Griffithstown Railway Museum was a railway memorabilia museum located in

Griffithstown Griffithstown is a large suburb of Pontypool in the borough of Torfaen, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in May 1898, from Llanfrechfa Upper and Panteg, and includes Sebastopol, but, ...

Torfaen Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-w ...

, South Wales. It was housed in a former Great Western Railway goods shed dating from 1879, adjacent to the former

Panteg and Griffithstown railway station Panteg and Griffithstown railway station was a railway station which served Griffithstown near Pontypool in Torfaen, South Wales, UK. History The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 1 August 1880 on its line from Pontypool ...

. Local

railwayana Railroadiana or railwayana refers to artifacts of currently or formerly operating railways around the world. Railroadiana can include items such as: * Brakeman's or marker lanterns * Date nails, rail spikes, or short sections of rail * D ...

collector Martin Fay owned and ran the museum. He purchased the former goods shed, which was in a derelict state, and following renovation opened the museum to the public in 2002. However, in January 2011 financial pressures led to its closure. It has since been converted into a preschool. The museum was located in the village of

- named after Henry Griffiths the first stationmaster of Pontypool Road Station and was also the birthplace of

ASLEF 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 ...

- the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers & Firemen - in 1880. The area around the museum received £35,000 of funding£35,000 improvements to railway museum
/ref> from a local property developer and the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...

Government through the Department for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks. This money was used to improve the general landscape around the museum and provide better car parking for visitors. Although the plaque on the forging hammer in front of the museum states that it is a 'Steam Hammer', it is in fact a self-contained MASSEY 7cwt pneumatic forging hammer.

References

External links

Images of the museum
from BBC South East Wales {{authority control Railway museums in Wales Defunct museums in the United Kingdom Museums in Torfaen 2002 establishments in Wales 2011 disestablishments in Wales Museums disestablished in 2011 Museums established in 2002 Pontypool