Swansea Vale Railway
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Entrance to remaining Swansea Vale Railway |
The
Swansea Vale Railway is a
heritage railway following a section of the old
Midland Railway line between
Swansea and
Brecon.
Built in
1815 as a tramroad, the route was expanded as a feeder railway for several Swansea mines, and by
1874 was carrying passengers between Swansea St Thomas station (now closed),
Llansamlet,
Glais,
Pontardawe,
Ystalyfera,
Gwys,
Ystradgynlais and
Brynaman. The railway was bought in
1876 by the Midland railway company in order to bypass rival railway companies and gain access to Swansea docks. In
1923,
most of the railway companies were merged into the "Big Four" companies and many of these alternative routes were run down and closed. Passenger services via
Brecon ceased in
1930. Between the
1930s and
1960s as the importance of Swansea port and industry dropped most of the line was closed. By
1970 nothing was left but rusting rails and earthworks.
With the assistance of Swansea city council the Swansea Valley Railway Society, based in
Pentrechwyth, was able to purchase the last remaining section of intact track between Upper Bank (close to Morfa stadium) and Six Pit (now renamed Nantyffin Road). It is an indication of the scale of change in Swansea that a former industrial railway now runs between a large shopping centre and the main sports stadium for the city.
Current projects of the Swansea Vale Railway Ltd include rebuilding a signal box and developing the Upper Bank site so that passenger services can run on the full two miles of track.
Image:Swansea Vale Railway1.jpg|Locomotive stock awaiting restorationImage:Swansea Vale Railway2.jpg|Much cleanup work needed!Image:Swansea Vale Railway3.jpg|Rolling stock and tracks prior to restoration in 1989Image:Discarded locomotive boiler.jpg|Locomotive boiler needing restoration, the inscription NCB presumably stands for National Coal Board*
Swansea Vale Railway*
Map Of The Original Railway Route
