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Ogmore Valley Railway
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 area covered by the two lines combined developed considerably serving collieries and the iron and zinc smelting industries, and the L&OR system was extremely busy in conveying minerals up until 1914. A number of extensions to the system were made, even after takeover by the Great Western Railway in 1873 for management purposes and in 1883 as full amalgamation. Passengers were carried on parts of the network, but were never dominant except at Porthcawl, which declined as a harbour and arose as a holiday and residential location. As the min ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tondu
Tondu ( en, Black Meadow) is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about north of the town of Bridgend, in the community of Ynysawdre. Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th century as a coal mining village servicing the Parc Slip Colliery. In later years, an iron works was also established, and in the 19th century, a brick works was constructed using the clay from the carboniferous coal measures to make a variety of bricks, mostly for engineering. The brick works was demolished in 1977. The association with the coal industry was also reflected in the large area office of the National Coal Board in the village and a centre for the Mines Rescue Service. Railway connections The village has several railway lines and provided access to collieries in Wern-Tarw and the Ogmore and Garw valleys, along with maintenance facilities. All were closed to passenger traffic in the 1960s. They were used extensively by coal trains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Wales Railway
The South Wales Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd De Cymru) 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 company amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1863 and the track was converted to narrow (standard) gauge in 1873. In 1922–1923, most of the independent Welsh railways were constituents of the new enlarged Great Western Railway, enabling rationalisation and benefits of scale. Nearly all of the original main line of the South Wales Railway remains in use at present (2020). Proposals The prospectus of the South Wales Railway was issued in the summer of 1844. It proposed a railway with capital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port Talbot Railway And Docks Company
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 Tond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abergwynfi
Abergwynfi is a village in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, in the community of Gwynfi and Croeserw. Abergwynfi is the first half of a village of two parts, the other being Blaengwynfi. The names of the two villages mean "Mouth of the Gwynfi" and "Source of the Gwynfi" respectively, the Gwynfi being the (rather short) river that separates the two. Aber and Blaengwynfi are generally referred to as "The Cape" by residents of the two villages and the neighbouring few. This term comes from when the villages were marketed as "The Cape of Good Hope" during the years when coal mining was very important to the valleys. Abergwynfi is located within the Afan Forest Park The Afan Forest Park (formally and locally known as Afan Argoed Country Park) is a forest park in Britain. It is set in the Afan Valley in Neath Port Talbot, in south Wales. It is well known for its mountain biking and hiking or hillwalking tr ... which is a popular mountain bike centre. External links ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry ( cy, Llansawel) 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.'' Background Briton Ferry is on the mouth of the River Neath, where it enters Swansea Bay, and is the first river crossing along the Roman road that follows the coastline along that part of South Wales. A milestone dedicated to Victorinus, a former Roman Governor in Gaul and Britain, was found at nearby Baglan. The ferry boat crossing was some from the bridge across the River Neath at Neath. At certain low tides, it was possible to walk across the river via a ford c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Wales Mineral Railway
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. Always short of money, it was worked by a coal company for some years and then by the Great Western Railway from 1908. It was absorbed by that company in 1923. A tunnel collapse in 1947 closed the western section of the network, but by then it was connected to an alternative route via Port Talbot. A local passenger service was operated between 1918 and 1930, continuing for the use of miners until 1964. The line closed completely in 1970. Beginnings Towards the end of the 18th century, collieries began to be developed in the Cymmer district were opened. Coal was carried to wharves on the Bristol Channel on the backs of pack animals, although a stone-block sleeper tramroad, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London And North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway, and, in 1948, the London Midland Region of British Railways: the LNWR is effectively an ancestor of today's West Coast Main Line. History The company was formed on 16 July 1846 by the amalgamation of the Grand Junction Railway, London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. This move was prompted, in part, by the Great Western Railway's plans for a railway north from Oxford to Birmingham. The company initially had a network of approximately , connecting London with Birmingham, Crewe, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester. The headquarters were at Euston railway station. As traffic increased, it was greatly expanded with the opening in 1849 of the Great Hall, designed by P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhymney Railway
The Rhymney Railway was a railway company in South Wales, founded to transport minerals and materials to and from collieries and ironworks in the Rhymney Valley of South Wales, and to docks in Cardiff. It opened a main line in 1858, and a limited passenger service was operated in addition. The first line was dependent on the cooperation of the parallel Taff Vale Railway (TVR) for part of the transit, and this relationship was uneasy; the Rhymney Railway built an independent line to Cardiff in 1871. Better relations were created with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), and later the Great Western Railway (GWR), and two important joint lines with the GWR were built: the Taff Bargoed line (1876) and the Quakers Yard and Merthyr Joint line (1882). Although the Rhymney Railway network was never large, it was remarkably profitable, and paid excellent dividends for most of its life. Dependent on mineral traffic for its own success, it declined in the 1970s, but the main line ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nantgarw
Nantgarw is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Cardiff. From an electoral and administrative perspective Nantgarw falls within the ward of Taffs Well, a village some south, but historically fell within the boundaries of Caerphilly, which is a major town located less than to the east. The original village was almost entirely destroyed by the development of the A470 trunk road, which was situated at the location of the current A468 junction. Located close to the A470, Nantgarw is within easy reach of the town of Pontypridd ( to the northwest) and Cardiff City centre (around further south). Nantgarw is the home of the Nantgarw tradition of folk dancing. History Nantgarw lies on the River Taff. It is known for its porcelain, produced in between 1813-1814, and later between 1817-1820 at the Nantgarw Pottery, commemorated at the Nantgarw Chinaworks Museum. The potter and painter William Billingsley is credited with starting the porcelain trade here. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ely Valley Railway
The Ely Valley Railway (EVR) was a broad gauge railway company in South Wales, which opened a mineral line between Llantrisant station on the South Wales Railway main line and pits at Mwyndy and Penrhiwfer in 1860. It was unsuccessful financially, and was leased to the Great Western Railway in 1861. The network suffered from being on the broad gauge when many pits and rival railways used the narrow (standard) gauge, but the GWR extended the network into Cwm Clydach and the line became heavily used. The ''Ely Valley Extension Railway'' and the ''Ely and Clydach Valleys Railway'' were nominally independent additions to the network, also controlled by the GWR. A limited passenger service was started in 1901. The use of the network declined in the 1920s but the passenger service continued until 1958. The general mineral traffic collapsed in the 1960s but final closure only occurred when Cwm Colliery closed on 2 March 1987. First railways The mineral resources of the upper end of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, hochanged the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions." Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway (GWR), a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering. Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering firsts, including assisting in the building of the first tunnel under a navigable river (the River Thames) and the development of the , the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyle
Pyle ( cy, Y Pîl) is a village and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Bridgend (county borough), Bridgend county borough, Wales. This large village is served by the A48 road, and lies less than one mile from Junction 37 of the M4 motorway, and is therefore only a half-hour journey from the capital city of Wales, Cardiff. The nearest town is the seaside resort of Porthcawl. Within the Community, to the northeast of Pyle, is the adjoining settlement of Kenfig Hill, North Cornelly also adjoins Pyle and the built-up area had a population of 13,701 in 2011. Etymology The English name "Pyle" is derived from the Welsh language, Welsh ''Pil (Placename), Pîl'', meaning a tidal inlet of the sea, this localised toponym is found along the coast of South Wales, from Pembrokeshire and into Somerset. In this instance it may refer to the mouth of the River Kenfig, which is tidal for its first mile from the sea. A commonly stated, but erroneous derivation from the English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
