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West Yard Works was the 
Shortage of space finally led
Taff Vale Railway
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 stag ...
's locomotive repair and construction factory. It was located in Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
between Bute Street and the Glamorganshire Canal
The Glamorganshire Canal in South Wales, UK, was begun in 1790. It ran along the valley of the River Taff from Merthyr Tydfil to the sea at Cardiff. The final section of canal was closed in 1951.
History
Construction started in 1790; being wa ...
, about 100 metres west of Bute Dock railway station (which is now Cardiff Bay railway station
, symbol_location = gb
, symbol = rail
, image = Cardiff Bay Railway Station (geograph 6004274).jpg
, caption = Cardiff Bay railway station (May 2018)
, borough = Cardiff Bay, Cardiff
, country = Wales
, coordinates =
, grid_name = Grid ...
).
A small engine shed with room for one locomotive and a repair shop was built there when the railway was first constructed in 1839, but much of the work had to be carried out in the open air.
In 1846 Henry Clement was appointed as the railway's Resident Engineer and one of the first things he did was to have a locomotive works built there. In 1857 the first locomotive was built at the works, 'Venus' a small 2-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels.
The notation 2-4-0T indi ...
passenger loco.
When the Taff Vale introduced the 0-6-2T
T, or t, is the twentieth Letter (alphabet), letter in the English language, modern English English alphabet, alphabet and the ISO basic Latin alphabet. Its name in English is English alphabet#Letter names, ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''te ...
type, which was to become ubiquitous across South Wales, the works traverser could not accommodate the longer wheelbase so locomotives had to have their trailing radial wheels removed while within the works.
The works could only be accessed by level crossings accessed by turntables on the main line near the railway's terminus at Bute Road station.
Shortage of space finally led Tom Hurry Riches
Tom Hurry Riches (1846–1911) was a British engineer who became the Locomotive Superintendent of the Taff Vale Railway in October 1873, and held the post until his death. At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest locomotive superinte ...
, the railway's Locomotive Superintendent to suspend locomotive building by the company itself after the completion of the O1 class in 1897. However in 1903 a small steam engine unit for the company's first rail motor
Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it.
Steam railcars
Overview
In th ...
was built there, the carriage part being built at their Cathays Carriage and Wagon Works, however further rail motors were all built by outside contractors.
After the Great War there were plans to build a new works at Radyr but as the company was to amalgamate with the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
and other South Wales companies in 1922 that plan was abandoned and the Great Western subsequently concentrated all major locomotive repair work in South Wales at the former Rhymney Railway's Caerphilly Works.
New workshops were constructed at Caerphilly and after their opening West Yard Works finally closed on 28 August 1926, the remaining workforce transferring to Caerphilly.
One locomotive built at West Yard has survived, as the last standard gauge loco built in Wales. No 28, an O1 class 0-6-2T is now a part of the National Collection
The UK National Collection is a collection of around 280 historic rolling stock, rail vehicles (predominantly of British origin). The majority of the collection is kept at four national museums:
* National Railway Museum, York
* National Railwa ...
, currently under restoration at the Gwili Railway
The Gwili Railway (Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Gwili'') is a Welsh heritage railway, that operates a preserved standard gauge railway line from the site of Abergwili Junction (near Carmarthen) in southwest Wales along a section of the former Carmarth ...
.
References
{{coord, 51.467, -3.168, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Taff Vale Railway Railway workshops in Great Britain Butetown