Neyland railway station was on the north bank of the

Milford Haven Waterway Milford Haven Waterway (''Welsh: Dyfrffordd Aberdaugleddau'') is a natural harbour in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is a ria or drowned valley which was flooded at the end of the last ice age. The Daugleddau estuary winds west to the sea. As on ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, Wales.

History

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) was established under the vision of

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

, to link

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

on the quickest possible route, with

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s landing passengers and goods in

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheuba ...

as opposed to steaming to an English port. Further, such a port link could also provide quicker access to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. To achieve this, the GWR supported the

South Wales Railway The South Wales Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd De Cymru) was a main line railway which opened in stages from 1850, connecting the Great Western Railway from Gloucester to South Wales. It was constructed on the broad gauge. An original aspiration was to ...

(SWR), which would run from to a port in west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Brunel, the GWR's Chief Engineer, originally proposed to situate the Welsh port at

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two pa ...

, which was intended to be the terminus when the line was authorised in 1845. But in 1852, under extensive shareholder pressure to deliver revenue, Brunel changed his mind in favour of

Neyland Neyland is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Cleddau and the upstream end of the Milford Haven estuary. The Cleddau Bridge carrying the A477 links Pembroke Dock with Neyland. Etymology The name of the town is ...

, because it was sheltered and had deep water to allow large ships to dock. Disused railway at Brunel Quay - geograph

The SWR was opened in stages, and reached on 2 January 1854; the last section from there to the new port was opened on 15 April 1856. The western terminus of the SWR, a station originally named ''Milford Haven'', was opened with the line on 15 April 1856. Very soon there was a twice-weekly steamboat service to

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. The station was renamed ''Neyland'' in February 1859, but was renamed again in November that year, becoming ''New Milford''; it was shown as ''New Milford (Milford Haven)'' in some timetables. On 1 September 1906, the station was again renamed ''Neyland''. This followed the opening on 30 August 1906 of the new harbour at Fishguard, the associated

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, the

Clarbeston Road and Letterston Railway The Clarbeston Road and Letterston Railway was a small railway company formed to give the Great Western Railway a more direct route to the port at Fishguard Harbour. History The Great Western Railway (GWR) originally obtained access to Ireland ...

giving a shorter route to Fishguard from and the transfer to Fishguard of the steamship service to Waterford. Neyland then rapidly declined in importance. Goods facilities were withdrawn on 2 December 1963 and the station closed to passenger traffic on 15 June 1964. The Pembrokeshire Light Railway Society was launched in 1986 in an unsuccessful attempt to re-open the section of the line from Johnston to Neyland."Railways Of Pembrokeshire"
Pembrokeshire Records Office. Retrieved 31 March 2012

Routes

References

External links

{{Railway stations in Pembrokeshire Disused railway stations in Pembrokeshire Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1856 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964 South Wales Railway Neyland