Ystradowen railway station served the village of

Ystradowen Ystradowen is a small village twelve miles west of Cardiff, located in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales; its nearest town is Cowbridge which is about three miles to the south. The village was served by Ystradowen railway station between 18 ...

in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. It was on the Cowbridge and Aberthaw line.

History and Description

Ystradowen was initially the only intermediate station between Llantrisant and Cowbridge. The

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

immediately before the station was the heaviest earthwork on the line, at fifteen feet deep, and itself preceded a stiff gradient of 1 in 45. The station as completed consisted of a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

, with the single platform on the 'up' line with one small siding which served a stone goods shed to the rear of the platform. The goods shed was a 'dead end' type, with the roadway diagonally opposite the rail approach. This involved the somewhat awkward process of reversing carts up to the loading platform. When the line was inspected in 1864, the inspector disapproved of the location of Ystradowen station, due to the steep gradients, and the fact that a number of slips had been made in the cuttings. The station was subsequently dismantled and re-located to satisfy the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

, meaning that it was a considerable distance from the village. It was finally opened when passenger services began on 18 September 1865. The station was much-used on market days in

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

. Ystradowen station closed in 1951 when passenger services on the branch were withdrawn. The goods facilities lasted until 1960, but the sidings remained for a number of years.

References

{{s-end Disused railway stations in the Vale of Glamorgan Former Taff Vale Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1951