The Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway (CMU&PR) was a
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
railway of which ran from
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
to
Little Mill, near
Pontypool
Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970.
Location
It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...
in
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
, Wales. It was intended to convey the mineral products of the Forest of Dean to the ironworks of South Wales, by connecting to the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway at Little Mill Junction. The
NAHR made the onward connection over its
Taff Vale Extension
Taff may refer to:
* River Taff, a large river in Wales
* Taff (TV series), ''Taff'' (TV series), a German tabloid news programme
* Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, an organisation for science fiction fandom
People
* a demonym for anyone from south Wale ...
line. The CMU&PR intended to acquire the
Monmouth Railway
The Monmouth Railway, also known as the Monmouth Tramroad, was a horse-drawn plateway of 3 ft 6in gauge. It ran for about from Howler's Slade, east of Coleford, in Gloucestershire and Monmouth; there were two branches from other mineral ...
, actually a horse-operated
plateway, and convert it to locomotive operation.
The CMU&PR completed its own line from Little Mill to Monmouth, but financial difficulties forced a halt there. The Company decided against conversion of the Monmouth Railway, and in 1861 built a connecting line from its Monmouth station to an interchange wharf at
Wyesham
Wyesham is a village and electoral ward in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located less than one mile east of Monmouth, on the opposite side of the River Wye.
History and amenities
Wyesham is effectively a suburb of Monmouth the county town ...
, leaving the Monmouth Railway unaltered.
The mineral traffic was not as lucrative as had been hoped, and the company struggled financially, and in 1861 leased its line to the West Midland Railway, which had been formed by the merger of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway with other lines, and the West Midland Company itself soon amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, taking the CMU&PR lease with it.
The line was never busy, and passenger services were withdrawn in 1955. A limited goods service was retained for a period at Usk, and it was only the
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War. Until privatisation, in 1987, they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply, and later the Ministr ...
at
Glascoed
}
Glascoed is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is east of Pontypool and west of Usk.
Glascoed is mostly associated with the Royal Ordnance Factory nearby at ROF Glascoed. Llandegveth Reservoir
A reservoir (; from French '' ...
that kept part of the CMU&PR system in operation until complete closure in 1993.
History
![Coleford usk rly](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Coleford_usk_rly.png)
On 2 January 1854 the
Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway
The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was a railway company formed to connect the places in its name. When it sought Parliamentary authorisation, it was denied the southern section, and obliged to use the Monmouthshire Railway between Po ...
opened its main line. It was a north–south trunk route from
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
, in fact connecting with the
Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
The Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company was a canal and railway company that operated a canal and a network of railways in the Western Valley and Eastern Valley of Newport, Monmouthshire. It started as the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation and op ...
near
Pontypool
Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970.
Location
It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...
for the final approach to
Newport
Newport most commonly refers to:
*Newport, Wales
*Newport, Rhode Island, US
Newport or New Port may also refer to:
Places Asia
*Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay
Europe
Ireland
*Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...
.
[The Monmouthshire Railway ran from the Pontypool area to Newport, and it should not be confused with the ]Monmouth Railway
The Monmouth Railway, also known as the Monmouth Tramroad, was a horse-drawn plateway of 3 ft 6in gauge. It ran for about from Howler's Slade, east of Coleford, in Gloucestershire and Monmouth; there were two branches from other mineral ...
, which was a plateway connecting Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
with iron and coal pits east of Coleford in the Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...
. It was observed that an extensive and productive agricultural region lay nearby, east of the NA&HR route and the idea formed that a line from Monmouth through
Raglan
Raglan may refer to:
People
*FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855), British Army officer, commander of British troops during the Crimean War
*Raglan (surname)
*Raglan Squire (1912–2004), British architect
Places Australia
*Count ...
and
Usk would be advantageous.
Building on that notion, attention was drawn to Coleford, considered one of the most important mineral-producing locations in the Forest of Dean. A railway line connecting Coleford through Monmouth to Pontypool would be able to convey iron ore and coal to the smelters of South Wales, specifically to
Nantyglo
Nantyglo () is a village in the ancient parish of Aberystruth and county of Monmouth situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Blaina and Brynmawr in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent.
Governance
An electoral ward in the same name ...
. The ironmaster
Crawshay Bailey
Crawshay Bailey (1789 – 9 January 1872) was an English industrialist who became one of the great iron-masters of Wales.
Early life
Bailey was born in 1789 in Great Wenham, Suffolk, the son of John Bailey, of Wakefield and his wife Susannah. ...
was a prime mover in bringing the idea to fruition; it took shape as the ''Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway''.
[Stanley C Jenkins, ''The Ross, Monmouth and Pontypool Road Line'', Oakwood Press, Usk, second edition 2009, ][Rex Christiansen, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 13: Thames and Severn'', David & Charles (Publishers) Limited, Newton Abbot, 1981, ]
The proposed railway would, it was claimed, offer the most direct route for the lucrative coal traffic between South Wales and London. The line could form a junction with the
Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway
The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was a railway company formed to connect the places in its name. When it sought Parliamentary authorisation, it was denied the southern section, and obliged to use the Monmouthshire Railway between Po ...
near Little Mill, two miles north of Pontypool Road station.
Coleford already had a railway connection: the
Monmouth Railway
The Monmouth Railway, also known as the Monmouth Tramroad, was a horse-drawn plateway of 3 ft 6in gauge. It ran for about from Howler's Slade, east of Coleford, in Gloucestershire and Monmouth; there were two branches from other mineral ...
had joined it to some scattered pits to the east of the town, and connected to a terminus at May Hill, near Monmouth. However the Monmouth Railway was a 3ft 6in gauge horse-operated plateway, and by the 1850s it was technologically obsolescent and commercially moribund. The new railway would acquire the Coleford Railway and use some of the trackbed for its own new line.
Authorisation and construction
The Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway Act secured royal assent on 20 August 1853. The railway was to be 22 miles in length, and there was to be a branch at Dixton to give access to Monmouth Gas Works (though this was never built).
[ The estimated cost of construction was £160,000.][
At the first company meeting later in 1853, the chairman stated that construction would be complete by 1 December 1854. Double track would be provided as necessary, no doubt because of the heavy traffic flows foreseen at this stage, in its role as a hoped-for through trunk route.][E. F. Carter, ''An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles'', Cassell, London, 1959][B. M. Handley and R. Dingwall, ''The Wye Valley Railway and the Coleford Branch'', Oakwood Press, Usk, 1982 reprinted 2000, ]
Construction of the line at the western end from Usk to Little Mill was comparatively simple in engineering terms; the December 1854 forecast was long forgotten, but the line from Usk to Little Mill opened for traffic on 2 June 1856. The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway worked the line.[
The eastern section posed more problems, with tunnels at Usk and Monmouth, and a large river bridge at Monmouth. Nevertheless, on 12 October 1857 the line was complete as far as the Troy station at Monmouth.][ From that date the company worked its own trains, using two locomotives hired in from the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway. The line was single track, with intermediate stations at Usk, Llandenny and Dingestow. The tunnels had been built for double track. There was a "small junction station" at Little Mill, and at Raglan trains stopped at a place called Raglan Footpath "from an early date"; they also called at Raglan Road level crossing.][Jenkins, page 31, says: "At Monmouth, the railway terminated in a small station on the east side of the River Wye at Troy House." Troy House is on the west side of the Wye and so was the Troy station.][
The CMU&PR now took stock of the situation; continuing to Coleford would involve converting the Monmouth Railway by relaying the track (which was a plateway), and enlarging its tunnel. After much consideration the company decided to cross the River Wye—in itself an expensive operation—and form an interchange point at Wyesham Wharf. The Monmouth Railway would continue in operation as a plateway, and minerals brought to Wyesham would be transshipped there to wagons on the CMU&PR. This arrangement was completed on 1 July 1861.][
The portion of the Monmouth Railway from Coleford to Monmouth (May Hill) was acquired by the CMU&PR in anticipation of the conversion. When it was decided to leave the line unconverted, it continued to operate under its own management, although owned by the CMU&PR. It exchanged mineral traffic from the pits east of Coleford with the CMU&PR at Wyesham.][
]
West Midland Railway
The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway had joined forces with the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and the uncompleted Worcester and Hereford Railway, in forming a through route to the industrial areas of the West Midlands. It was decided to amalgamate, and on 1 July 1860 an Act of Parliament was passed forming the West Midland Railway from the three companies.[ The West Midland Railway was now a formidable player in railway politics, having access at its southern and northern ends to mineral resources and to industrial areas requiring those resources. It was a natural sponsor for the Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool railway, and the smaller concern was leased to the West Midland Railway under an Act of Parliament of 22 July 1861. It was effective from 1 July 1861.][ The first year lease charge was £4,680 but that rose progressively, and from the tenth year was to be £10,764.
In 1863 the West Midland Railway was amalgamated 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 the lease of the CMU&PR was adopted by the GWR.[
]
Other railways at Monmouth
Monmouth Troy station became the focus for other, later railways at Monmouth.
Ross and Monmouth Railway
The Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway
The Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway (also known as the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway), was a railway which ran for linking Hereford and Gloucester, England, via Ross-on-Wye. It was opened on 1 June 1855 as a broad gauge line, it ...
opened its line on 15 June 1855, connecting Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye and ...
with Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
and the Great Western Railway network. This was considered an important step in improving the local economy, and as Ross-on-Wye was only 8 miles from Monmouth, it appeared a natural initiative to connect the two towns by a railway. Local business people promoted a scheme and it became the ''Ross and Monmouth Railway'', opening from Ross-on-Wye to May Hill station at Monmouth on 4 August 1873. May Hill was at first intended as a temporary station only, while the Ross and Monmouth company completed a bridge over the River Wye. When this was ready, the line was extended to enter the CMU&PR station, Troy, on 1 May 1874. May Hill station was more convenient for Monmouth town centre than Troy and was retained.[
]
Wye Valley Railway
Local interests put forward the idea of a railway following the lower Wye Valley, and connecting Monmouth to Chepstow, on the River Severn. A scheme was authorised in Parliament in 1866, but the financial crisis frustrated the intentions of proceeding with construction for several years. The Wye Valley Railway Company opened its line on 1 November 1876. At Monmouth it joined the CMU&PR at Wyesham, crossing the Wye by the CMU&PR bridge; trains continued to the Troy station. The Wye Valley Railway was leased to, and worked by the GWR.[
]
Coleford Railway
The alignment of the Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway and the Ross and Monmouth Railway encouraged speculators to plan new through routes from the industrial areas of South Wales to the corresponding areas of the Midlands, and in 1863 the Worcester, Dean Forest and Monmouth Railway was promoted. This company was to adopt the Monmouth Railway and upgrade it to main line railway standards, and extend north-eastwards through the Forest of Dean to Newent, continuing to join the Worcester and Hereford line at Great Malvern. Acts of 1863 and 1864 authorised the undertaking. This moderately long new line gained considerable support, but the financial depression following the failure of the banking firm of Overend, Gurney and Company
Overend, Gurney & Company was a London wholesale discount bank, known as "the bankers' bank", which collapsed in 1866 owing about £11 million, equivalent to £ million in . The collapse of the institution triggered a banking panic.
History Ear ...
in 1866 resulted in a complete inability to raise money for railway schemes, and in 1868 the project was reduced to construction between Monmouth and Coleford only. The scheme was renamed the Coleford Railway. It purchased the Monmouth Railway and built its line in part on the formation of the Monmouth line, although the sharp curves that were acceptable for tramroad operation had to be smoothed out.
The Coleford Railway joined the Wye Valley Railway at Wyesham Junction, a little east of the River Wye at Monmouth. It opened on 1 September 1883, and trains ran through to the Troy station.[
]
Absorbed by the Great Western Railway
The CMU&PR was leased to the GWR and worked by it, and in time it was clear that the nominal independence achieved nothing. Negotiations were opened with the GWR with a view to absorption by that company, and this took effect from 1 January 1887. The arrangement had been authorised by Act of 1881.[
]
Train service
For many years the train service had consisted of four or five passenger trains each way; generally these ran through from Ross to Pontypool Road.
After 1918 the GWR introduced auto-trains on the line, and through running across Monmouth was largely discontinued. A Sunday service was introduced by 1938. Although May Hill station at Monmouth was recognised as being much more convenient for the town centre, trains from Pontypool Road to Monmouth did not continue to that point, even though auto-trains could easily have reversed there and returned to Troy. (After nationalisation some services made this move for schoolchildren.) One, or later two, goods trains daily sufficed on the line, and there was comparatively little long-distance traffic.[
]
Royal Ordnance Factory Glascoed
As part of the country's preparation for war, in 1938 a Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War. Until privatisation, in 1987, they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply, and later the Ministr ...
was established at Glascoed, between Little Mill and Usk. Construction workers were conveyed to the location by railway, and it opened as ROF Glascoed on 6 October 1940.
Decline and closure
In 1953 British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
, as successor to the Great Western Railway, made it clear that closure of the passenger service was being considered. Public opinion generated considerable opposition, and it as agreed that a six-month trial of an enhanced service would be made. 11 trains were run in each direction, and a range of cheap through tickets were offered. On 14 June 1954 a new halt was opened, at Cefntilla. The platform was less than 16 feet in length, with no ramps, and only a nameboard a safety rail, and a solitary lamp.[James Page, ''Forgotten Railways: South Wales'', David & Charles (Publishers) Limited, Newton Abbot, 1979, ] However the trial demonstrated that little stimulus had been given to passenger business, and from 7 February 1955 the train service reverted to the former level of frequency.
British Railways announced now that the passenger service was to be discontinued, and politicians locally accused them of providing too frequent a train service during the trial period. Nevertheless, it was announced that the passenger service would be discontinued on 13 June 1955. A national strike was called by the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) is a British trade union representing train drivers. It is part of the International Transport Workers' Federation and the European Transport Workers' Federation. At the end of ...
(ASLEF) from 28 May 1955, effective until after the intended closure date of the service. No trains actually ran from the first day of the strike.[
The section of route between Little Mill and Usk was retained for goods trains.
On 12 October 1957 a special train arranged by the Stephenson Locomotive Society was run over the entire line, on which the track was still serviceable.
ROF Glascoed continued to be served by rail until 1993.][Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith, ''Branch Line to Monmouth'', Middleton Press, Midhurst, 2008, ]
Station list
* ''Wyesham Junction''; connection with Wye Valley Railway and (later) Coleford Railway;
* Monmouth Troy; opened October 1857; closed 5 January 1959;
* Dingestow; opened October 1857; closed 30 May 1955;
* Elms Bridge Halt; opened 27 November 1933; closed 30 May 1955;
* Raglan; opened 1 July 1876; closed 30 May 1955;
* Raglan Footpath; opened October 1857; closed October 1876;
* Raglan Road; opened October 1857; closed 1 July 1876; reopened as Raglan Road Crossing 24 November 1930; closed 30 May 1955;
* Llandenny; opened October 1857; closed 30 May 1955;
* Cefntilla Halt; opened 14 June 1954; closed 30 May 1955;
* Usk; opened 2 June 1856; closed 30 May 1955;
* Glascoed East Access; opened 3 January 1941 or 3 January 1943;[Jenkins page 147] closed by June 1954; unadvertised station for ROF workers only;
* Wern Hir Halt; opened January 1939; closed June 1941; unadvertised station for ROF workers only;
* Glascoed Factory West Access Halt; opened 12 June 1941; renamed Glascoed Crossing Halt; closed ?; unadvertised station for ROF workers only;
* ''Glascoed Halt''; opened 16 May 1927; closed 30 May 1955; continued in use by Royal Ordnance Factory workers until 13 October 1957; unadvertised station for ROF workers only;
* Glascoed Royal Ordnance Factory; opened 6 October 1940; closed 24 April 1961; on spur south of through line; unadvertised station for ROF workers only;
* Glascoed Factory or Glascoed West Access; opened 12 June 1941; closed after 1954; unadvertised station for ROF workers only;
* Little Mill; opened 2 June 1854; closed 1 July 1861;[The first station was on the NA&HR some distance north of the point of junction] reopened as Little Mill Junction 1 May 1883 on Usk line only; closed 30 May 1955.[M E Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology, The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002][
]
Notes
References
External links
National Archives Records of the Railway
{{Transport in Gloucestershire
Transport in Monmouthshire
Rail transport in Gloucestershire
History of Monmouthshire
Railway companies established in 1853
Railway lines opened in 1857
Closed railway lines in Wales
Standard gauge railways in Wales
Coleford, Gloucestershire
British companies established in 1853
1853 establishments in Wales