Torpantau railway station is a station in the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

county of

Brecknockshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

(now in

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

), and the northern terminus of the narrow gauge

Brecon Mountain Railway The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog'') is a narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons. It climbs northwards from Pant along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also called ...

. It had previously been a station on the standard gauge line from

Merthyr 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 ...

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

, and was the highest station on the

Brecon and Merthyr Railway The Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway (B&MR) was a railway company in Wales. It was originally intended to link the towns in its name. Finding its access to Merthyr difficult at first, it acquired the Rumney Railway, an old plateway, and ...

. The standard gauge and narrow gauge stations are in the same broad location, but on different specific sites, on opposite sides of the Torpantau to Abercynafon road.

History

Torpantau Station - meeting a Brecon - Newport train geograph-2568908-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The station was opened at the end of 1862 by the

Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway The Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway (B&MR) was a railway company in Wales. It was originally intended to link the towns in its name. Finding its access to Merthyr difficult at first, it acquired the Rumney Railway, an old plateway, and ...

. Torpantau is a remote location, though a few passengers may have worked on the local dams, or fished there for leisure. The location was most significant in operational terms for watering engines and tying down brakes before a descent. In 1916 a train passed a signal at danger near the station causing a collision that killed two people. The line and the station first became part of 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) during 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 ...

of 1923, and then part of

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 ...

(BR) in 1948, following the nationalisation of the railways consequent upon the

Transport Act 1947 The Transport Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 49) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the Act, the railway network, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were nationalised and came under ...

. Torpantau closed to passengers in December 1962, but the line was retained for freight workings to Brecon until 4 May 1964. The route was subsequently abandoned, and the

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

lifted.

Torpantau Tunnel

To the north of the station lies Torpantau Tunnel (also known as ''Beacons Tunnel''), through the Beacons pass. The tunnel is 666 yards (609m) long, and the south-west portal (railway mileage 14miles-2¾ chains from Brecon station) was reached after a three-mile (5 km) ascent from the Merthyr side. Exiting from the tunnel (13 miles-52¼ chains from Brecon station) to the south-east, the line descended for 6¾ miles along the side of Glyn Collwyn (now flooded to form a reservoir) and on to the former Talybont-on-Usk station and River Usk at Talybont. Thence it climbed to Pennorth and Talyllyn junction and on to Brecon. At an elevation of , it was the highest standard gauge rail tunnel above sea level in regular use anywhere in Great Britain. Though access is discouraged, the tunnel remains accessible on foot. East and west portals of the tunnel are Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Re-opened station

From the late 1970s, the

(BMR) began relaying 2 ft-gauge track along the original railway route, northwards from

Pant Pant may refer to: Clothing * Pants or trousers, an article of outer clothing worn on the lower half of the body * Underpants, an item of underwear Places * Pant, Denbighshire, Wales; a township of Llysfaen *Pant, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales *Pan ...

. The line re-opened to Pontsticill in 1980, and to Dolygaer in 1995. Re-laying continued, and the line reached Torpantau in December 2000. For operational and access reasons, Torpantau station was rebuilt slightly south of the original site, on the opposite side of the road. The nearby original station site is a popular start point for walks in the

Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons ( cy, Bannau Brycheiniog, ) are a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of Old Red Sandstone peaks which lie to the south of Brecon. Sometimes referred to as "the central Beacons" t ...

. It lies on the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

NCR 8 The route passes through the heart of Wales, and is also known by its Welsh name Lôn Las Cymru (''English: Wales' green lane''). It is largely north–south from Holyhead to Cardiff or Chepstow, and in total measures some in length. Some of ...

(Taff Trail). Due to motive power constraints on the steeply graded trackbed, the extended line from Dolygaer to Torpantau, a distance of 1mile-35chains, was used only by engineering trains from 2000 to 2014, whilst the BMR worked to restore a more powerful steam locomotive. Having achieved this aim, the extension to Torpantau became operational on 1 April 2014. Torpantau station reopened on that date, and is now the railway's northern terminus.

References

External links

Photographs
{{Closed stations Powys Railway stations in Powys Former Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1863 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1962 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2014

History

Torpantau Tunnel

Re-opened station

References

Further reading

External links