Clydach railway station

Clydach railway station was a station on the London and North Western Railway's Heads of the Valleys line near the village of Clydach in the Welsh county of Brecknockshire.[1]

Clydach
Station site in 1973.
Location
PlaceClydach
AreaMonmouthshire
Coordinates51.8033°N 3.1420°W / 51.8033; -3.1420
Grid referenceSO231127
Operations
Original companyMerthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms2
History
1863Opened
2 May 1938Goods facilities withdrawn
6 January 1958 (1958-01-06)Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

History

The first section of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway from Abergavenny to Brynmawr was opened on 29 September 1862.[2] The line was leased and operated by the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) which acquired the smaller railway company on 30 June 1866.[3][4] The L&NWR was itself amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in the 1923 Grouping.[5]

Clydach first appeared in Bradshaw in January 1864, however the line's engineer, John Gardner, reported on 27 August 1863 that the station had already opened, with minutes of L&NWR meetings referring to a projected completion date of mid-September 1863.[6][7] The station was situated below a quarry-scarred mountainside at the top of which were houses bordered by rock and scree situated ominously near the edge.[4] The station was east of Clydach Viaduct composed of eight semi-circular arches built of old red sandstone with 30-foot (9.1 m) spans on a curve of 10 chains (200 m) radius at a gradient of 1 in 38.[8] The viaduct, which is 312 feet (95 m) long and 75 feet (23 m) high with 13 feet (4.0 m) between the parapets, was designed by Gardner to carry the line over the Clydach Gorge and the Clydach Stream.[9] The distance between the parapets was increased to 26 feet (7.9 m) when the line was doubled in 1877.[9] To the west of the station was the twin-bore Clydach Tunnel (Down 302 yards (276 m); Up 330 yards (300 m)).[10][11]

The station had two platforms; on the Up platform was a station building of generous proportions constructed of locally sourced limestone.[12] A private siding served the Clydach and Abergavenny Lime and Stone Company which operated a nearby limestone quarry and lime kilns supplying the Clydach Ironworks.[13][14][15] The company used its own private owner wagons.[9] The siding trailed off upwards to the north-east at the western end of the viaduct where a weighing machine and office were installed in the fork of the junction.[14] Opposite the weighing machine was a signal box built in 1898.[16] The works closed in c. 1935 after which goods facilities were withdrawn from Clydach on 2 May 1938.[17][15]

Decline in local industry and the costs of working the line between Abergavenny and Merthyr led to the cessation of passenger services on 4 January 1958.[18][19] The last public service over the line was an SLS railtour on 5 January 1958 hauled by GWR 6959 No. 7912 Little Linford Hall and LNWR Coal Tank No. 58926.[18][20] Official closure came on 6 January.[6][17][21][22]

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Gelli Felen Halt
Line and station closed		   London and North Western Railway
Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
   Gilwern Halt
Line and station closed

Present

Parts of the platforms and the station house have survived and are divided between two private owners.[23] The trackbed near the station is part of National Cycle Route 46.[24]

References

Notes
  1. Conolly (2004), p. 8, section A4.
  2. Tasker (1986), p. 18.
  3. Awdry (1990), p. 93.
  4. Hall (2009), p. 63.
  5. Awdry (1990), pp. 88-89.
  6. Quick (2009), p. 129.
  7. Tasker (1986), p. 21.
  8. Tasker (1986), pp. 17 and 117.
  9. Tasker (1986), p. 17.
  10. Tasker (1986), p. 121.
  11. Edge (2002), fig. 50.
  12. Edge (2002), fig. 49.
  13. Edge (2002), fig. X.
  14. Tasker (1986), p. 117.
  15. "Limekilns at Llanelly Limeworks, Llanelly". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  16. Edge (2002), fig. 52.
  17. Clinker (1988), p. 30.
  18. Tasker (1986), p. 139.
  19. Hall (2009), p. 68.
  20. Edge (2002), fig. 65.
  21. Butt (1995), p. 64.
  22. Page (1988), p. 155.
  23. Hall (2009), p. 69.
  24. Tasker (1986), p. 140.

Sources
  • Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Clinker, C.R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.
  • Conolly, W. Philip (2004) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Edge, David (September 2002). Abergavenny to Merthyr including the Ebbw Vale Branch. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-901706-915.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hall, Mike (2009). Lost Railways of South Wales. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-172-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Page, James (1988) [1979]. South Wales. Forgotten Railways. 8. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-44-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
  • Tasker, W.W. (1986). The Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway and branches. Poole: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-86093-339-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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