Railways: Central Wales line
Originally intended to provide a link to industrial South Wales, the line was built in stages by a series of small private companies.
The Llanelly Dock and Railway Company had begun work in the south, building a line from Llanelly to Pontardulais by 1839 and from Pantyffynnon to Llandeilo by 1858; the Vale of Towey Railway opened a line from Llandeilo to Llandovery in 1858. In the north, the Hereford and Shrewsbury Railway had gone as far as Craven Arms, which station opened in 1851.
There were three companies concerned with developing the line through Powys, which would connect Llandovery with Craven Arms: the Knighton Railway (1858-61), the Central Wales Railway (1859-65) and the Central Wales Railway Extension (1860-68). [Dates in brackets run from date of incorporation to date when line was formally opened.]
A group of local magnates founded a company to take the railway the 12 miles from Craven Arms to Knighton: this was the Knighton Railway (incorporated by Act of Parliament 21 May 1858). Bad weather was blamed for the length of time it took to complete. The first part of the line, 9 miles from Craven Arms to Bucknell, opened 1 October 1860; the rest of the line, 3 miles from Bucknell to Knighton, opened 6 March 1861.
The Llanelly Dock and Railway Company had begun work in the south, building a line from Llanelly to Pontardulais by 1839 and from Pantyffynnon to Llandeilo by 1858; the Vale of Towey Railway opened a line from Llandeilo to Llandovery in 1858. In the north, the Hereford and Shrewsbury Railway had gone as far as Craven Arms, which station opened in 1851.
There were three companies concerned with developing the line through Powys, which would connect Llandovery with Craven Arms: the Knighton Railway (1858-61), the Central Wales Railway (1859-65) and the Central Wales Railway Extension (1860-68). [Dates in brackets run from date of incorporation to date when line was formally opened.]
A group of local magnates founded a company to take the railway the 12 miles from Craven Arms to Knighton: this was the Knighton Railway (incorporated by Act of Parliament 21 May 1858). Bad weather was blamed for the length of time it took to complete. The first part of the line, 9 miles from Craven Arms to Bucknell, opened 1 October 1860; the rest of the line, 3 miles from Bucknell to Knighton, opened 6 March 1861.
Central Wales Railway
The Central Wales Railway was incorporated by an Act of Parliament of 13 August 1859 to take the line the 20 miles from Knighton as far as Llandrindod, to terminate at or near the Llanerch Inn "near Llandrindod". It took 5 years in all to complete and ran into some financial difficulties (including a legal dispute between contractor and company over costs). The first section, 2 miles from Knighton to Knucklas, opened for mineral traffic only in 1861; and for passenger traffic in 1862. In 1863 the Central Wales Railway was amalgamated with the Knighton Railway by an Act of Parliament. The next section of the line, 17 miles as far as Penybont, opened in 1864 (Penybont Station was originally known as Cross Gates). Finally, Penybont to Llandrindod was completed in 1865. The line was officially opened on 10 October 1865. (Right:Llandrindod station)
Central Wales Extension Railway
The Central Wales Extension Railway was incorporated by an Act of Parliament of 3 July 1860 to take the line as far as Llandovery. This was a further distance of 26¼ miles, and was completed in four sections: (i) Llandrindod to Builth Road, 5 miles, opened 1 November 1866; (ii) Builth Road to Garth, opened 11 March 1867; (iii) Garth to Llanwrtyd, opened 6 May 1867; and (iv) Llanwrtyd to Llandovery, including the Sugar Loaf tunnel, completed 1 June 1868. The Central Wales Extension Railway was formally opened 8 October 1868.
By 1868 the London and North Western Railway had absorbed all three of these companies (which had in any case been primarily concerned to get the lines built and had no real interest in the day-to-day running of rolling stock). The LNWR shared the Vale of Towey Railway with the Llanelly Railway. In 1867 the Llanelly Railway had opened a line to connect Pontardulais with Swansea: in 1871 the LNWR won a legal battle to to give it control of this line. The rest of the Llanelly Railway's interests were absorbed by the Great Western Railway. [G.R.]
[Shrewsbury to Swansea, by D. Smith, pub. 1971]
By 1868 the London and North Western Railway had absorbed all three of these companies (which had in any case been primarily concerned to get the lines built and had no real interest in the day-to-day running of rolling stock). The LNWR shared the Vale of Towey Railway with the Llanelly Railway. In 1867 the Llanelly Railway had opened a line to connect Pontardulais with Swansea: in 1871 the LNWR won a legal battle to to give it control of this line. The rest of the Llanelly Railway's interests were absorbed by the Great Western Railway. [G.R.]
[Shrewsbury to Swansea, by D. Smith, pub. 1971]
Railways: Corris Railway (1859-1930)
Promoted by owners of slate quarries at Aberllefenni and Corris in the Dulas Valley, to connect with a wharf at Derwenlas on the Dovey. The Corris Machynlleth & River Dovey Tramroad Act was passed on 2 July 1859 for a 2ft 3ins gauge line worked by horses and gravity, and was opened on 30 April 1859. Royal Assent was given in 1864 for an extension to Dolgellau but in was not built.
In 1878 the Imperial Tramways Company of Bristol acquired the Corris, the intention being to operate passenger services using steam traction by Act of 1880, but the line had to be upgraded and steam services did not start until 4 July 1883. In the meantime the Bristol company conveyed passengers by horse bus, and after steam services started commenced a tourist bus service via Talyllyn Lake to Abergynolwyn, offering a circular tour via the Talyllyn and Cambrian Railways.
The Corris management was quite enterprising erecting a new station at Machynlleth and proposing an electrified extension to Talyllyn both in 1907. After World War I the company ran motor bus services and sold out to the Great Western Railway in 1930, passenger services on the railway ceased the following year. [G.S.]
[P.E. Baughan - A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain Vol II]
In 1878 the Imperial Tramways Company of Bristol acquired the Corris, the intention being to operate passenger services using steam traction by Act of 1880, but the line had to be upgraded and steam services did not start until 4 July 1883. In the meantime the Bristol company conveyed passengers by horse bus, and after steam services started commenced a tourist bus service via Talyllyn Lake to Abergynolwyn, offering a circular tour via the Talyllyn and Cambrian Railways.
The Corris management was quite enterprising erecting a new station at Machynlleth and proposing an electrified extension to Talyllyn both in 1907. After World War I the company ran motor bus services and sold out to the Great Western Railway in 1930, passenger services on the railway ceased the following year. [G.S.]
[P.E. Baughan - A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain Vol II]
Railways: Hay Railway Co. (1811-1860)
Illustration by Rob Davies
The Hay Railway Co. was incorporated on 25 May 1811, to make a railway or tramroad from the Brecknock & Abergavenny Canal basin at the Watton in Brecon to Hay and Eardisley. The line was constructed as a tramroad to a gauge of 3ft 6ins and was horse worked. The line opened from Brecon to Hay on 7 May 1816 and thence to Eardisley on 11 December 1818, and was extended as the Kington Tramroad reaching Kington in 1820, where there was an ironworks, and to the Burlingjobb limekilns in 1825.
The Hay Railway distributed a considerable tonnage of coal and coke from Monmouthshire brought in by the Brecknock & Abergavenny Canal, which connected south of Pontypool with the Monmouthshire Canal. The coal traffic on the Hay Railway amounted to 18,837 tonnes per annum at its peak, however the other main commodity lime and limestone only amounted to 2,285 tonnes in 1839.
The Hay Railway was purchased by the Hereford, Hay & Brecon Railway for conversion, an Act having been obtained for this on 6 August 1860. The Brecon & Merthyr and Mid Wales Railway's objected as they too wanted to purchase and convert the Hay Railway as an alternative access to Brecon, which would be much cheaper than proceeding with the original plans. After some argument, it was agreed that the Act of Purchase be amended to enable the B&MR to acquire the section from Talyllyn to Brecon and the MWR the section between there and Aberllyfni (Three Cocks Junction), leaving the HH&BR in possession of the remainder.
The section belonging to the B&MR included the Talyllyn Tunnel of 1816 which the B&MR had to re-bore to a larger diameter. The B&MR claimed it was thereby the owner of the oldest railway tunnel in existence. The Brecon Chamber of Trade placed a plaque above the eastern entrance to the tunnel in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain. The plaque is now in the Brecknock Museum and it reads:
TALYLLYN TUNNEL
674 yards
OPENED BY THE HAY RAILWAY
7 May 1816
John Hodgkinson Engineer
ENLARGED AND RE-OPENED BY THE
BRECON AND MERTHYR RAILWAY
1 May 1863
Henry Conybeare Engineer
[The Brecon & Merthyr Railway, by D.S.M. Barrie revised R.W. Kidner , pub 1991]
The Hay Railway distributed a considerable tonnage of coal and coke from Monmouthshire brought in by the Brecknock & Abergavenny Canal, which connected south of Pontypool with the Monmouthshire Canal. The coal traffic on the Hay Railway amounted to 18,837 tonnes per annum at its peak, however the other main commodity lime and limestone only amounted to 2,285 tonnes in 1839.
The Hay Railway was purchased by the Hereford, Hay & Brecon Railway for conversion, an Act having been obtained for this on 6 August 1860. The Brecon & Merthyr and Mid Wales Railway's objected as they too wanted to purchase and convert the Hay Railway as an alternative access to Brecon, which would be much cheaper than proceeding with the original plans. After some argument, it was agreed that the Act of Purchase be amended to enable the B&MR to acquire the section from Talyllyn to Brecon and the MWR the section between there and Aberllyfni (Three Cocks Junction), leaving the HH&BR in possession of the remainder.
The section belonging to the B&MR included the Talyllyn Tunnel of 1816 which the B&MR had to re-bore to a larger diameter. The B&MR claimed it was thereby the owner of the oldest railway tunnel in existence. The Brecon Chamber of Trade placed a plaque above the eastern entrance to the tunnel in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain. The plaque is now in the Brecknock Museum and it reads:
TALYLLYN TUNNEL
674 yards
OPENED BY THE HAY RAILWAY
7 May 1816
John Hodgkinson Engineer
ENLARGED AND RE-OPENED BY THE
BRECON AND MERTHYR RAILWAY
1 May 1863
Henry Conybeare Engineer
[The Brecon & Merthyr Railway, by D.S.M. Barrie revised R.W. Kidner , pub 1991]
Railways: Hereford, Hay & Brecon Railway Co. (1859-1874)
Railway junction at Three Cocks
The Railway Mania of the 1840s saw several schemes for trunk railways through parts of the Wye Valley. No construction took place however until the Hereford, Hay & Brecon Railway obtained an act on 8 August 1859 to build a railway from a junction with the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway at Hereford, via Bronllys to a temporary terminus to the north of Brecon, and from there extensions to Swansea and Milford Haven were planned.
An initial agreement was made with the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway and Worcester & Hereford Railway to work the HH&BR as soon as 20 were open, but boardroom disputes caused these to be repudiated. The HH&BR amended its act which now permitted a junction with the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway and use of its Barton station in Hereford.
On 6 November 1859 the HH&BR purchased the Hay Tramroad as an alternative route to Brecon. Following objections by the Brecon & Merthyr Railway and Mid Wales Railway the act of purchase was amended in 1861, to allow the B&MR to acquire the Hay Tramroad between Talyllyn Junction and Brecon and the Mid Wales Railway the section between Talyllyn Junction, and a junction with the HH&BR at Aberllynfi, which was known as Three Cocks Junction after the near by Inn. Both the HH&BR and MWR had unrestricted running powers into Brecon. The HH&BR opened in stages from Hereford reaching Moorhampton on 24 October 1862, Eardisley on 30 June 1863, Hay on 11th July 1864 and Three Cocks on 19th September 1864 when through running to Brecon commenced.
The HH&BR and B&MR agreed to amalgamate from 25 August 1865, but in 1868 it was discovered that the preference shareholders of the B&MR had not ratified the agreement, which was accordingly declared illegal by the Court of Chancery. The HH&BR after a period of receivership from 13 July 1868, was reincorporated on 26 July 1869. The B&MR ceased to work the HH&BR from 30 September 1868, when a temporary agreement with the Mid Wales Railway to work the latter for one year commenced.
Meanwhile the Midland Railway which had gained access to Hereford by means of running powers over the Worcester & Hereford Railway, (which had become part of the Great Western Railway in 1863), now entered into an agreement to work the HH&BR in return for exclusive running powers. The GWR objected to this agreement and on 1 October 1869 denied the first Midland train access to its Barton station, and forbade its use by the Midland Railway until 1 April 1874. During this time Moorhampton station was used as the terminus for the Hereford to Brecon passenger service. The HH&BR was leased to the Midland Railway in 1874.
[South Wales Branch Lines, by H. Morgan, pub 1984]
An initial agreement was made with the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway and Worcester & Hereford Railway to work the HH&BR as soon as 20 were open, but boardroom disputes caused these to be repudiated. The HH&BR amended its act which now permitted a junction with the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway and use of its Barton station in Hereford.
On 6 November 1859 the HH&BR purchased the Hay Tramroad as an alternative route to Brecon. Following objections by the Brecon & Merthyr Railway and Mid Wales Railway the act of purchase was amended in 1861, to allow the B&MR to acquire the Hay Tramroad between Talyllyn Junction and Brecon and the Mid Wales Railway the section between Talyllyn Junction, and a junction with the HH&BR at Aberllynfi, which was known as Three Cocks Junction after the near by Inn. Both the HH&BR and MWR had unrestricted running powers into Brecon. The HH&BR opened in stages from Hereford reaching Moorhampton on 24 October 1862, Eardisley on 30 June 1863, Hay on 11th July 1864 and Three Cocks on 19th September 1864 when through running to Brecon commenced.
The HH&BR and B&MR agreed to amalgamate from 25 August 1865, but in 1868 it was discovered that the preference shareholders of the B&MR had not ratified the agreement, which was accordingly declared illegal by the Court of Chancery. The HH&BR after a period of receivership from 13 July 1868, was reincorporated on 26 July 1869. The B&MR ceased to work the HH&BR from 30 September 1868, when a temporary agreement with the Mid Wales Railway to work the latter for one year commenced.
Meanwhile the Midland Railway which had gained access to Hereford by means of running powers over the Worcester & Hereford Railway, (which had become part of the Great Western Railway in 1863), now entered into an agreement to work the HH&BR in return for exclusive running powers. The GWR objected to this agreement and on 1 October 1869 denied the first Midland train access to its Barton station, and forbade its use by the Midland Railway until 1 April 1874. During this time Moorhampton station was used as the terminus for the Hereford to Brecon passenger service. The HH&BR was leased to the Midland Railway in 1874.
[South Wales Branch Lines, by H. Morgan, pub 1984]
Railways: London & North Western Railway Co. (1846-1922)
The London & North Western Railway Company was formed in 1846, by amalgamation of the London & Birmingham, Grand Junction and Manchester and Birmingham Railways. The company grew rapidly and operated the West Coast Route to Scotland in partnership with the Caledonian Railway Company, and the Royal Irish Mail Route to Holyhead. The Liverpool & Manchester Railway of 1830 was also a constituent which enabled the LNWR to call itself the “Premier Line”. The LNWR was Britain’s second largest railway company in terms of mileage prior to 1923, and in its day the largest joint stock corporation in the world. Under the Railways Act of 1921, the LNWR was merged into the London Midland & Scottish Railway Group.
The LNWR entered Shrewsbury from Stafford by means of the Shropshire Union Railway in 1848, and on opening their Crewe to Shrewsbury line in 1858, the LNWR agreed to work and maintain the Shrewsbury & Welshpool Railway when open. The LNWR fostered a further link with the embryo Cambrian Railways system by supporting the Oswestry Ellesmere & Whitchurch Railway of 1861, with which it was to connect at Whitchurch.
The main aim of the LNWR was the industrial traffic of South Wales and in 1862, together with the Great Western and West Midland Railways (the WMR soon to be acquired by the GWR), the LNWR acquired the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway Company. This gave the LNWR access to the Knighton, Central Wales, and Central Wales Extension Railways and other lines which would constitute the LNWR’s Central Wales and Swansea District. The LNWR inherited the S&HR running powers, which had previously been granted to that company over the erstwhile Newport Hereford & Abergavenny Railway, which itself had been absorbed by the West Midland Railway in 1860 (absorbed into the Great Western Railway in 1862). This gave the LNWR access to the Merthyr Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway which the LNWR leased in 1862. [G.S.]
[P. E. Baughan - A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain Vol. II; H. Morgan - South Wales Branch Lines; J. Richardson - The Local Historian’s Encyclopedia]
The LNWR entered Shrewsbury from Stafford by means of the Shropshire Union Railway in 1848, and on opening their Crewe to Shrewsbury line in 1858, the LNWR agreed to work and maintain the Shrewsbury & Welshpool Railway when open. The LNWR fostered a further link with the embryo Cambrian Railways system by supporting the Oswestry Ellesmere & Whitchurch Railway of 1861, with which it was to connect at Whitchurch.
The main aim of the LNWR was the industrial traffic of South Wales and in 1862, together with the Great Western and West Midland Railways (the WMR soon to be acquired by the GWR), the LNWR acquired the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway Company. This gave the LNWR access to the Knighton, Central Wales, and Central Wales Extension Railways and other lines which would constitute the LNWR’s Central Wales and Swansea District. The LNWR inherited the S&HR running powers, which had previously been granted to that company over the erstwhile Newport Hereford & Abergavenny Railway, which itself had been absorbed by the West Midland Railway in 1860 (absorbed into the Great Western Railway in 1862). This gave the LNWR access to the Merthyr Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway which the LNWR leased in 1862. [G.S.]
[P. E. Baughan - A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain Vol. II; H. Morgan - South Wales Branch Lines; J. Richardson - The Local Historian’s Encyclopedia]