Strata Florida was a railway station in Wales on the former

Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Line Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , " Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, d ...

serving the villages of

Ystrad Meurig Ystrad Meurig (or Ystradmeurig) is a village and Community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It lies on the B4340 road northwest of the town of Tregaron, on the edge of the Cambrian Mountains. History and amenities Ystrad Meurig was the ...

Pontrhydfendigaid Pontrhydfendigaid () is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It lies on the western flank of the Cambrian Mountains, between Devil's Bridge and Tregaron. The village lies on the River Teifi, whose source is just 3 miles (5 km) to the east at Ll ...

and Ffair-rhos. The

Manchester and Milford Railway The Manchester and Milford Railway was a Welsh railway company, intended to connect Manchester and the industrial areas of Northwest England with a deep-water port on Milford Haven, giving an alternative to the Port of Liverpool. Despite the tit ...

(M&MR) opened from Pencader to

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

on 12 August 1867. The line went into receivership from 1875 to 1900.

History

The Ystwyth Trail at Ystrad Meurig - geograph

The M&MR's original plan was to build a line through the mountains, one scheme involving a six-mile tunnel, to

Llangurig Llangurig is both a village and a community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. The population was 723 in the 2011 UK Census. The community includes the hamlet of Cwmbelan. The River Wye, the A470 and the A44 trunk roads pass through Llangurig, ...

whence it would proceed to Llanidloes, reaching Manchester over other companies' lines through Moat Lane, Newtown, Welshpool, Oswestry, Whitchurch and Crewe, however finance was not forthcoming and the prospect of such a route never being economic became apparent: only the section from Llangurig to Llanidloes was actually built. A line towards Aberystwyth via

Llanilar Llanilar is a village and community in Ceredigion, Wales, about southeast of Aberystwyth. It is the eponym of the hundred of Ilar. The population at the 2011 census was 1,085. The community includes Rhos-y-garth. Name In Welsh placenames, man ...

was opened instead in 1867; from Aberystwyth access to Moat Lane and onwards could be achieved, after a reversal, by way of Machynlleth and Caersws. 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 ...

took over the service in 1906, and fully absorbed the line in 1911. The

and the station passed on to

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 ...

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 ...

in 1948. Although proposed for closure in the

Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. Either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames' ...

the line closed in December 1964 due to serious damage caused by flooding south of Aberystwyth near Llanilar Station in December 1964. The cost of repairs was deemed unjustified and led to the withdrawal of passenger services in February 1965, however milk trains continued to run from

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

to nearby

Pont Llanio Pont Llanio railway station was a railway station in Wales on the former Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Line near Llanddewi Brefi. The railway station was built with only a single platform and building on the up side. The platform, small goods shed ...

until 1970. Much of the route from Aberystwyth to

Tregaron Tregaron ( "town of St Caron") is an ancient market town in Ceredigion, Wales, astride the River Brenig, a tributary of the River Teifi. Tregaron is northeast of Lampeter. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the ward of Tregaron wa ...

has now been turning into a walking and cycling trail, the Ystwyth Trail.

The station

The station was about three miles from the old abbey of

Strata Florida Strata Florida Abbey ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Fflur) () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. is a Latinisation of the Welsh ; 'Valley of F ...

and Lord Lisburne of

Trawsgoed Trawsgoed (Welsh for "Crosswood") is both a community and an estate in Ceredigion, Wales. The estate is southeast of Aberystwyth, and has been in the possession of the Vaughan family since 1200.

, an influential local landowner, had tried to have the station to be named

after the village of that name.History of Pontrhydfendigiad
Retrieved : 2012-09-29 The station was built at a point where it could serve three local villages, but its location made railway access difficult. The station itself was positioned on a tight curve, although the line from the south took a straight course across the

Cors Caron Cors Caron is a raised bog in Ceredigion, Wales. Cors is the Welsh word for "bog". Cors Caron covers an area of approximately .The Ramsar site is 874 ha. Cors Caron represents the most intact surviving example of a raised bog landscape in the Un ...

bog. On leaving the station, the "branch line" towards Aberystwyth climbed out of the Teifi valley at 1:43 for about a mile to the summit of the line, before falling for four miles at 1:41 into the Ystwyth valley and

Trawscoed Trawsgoed (Welsh language, Welsh for "Crosswood") is both a Community (Wales), community and an Estate (land), estate in Ceredigion, Wales. The estate is southeast of Aberystwyth, and has been in the possession of the Vaughan family since 1200.

.D S M Barrie, revised Peter Baughan, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 12: South Wales, David St John Thomas, Nairn, 1994, The station had two platforms, basic station buildings and a signal box. All have been demolished; there are a few artefacts remaining, particularly the stationmaster's house.

Notes

References

* {{Butt-Stations

External links

Photograph of a platform shelter

Disused railway stations in Ceredigion Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1866 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965 Former Great Western Railway stations 1866 establishments in Wales Beeching closures in Wales 1965 disestablishments in Wales