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 line ran westwards from Caersws along the Cerist and Trannon river valleys, with halts at Red House, Trefeglwys, Cerist and Garth & Van Road. An underground railway portal has been restored at the mine site.
Passengers were carried from 1873 until 1879. General freight was carried by the Cambrian Railways in 1896, to which company the line was leased. [1] The railway was a private venture by Earl Vane, who also leased the mine to the mining company and was the chairman of the Cambrian Railway Company. It was built by David Davies of Llandinam, the contractor and colliery owner. [2]
Until his death in 1887, John Ceiriog Hughes was Manager of the Van Railway, and it is said that many passengers "made pilgrimage along its short length ... for a chance of conversing with one of (Wales') most notable characters". [1]
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.
Caersws railway station is on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the village of Caersws. It is notable in that there are 22 miles (35 km) separating this station and Machynlleth, the longest distance between two intermediate stations in Wales.
Penygroes railway station was located in Penygroes, Gwynedd, Wales.
The Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen Railway was a standard gauge railway line that connected Corwen with Denbigh via Ruthin in North 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 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 Vale of Clwyd Railway (VoCR) was a standard-gauge line, which connected the settlements of Rhyl, St Asaph and Denbigh in North Wales. It opened in 1858, at first without a connection to the main line at Rhyl, but this was provided in 1862. At Denbigh, a connection could be made on to the Mold and Denbigh Junction Railway. Although the area became popular with holidaymakers from the 1920s, the line never realised its potential; it closed to passengers in 1955 and completely in 1968.
The Vale of Towy Railway (VoTR) was a Welsh railway that provided an 11.25 mile-long extension of the Llanelly Railway from Llandeilo to Llandovery. It was incorporated by Act of Parliament of 10 July 1854 and opened on 1 April 1858.
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 southwest 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 Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway (S&WR) is a standard gauge railway which connects the towns of Shrewsbury and Welshpool. It opened in 1861 and the majority of the railway continues in use.
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 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 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,
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.
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.
Llandinam railway station was a station serving Llandinam, Powys, on the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (L&NR) line. The L&NR was authorised in August 1853; construction began in October 1855 and the line was opened between those points for goods traffic only on 30 April 1859 – passengers were carried from 31 August 1859. Llandinam was one of three intermediate stations on the 13-mile line. The station was opened in 1859 by David Davies who was born in Llandinam and was a major contractor for building the line. In July 1864 the L&NR amalgamated with three other railways to create the Cambrian Railways, which in January 1922 amalgamated with the Great Western Railway which itself became part of British Railways in 1948.
Woodland Park was an unstaffed halt on the Dyserth branch line in North Wales.
 | This United Kingdom rail transport related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
