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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 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 ...
town of
Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...
and the
Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...
town of
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
in
South East Wales South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in th ...
.


Opening and construction


Origins

The line can be traced back to the large bequest left by
Richard Crawshay Richard Crawshay (1739 – 27 June 1810) was a London iron merchant and then South Wales ironmaster; he was one of ten known British millionaires in 1799. Early life and marriage Richard Crawshay was born in Normanton in the West Riding of ...
, proprietor of the
Cyfarthfa Ironworks The Cyfarthfa Ironworks were major 18th- and 19th-century ironworks in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South West Wales. The beginning The Cyfarthfa works were begun in 1765 by Anthony Bacon (by then a merchant in Lo ...
, to his nephew, Joseph Crawshay, in 1810. With his inheritance, Crawshay together with Matthew Wayne acquired the
Nantyglo Ironworks 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 ...
from Hartford, Partridge and Co. in 1811 for £8,000. When Wayne retired from the partnership in 1820,
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. ...
took his place. Crawshay Bailey became sole proprietor in 1833 upon the retirement of his brother. In the same year, he acquired the Beaufort Ironworks. Crawshay Bailey was the driving force behind the development of tramroads in the Nantyglo area which served to bring raw materials to and from his various ironworks. First, in 1822, he opened a
plateway A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later. Plateways consisted of "L"-shaped rails, where the flange o ...
known as Bailey's Tramroad between the Nantyglo Ironworks and a wharf on the
Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ( cy, Camlas Sir Fynwy a Brycheiniog) is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park, and its present rural ...
at
Govilon Govilon ( cy, Gofilon) is a small Welsh village located between Llanfoist and Gilwern near Abergavenny in north Monmouthshire. It is part of the community of Llanfoist Fawr. the population was 1,447 in 2011. Attractions The Monmouthshire an ...
. Here it met with the Llanvihangel Railway, a line opened in 1811 which stretched to
Llanvihangel Crucorney Llanvihangel Crucorney ( cy, Llanfihangel Crucornau) is a small village in the community (parish) of Crucorney, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located north of Abergavenny and south-west of Hereford, England on the A465 road. Setting Llanvihan ...
and an end-on junction with the Grosmont Railway. In February 1859, Crawshay and his partner Thomas Brown acquired the Beaufort Tramroad between
Brynmawr Brynmawr (; , ,) is a market town, community and electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at the head of the South Wales Valleys. It grew with the devel ...
and its junction with the Llanvihangel Railway at the canal wharf in
Gilwern Gilwern is a village within the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, Wales. Historically in Brecknockshire, it extends to either side of the River Clydach, Monmouthshire, River Clydach on the south side of the River Usk, Usk valley. It ...
. The next step for Bailey was part-conversion of the tramways into 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 ...
line connecting prosperous Merthyr with its reserves of coal and iron ore and Abergavenny which was in decline. The Act authorising the incorporation of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway obtained
Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
on 1 August 1859.


Construction

The company's initial
share capital A corporation's share capital, commonly referred to as capital stock in the United States, is the portion of a corporation's equity that has been derived by the issue of shares in the corporation to a shareholder, usually for cash. "Share capita ...
was £150,000, consisting of 7,500 shares at £20 each. The Act specified that the line was to be completed within five years and included the conveyance to the company of part of the Llanvihangel Railway between the canal wharf at Gilwern and Abergavenny. The line's engineer was John Gardner who had been the assistant engineer on the
London and Greenwich Railway The London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) was opened in London between 1836 and 1838. It was the first steam railway in the capital, the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first entirely elevated railway. Origins The idea for t ...
and the
Newport Docks Newport Docks is the collective name for a group of docks in the city of Newport, south-east Wales. By the eighteenth century there were a number of wharves on the west shore of the River Usk; iron and coal were the principal outward traffic. Th ...
. The line was one of the most heavily engineered in
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. It cut across the grain of the landscape and involved numerous curves, steep gradients, tunnels and viaducts. It branched off 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 Abergavenny, crossing the
River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it fl ...
on a flimsy viaduct adjacent to the road crossing, and began a steep climb at gradients as severe as 1 in 34. After the line meandered beneath Gilwern Hill through the
Clydach Gorge The Clydach Gorge (also known as Cwm Clydach) is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach flows to the River Usk. It runs for from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and northeastwards to Gilwern ...
, climbing upwards on a breathtaking ascent at gradients of 1 in 38, with the upper section hewn out of a hillside shelf. Beyond , the line rarely descended below above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
, crossing despoiled treeless moorland and the heads of the mining valleys to
Dowlais Dowlais () is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The population of the Community being 4,270 at the 2011 census having excluded Pant. Dowlai ...
. signalled the start of a steep descent of 1 in 40/50 to Morlais Junction and then over the Brecon and Merthyr (B&M) to Merthyr. The first sod was turned at Abergavenny on 18 June 1860 at the Brecon New Road by Crawshay Bailey's wife. Work commenced immediately on the line's construction, the contract for the section between Abergavenny to Brynmawr having been let to William McCormick. A report by Chief Engineer John Gardner in June 1861 gave an upbeat account of progress: the road and railway bridges along the track route were under construction and nearing completion in the lower Abergavenny section, cuttings were being excavated and embankments established between Abergavenny and Brynmawr. Rail had been laid where possible and an engine mounted on the tracks to further facilitate the speedy transport of construction materials to the section being laid, with work at this point focusing on the embankment between the
Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ( cy, Camlas Sir Fynwy a Brycheiniog) is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National parks of England and Wales, Na ...
, the River Usk and the trackbed at Gilwern.


L&NWR takeover

Due to the costs of construction in the mountainous areas between Abergavenny and Brynmawr and the failure by certain shareholders to pay their dues, the railway company's bank account became overdrawn in late 1861. At the time, the
West Midland Railway The West Midland Railway was an early British railway company. It was formed on 1 July 1860 by a merger of several older railway companies and amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 August 1863. It was the successor to the Oxford, Worces ...
introduced a
Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
seeking to lease the line and extend it to meet the B&M, but the
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 Lo ...
had stolen a march by building up friendly relations with the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny company, having provided it with assistance during construction. Agreement was reached between the companies on 8 November 1861 for a lease of 1,000 years from the date of opening of any section of the route. The L&NWR was later to acquire the smaller company on 30 June 1866. The first section between Abergavenny and Brynmawr was ceremonially opened on 29 September 1862. The first train ran as far as Govilon, the only completed station at that time, and was driven by the wife of Captain James Hill, the company's vice-chairman. Public services commenced on 1 October, the first day of the L&NWR's lease.


Extensions of the line

On 1 March 1864, the line was extended from Brynmawr to where it was joined by the
Sirhowy Railway The Sirhowy Tramroad was a plateway built to convey the products of ironworks at Tredegar to Newport, South Wales. It opened in 1805 between Tredegar and Nine Mile Point, a location west of Risca, from where the Monmouthshire Canal Company opera ...
four years later. Three years later, a branch from
Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...
to
Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...
opened for passengers and goods on 1 September and 31 October 1867 respectively. The L&NWR remodelled access to the line at Abergavenny with the opening of a north-to-west spur from a new Abergavenny Junction station which avoided the need for reversal at the site of the previous junction which faced 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 ...
(GWR) station at . Agreement was reached with the
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 limite ...
to share the costs of construction for a extension from Nantybwch to . where a junction was made with the Rhymney's line to Cardiff Docks over which the L&NWR obtained running powers. The joint extension was opened for goods traffic on 1 August 1871 and to passengers on 2 October 1871. The agreement with the Rhymney allowed the L&NWR to open a goods station at Tyndall Street in Cardiff on 1 October 1875.


Brecon and Merthyr

The final extension south to Merthyr was to bring the L&NWR within the territory of the B&M. The B&M had viewed the westward march of the Euston company with dissatisfaction and set about promoting branches to block its progress. However, the financial state of the B&M eventually led it to conclude two agreements with the L&NWR which granted the larger company favourable terms for access to Dowlais and Merthyr. The first agreement, which was ratified by the L&NWR (New Lines) Act of 15 July 1867, allowed the L&NWR to extend its line from Rhymney Bridge to make a junction with the B&M where the two lines met at Dowlais Top and at Ivor junction near the terminus of the B&M's Dowlais branch. In exchange for running powers as far as Nantybwch and facilities to form a junction with the Rhymney at Rhymney Bridge, the B&M agreed to withdraw its proposals for blocking lines. In the event, the B&M made scarce use of its running powers and the junction was never built. The line as far as Ivor junction opened on 1 January 1873. The L&NWR was granted running powers over a section of track into . At the same time, the L&NWR opened a station at , close to the summit of the line at above sea level, where a connection was made with the B&M for the exchange of traffic. A second agreement in 1874 saw the B&M agree that its own Merthyr branch from Morlais to Rhydycar junction become a
joint line A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
with the L&NWR, with the larger company taking advantage of the smaller company's financial state and repaying half the costs of construction at £25,000 per mile – far less than it would have needed to pay for access to Merthyr. To reach the B&M's Morlais junction, a short section long, partly in a tunnel, was constructed from Penywern, just north of Ivor junction. The link opened on 9 June 1879 and services ran through to Merthyr (High Street) using running powers over of GWR track from Rhydycar junction. The junctions at Merthyr and Dowlais gave the L&NWR access to a number of local industrial tramways, including that of the
Dowlais Ironworks The Dowlais Ironworks was a major ironworks and steelworks located at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. Founded in the 18th century, it operated until the end of the 20th, at one time in the 19th century being the largest steel producer in ...
to which it was later to build a more direct connection with the Cwm Bargoed mineral line.


Operations


Services

The initial passenger service was three trains each way, soon increasing to four. Extra services were added from 1901 so that seven or eight trains ran each way daily; a peak was reached in the 1930s with up to twelve services provided.
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
economy measures saw fewer but longer trains in service. In addition, the L&NWR provided through coaches from via Rhymney Bridge to
Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...
,
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, as well as coaches from
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
and
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 ...
to Merthyr, as well as return services from Dowlais (High Street) to Shrewsbury and from Merthyr to Hereford. A
GPO GPO may refer to: Government and politics * General Post Office, Dublin * General Post Office, in Britain * Social Security Government Pension Offset, a provision reducing benefits * Government Pharmaceutical Organization, a Thai state enterpris ...
sorting van operated between Euston and Merthyr, running via
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
and Shrewsbury, and attached to the 1.45am Crewe to Shrewsbury service. Traffic was operated using locomotives based at three sheds in the Monmouthshire area: Abergavenny, Tredegar and
Blaenavon Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community (Wales), community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshi ...
. Until the closure of the line, services were operated by
LNWR Webb Coal Tank The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Webb Coal Tank is a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotive. They were called "Coal Tanks" because they were a side tank version of Webb's standard LNWR 17in Coal Engine, an 0-6-0 tender engine for slow fre ...
s, of which some 55 were allocated between the three sheds in 1919, with Abergavenny receiving 37, Tredegar 14 and Blaenavon 4. As late as 1950, there were still 14 in the area, of which No. 58926 headed the last train in 1958. Before the Coal Tanks,
LNWR Special Tank The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Special Tank was a class of steam locomotives. They were a saddle tank version of the LNWR DX Goods class. A total of 278 locomotives were built from 1870 onwards, of which five survived to be inheri ...
s were active on the line from 1877 to 1921. When the line became part of the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...
(LMS) on the
Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...
, L&NWR locomotives were not superseded by LMS ones and the first only appeared in 1936 when LMS Stanier 2-6-2T No. 79 arrived. However, it was only after the Second World War when numbers increased with the allocation of several
LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T is a class of light 'mixed-traffic' steam locomotive introduced in 1946. Background The LMS had various elderly tank engines and the operating department required a new smal ...
s to Tredegar.


Closure

The line had been expensive to build and was difficult to work efficiently. The journey between Abergavenny and Merthyr, including 15 intermediate stops, took 1 hour and 40 minutes, which left it vulnerable to competition from other modes of traffic. In 1957, faced with the costs of working the line and the future costs associated with its continued maintenance and repairs to the ageing track and infrastructure after a century of use,
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 ...
, which had received the LMS's assets upon
nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
, announced that it would be withdrawing passenger services. It claimed that the proposal would bring in a cost saving of £60,000 per annum. This was even though track renewal had recently taken place west of Abergavenny and that the Clydach and Abergavenny sections had won "Best Track Length" awards in the 1950s, while Govilon received an award for its outstanding station gardens. The last public timetabled service ran on Saturday 4 January 1958, the last train running was the 08.30 p.m. Abergavenny Junction to Merthyr station, hauled by GWR 5700 No. 4630 pannier tank locomotive, with the down train being the 08.30 p.m. Merthyr to Abergavenny, drawn by GWR 6400 No. 6423. Wagons at Govilon sidings were shunted away by LMS Stanier 3P 40145. The last passenger-carrying train was a special organised by the
Stephenson Locomotive Society The Stephenson Locomotive Society (SLS) was founded in the UK in Autumn 1909 for the study of rail transport and locomotives. More recently, on 1 January 2017, the SLS became a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales ...
on Sunday 5 January 1958 made up of 5 eight-wheelers (a GWR corridor and 4 LMS vestibules) hauled by L&NWR 0-8-0 'Super D' No. 49121. Crowds gathered at viewpoints at the trackside along the entire route, with large numbers at Brynmawr station. The train completed the journey to Merthyr and was turned for the return leg complete with whistle-up's at every station on the last run, householders along the route turning their kitchen and bedroom lights on and off to signal the trains passing and the passing of an era for this particular stretch of line. After withdrawal of the through passenger service, certain sections remained open for a short time afterwards. Services to Rhymney had already been withdrawn on 21 September 1953, Nantybwch to Beaufort closed to goods on 2 November 1959 as did the line to Ebbw Vale, then on 13 June 1960 passenger and goods services on the Sirhowy Railway ceased. The section between Ponsticill and Rhydycar junctions closed on 13 November 1961 to passengers and on 4 May 1964 to goods. Finally, Abergavenny to Abergavenny (Brecon Road) closed to goods on 5 April 1971.


Present day

Little remains of the former line save for a section of trackbed in the Clydach Gorge between Brynmawr and
Llanfoist Llanfoist ( cy, Llan-ffwyst) is both a village near Abergavenny, in Monmouthshire, Wales, and the community of Llanfoist Fawr. Llanfoist derives from ''Ffwyst'', an early Christian Welsh saint, although the anglicised version of the church ...
has been converted into a long-distance
cycleway Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except w ...
. The cutting in which Beaufort station was situated has been infilled and the line from Trevil onwards has been obliterated by the A465 Heads of the Valleys road. The road, on which construction began soon after the closure of the Ebbw Vale branch on 2 November 1959, follows the former alignment adjacent to the site of the Ebbw Vale junction
signal box In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
, through to the road bridge leading to Dukestown Cemetery at Tredegar. The road then diverges and rejoins the railway line at the point where the Nantybwch platforms were situated. A roundabout has taken the place of Rhymney Bridge station from where the road continues towards Dowlais where the station site has been redeveloped. Dowlais (High Street) station has however survived due to its isolated moorland location above Merthyr. The platforms and station houses at Govilon, , and have also survived together with Clydach viaduct. The tunnel mouths at Clydach, Gelli Felen and Morlais have been sealed.


References


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merthyr, Tredegar And Abergavenny Railway Closed railway lines in Wales London and North Western Railway History of Monmouthshire Transport in Monmouthshire History of Brecknockshire History of Glamorgan Railway companies established in 1859 Railway lines opened in 1860 Standard gauge railways in Wales 1859 establishments in Wales British companies established in 1859 1958 disestablishments in Wales