Beaufort railway station was a station on the
London and North Western Railway's
Heads of the Valleys line serving the village of
Beaufort in the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
county of
Brecknockshire.
History
The first section of the
Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
The Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway, also known as the ''Heads of the Valleys line'', was a railway line which operated between 1860 and 1958 between the Monmouthshire town of Abergavenny and the Glamorgan town of Merthyr Tydfil in Sou ...
from
Abergavenny to was opened on 29 September 1862. The line was leased and operated by the
London and North Western Railway which acquired the smaller railway company on 30 June 1866. Beaufort station opened on 1 March 1864. It became a junction station on 2 September 1867 with the opening of a branch to
Ebbw Vale. The station nameboards read "Change for Ebbw Vale" even though the branch service started at Brynmawr. Beaufort was busy with Ebbw Vale traffic until as there was a daily service to and from Brynamwr of over thirty trains. Ebbw Vale was reached by the Beaufort Viaduct before reaching Ebbw Vale Junction and the Rhyd Viaduct. Ebbw Vale station was near the area which is known locally as 'The Crossing', in the town centre.
Beaufort station was situated in a
cutting
Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force.
Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...
to the west of a road bridge. It stood opposite the Beaufort Ballroom and adjacent to the Beaufort Arms Public House. It had two platforms accessible by flights of steps leading down from the road bridge. The main station building was built of stone, with a timber waiting shelter was provided on the opposite platform. As Beaufort is situated above sea level, harsh winters such as
that of 1946-47 could result in the cutting being blocked with snow. The line to Ebbw Vale closed on 2 April 1951. The Abergavenny line was the next to close when passenger services ceased on 4 January 1958. The last passenger service over the line was an
SLS railtour on 5 January 1958 hauled by LNWR 0-8-0 49121 and LNWR 0-6-2 tank 58926' Final closure came on 2 November 1959 when coal traffic from ceased.
Present
The station site has been obliterated following realignment of the junction of the
A4047 and
B4560 at . In addition, the cutting which held the station has been infilled to road level.
References
Notes
Sources
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*{{Cite book, last1=Tasker, first1=W.W., title=The Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway and branches, year=1986, publisher=Oxford Publishing Co., location=Poole, isbn=978-0-86093-339-7
Disused railway stations in Blaenau Gwent
Former London and North Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1864
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1958
1864 establishments in Wales
1958 disestablishments in Wales