1885, accessed at British Newspaper Archive (subscription required).
  15. 1 2 3 4 R Tourret, GWR Engineering Work, 1928 - 1938, Tourret Publishing, Abingdon, 2003, ISBN   0 905878 08 6
  16. Railway Swing Bridge Over Neath River Navigation, Skewen, at Coflein website http://www.coflein.gov.uk/cy/site/177/details/railway-swing-bridge-over-neath-river-navigation-skewen
  17. 1 2 3 M E Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology, The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002
  18. http://www.rhonddatunnelsociety.co.uk/ Rhondda Tunnel Society Website
  19. http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/afan-valley Sustrans: Afan Valley
  20. http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=5952 Image of coach body at Vintage Carriages Trust Website

See also