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Llancaiach Branch
The Llancaiach Branch railway line was a mineral branch line in Glamorganshire, South Wales. It was authorised by the Taff Vale Railway Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxxxii) as part of the Taff Vale Railway, and its purpose was to connect collieries at Llancaiach and bring their output to Cardiff for onward shipment. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built on the standard gauge. It opened in 1841 from a junction (later known as Stormstown Junction) with the Merthyr line immediately south of Abercynon (then called Navigation House). It was intended to be horse worked, and included a self-acting rope-worked inclined plane near the junction. The collieries were slow to use the line, preferring their customary use of a tramroad and the Glamorganshire Canal, and the value of the line was diminished when the Taff Vale Extension line, an east-west connecting line belonging to the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway, intersected it and cut off the colliery connections, and the line became dormant.
In 1878 the Taff Vale Railway tried to reinvigorate the line by building a line by-passing the inclined plane, with the intention of connecting with new collieries at the north end, but access over the Taff Vale Extension line was refused.
In 1884 a new connection from Pont Shon Norton, immediately north of Pontypridd, to Albion Colliery on the east side of the River Taff was opened, and in 1900 this line was extended north to join the Llancaiach line. A passenger train service operated through from Pontypridd to Nelson station, just short of the Taff Vale Extension line, but access to that line was still problematic.
The passenger service was popular at first, but it was discontinued in 1932, and as the coal industry declined, the branch was successively cut back, finally closing completely in 1970.
Colliery working near Llancaiach had been in operation since the end of the eighteenth century. The work was hampered by the difficulty of getting the output of the mines to market, as the roads in the district were primitive and unsatisfactory. This was eased a little when the Glamorganshire Canal opened fully in 1794. Its authorising act of Parliament, the Glamorganshire Canal Act 1790 (30 Geo. 3. c. 82), included a "four mile clause" which permitted any mine operator within four miles of the canal to construct a mineral tramroad from their mine to the canal, across the land of third parties if necessary, without further legal formality.
The proprietor of Llanfabon Colliery, near Nelson, constructed such a tramroad to the canal at Navigation House (Abercynon); this was in operation before 1812. It was known as Sir Christopher Smith's tramroad.
The Taff Vale Railway was authorised by the Taff Vale Railway Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxxxii). Its main purpose was the conveyance of the products of the iron-making industry in Merthyr and Dowlais, to the docks at Cardiff for onward transport by sea. In addition, several connections to collieries were planned, including pits at Llancaiach, and passenger transport was also authorised. The line was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but it was to be on the standard gauge.
The first main line of the Taff Vale Railway, between Merthyr and Cardiff, was opened on 9 October 1840, and by that time the emphasis there had been a significant change of emphasis. The potential of the district for coal extraction had become clear: iron was still important, but the main traffic was now seen as the movement of coal from existing and new collieries, to Cardiff and to the ironworks. The first main line included a rope-worked incline near Quaker's Yard: to overcome a large and sudden ascent there, a length of double track was installed together with a stationary steam engine, and passing trains were hauled up and let down on a rope. The times of the trains were arranged so as to pass up and down at the same time, to some extent balancing the load.
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Llancaiach Branch
The Llancaiach Branch railway line was a mineral branch line in Glamorganshire, South Wales. It was authorised by the Taff Vale Railway Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxxxii) as part of the Taff Vale Railway, and its purpose was to connect collieries at Llancaiach and bring their output to Cardiff for onward shipment. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built on the standard gauge. It opened in 1841 from a junction (later known as Stormstown Junction) with the Merthyr line immediately south of Abercynon (then called Navigation House). It was intended to be horse worked, and included a self-acting rope-worked inclined plane near the junction. The collieries were slow to use the line, preferring their customary use of a tramroad and the Glamorganshire Canal, and the value of the line was diminished when the Taff Vale Extension line, an east-west connecting line belonging to the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway, intersected it and cut off the colliery connections, and the line became dormant.
In 1878 the Taff Vale Railway tried to reinvigorate the line by building a line by-passing the inclined plane, with the intention of connecting with new collieries at the north end, but access over the Taff Vale Extension line was refused.
In 1884 a new connection from Pont Shon Norton, immediately north of Pontypridd, to Albion Colliery on the east side of the River Taff was opened, and in 1900 this line was extended north to join the Llancaiach line. A passenger train service operated through from Pontypridd to Nelson station, just short of the Taff Vale Extension line, but access to that line was still problematic.
The passenger service was popular at first, but it was discontinued in 1932, and as the coal industry declined, the branch was successively cut back, finally closing completely in 1970.
Colliery working near Llancaiach had been in operation since the end of the eighteenth century. The work was hampered by the difficulty of getting the output of the mines to market, as the roads in the district were primitive and unsatisfactory. This was eased a little when the Glamorganshire Canal opened fully in 1794. Its authorising act of Parliament, the Glamorganshire Canal Act 1790 (30 Geo. 3. c. 82), included a "four mile clause" which permitted any mine operator within four miles of the canal to construct a mineral tramroad from their mine to the canal, across the land of third parties if necessary, without further legal formality.
The proprietor of Llanfabon Colliery, near Nelson, constructed such a tramroad to the canal at Navigation House (Abercynon); this was in operation before 1812. It was known as Sir Christopher Smith's tramroad.
The Taff Vale Railway was authorised by the Taff Vale Railway Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxxxii). Its main purpose was the conveyance of the products of the iron-making industry in Merthyr and Dowlais, to the docks at Cardiff for onward transport by sea. In addition, several connections to collieries were planned, including pits at Llancaiach, and passenger transport was also authorised. The line was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but it was to be on the standard gauge.
The first main line of the Taff Vale Railway, between Merthyr and Cardiff, was opened on 9 October 1840, and by that time the emphasis there had been a significant change of emphasis. The potential of the district for coal extraction had become clear: iron was still important, but the main traffic was now seen as the movement of coal from existing and new collieries, to Cardiff and to the ironworks. The first main line included a rope-worked incline near Quaker's Yard: to overcome a large and sudden ascent there, a length of double track was installed together with a stationary steam engine, and passing trains were hauled up and let down on a rope. The times of the trains were arranged so as to pass up and down at the same time, to some extent balancing the load.