Snatchwood Halt railway station served

Snatchwood Snatchwood is a small suburb to the north of Pontypool, Torfaen in Wales. It is situated between Abersychan and PontnewynyddONS Geographical data about Snatchwood http://statistics.data.gov.uk/id/statistical-geography/W05000786 (not to be confuse ...

between

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 ...

and

Abersychan Abersychan is a town and community (Wales), community north of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales, and lies within the boundaries of the Monmouthshire (historic), historic county of Monmouthshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county o ...

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 ...

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 ...

, UK. The station was opened by 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 ...

in 1912 on the line it had purchased from 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 ...

in 1880. The Halt lay between Pontypool Crane Street to the south and

to the north. The Halt (and the line) lay adjacent to the current

A4043 road List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European isla ...

, between the road and the nearby Afon Lwyd.

History

The Great Western Railway's Eastern Valley "Lower Line" ran from Newport to Blaenavon along the valley floor. By 1 June 1854 the double line was extended from Pontypool Crane Street to Abersychan. The rest of the line from Abersychan to Blaenavon remained single track. The line to Blaenavon was opened for passenger traffic on 1 October 1854.According to Byles; Barrie says goods 1 June 1854, passengers 2 October 1854, and MacDermot agrees. Stations were initially provided at Pontnewynydd, Abersychan, Cwmavon and Blaenavon. Three trains per day were run, taking one hour to complete the journey. The "Lower" line had an hourly service and called at

Pontnewynydd Pontnewynydd is a predominantly working class suburb of Pontypool, Torfaen, in Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewydd in nearby Cwmbran. Location It lies in between Pontypool to the south and Snatchwood to the north. The area of Torf ...

, Snatchwood Halt, Abersychan Low Level, Cwmffrwd Halt, Cwmavon Halt and Blaenavon Low Level and closed to passengers in 1962. The lower line track was lifted from Blaenavon to Trevethin Junction shortly afterward. However, the line "Upper" line continued to be used until 1980 for the considerable coal traffic from The Big Pit until its closure and a number of passenger specials were organised by rail enthusiasts between 1967 - 1980.

Notes

References

External links

Disused railway stations in Torfaen Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1912 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1953 Former Great Western Railway stations {{Wales-railstation-stub