Brecon Mountain Railway
Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog | |
|---|---|
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| 1908-built German 0-6-2WTT Graf Schwerin-Löwitz and American-style carriages. | |
| Locale | Merthyr Tydfil, Wales |
| Terminus | Pant |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | Brecon Mountain Railway |
| Original gauge | 1 ft 11 3⁄4 in (603 mm) |
| Preserved operations | |
| Owned by | Brecon Mountain Railway Ltd |
| Operated by | Brecon Mountain Railway Ltd |
| Stations | 3 |
| Length | 5 miles [1] |
| Preserved gauge | 1 ft 11 3⁄4 in |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1980 |
| Preservation history | |
| Brecon and Merthyr Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog) is a 1 ft 11 3⁄4 in (603 mm) narrow gauge tourist railway that runs through the Brecon Beacons along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir and uphill passing the nearby upper (Pentwyn) reservoir to Torpantau.
The BMR, is located three miles north of the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Mid-Glamorganshire, South-East Wales.
Route of the BMR
The line, runs along part of the trackbed of the northern section of the former standard gauge Brecon and Merthyr Railway from Pant to a new station at Torpantau, via Pontsticill and Dolygaer Loop, A total of approximately 5 miles (8.0 km)s in length.
With this, it has taken the BMR just short of the southern entrance to the 667yd long Torpantau tunnel, the highest railway tunnel in Great Britain,[2] that carried the original line through the hills along the side of Glyn Collwn to Brecon.
One of the benefits of the line, and a condition of the planning permission, is that tourists can access and experience remote parts of the Brecon Beacons National Park without driving their cars through it.[3] Car parking for railway passengers is only available at Pant Station, outside the National Park.
The Brecon Mountain Railway is a fellow member of the Great Little Trains of Wales.
Stations of the BMR
- Pant - perfect starting point of the BMR.
- Pontsticill - located to adjacent reservoir of the same name.
- Dol-Y-Gaer - passing loop only.
- Torpantau - current northern terminus of the BMR.
Locomotives
Full list of steam locomotives at the site:[4]
| Builder | Works No. | Date | Type | Name or Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldwin | 15511 | 1897 | 2-6-2 | 1 | Undergoing restoration in the workshops. |
| Baldwin | 61269 | 1930 | 4-6-2 | 2 | Operational. Originally built for the Eastern Province Cement Company in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Acquired by the Brecon Mountain Railway around 1990, and restored to full working order in 1997.[5] |
| Baldwin | Original was No. 23 | 2-6-2 | 3 | Original locomotive scrapped in 1936. A replica is being constructed in the workshops from the original drawings. | |
| Baldwin | Original was No. 10. | 2-4-4T | 4 | Original locomotive scrapped in 1936. A replica is being constructed in the workshops from the original drawings. | |
| Brecon Mountain Railway | 001 | 1987 | 0-6-0DH | Operational. | |
| De Winton | 1894 | 0-4-0VBT | Pendyffryn | On display but is in working order. | |
| Henschel | 29587 | 1957 | 2-8-2 | 146 (SAR NG15 Class) | Stored out of use. |
| Hunslet Engine Co. | 827 | 1903 | 0-4-0ST | Sybil | On display but is in working order. |
| Jung | 1261 | 1908 | 0-6-2WT+T | Graf Schwerin-Löwitz 99-3553 | Operational. |
| Redstone | 1905 | 0-4-0VBTT | On display but is in working order. | ||
| Wickham | 10943 | 1976 | 2w-2PMR | Operational. | |
| Kambarka | TU7-1698 | 1981 | 4w-4wDH | The loco came from a Peat Railway at Seda, in Latvia.[6] | |
| Kambarka | TU7E-2426[7] | 1985 | 4w-4wDH | The loco came from a Tatra Electric Railway, in Slovakia.[8] |
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brecon Mountain Railway. |
- British narrow gauge railways
- List of British heritage and private railways
- List of closed railway lines in Great Britain
References
- ↑ Jacobs (Ed.), Gerald (2005). Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western. Trackmaps, Bradford upon Avon. ISBN 0-9549866-1-X.
- ↑ www.british-heritage-railways.co.uk Accessed 18 December 2012
- ↑ www.narrow-gauge-pleasure.co.uk accessed 18 December 2012.
- ↑ UK Locos - Preserved, Private, Hired & Industrial Locos
- ↑ http://www.breconmountainrailway.co.uk/locomotives.html
- ↑ http://www.philt.org.uk/Narrow-Gauge-Railways/Welsh-Narrow-Gauge/i-3tXQwNZ/
- ↑ http://www.uzkorozchodky.hys.cz/existlok/tu7e/tu7e_001.php
- ↑ http://www.zeleznicny.net/modules/xcgal/displayimage.php?pid=25932&album=162
External links
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Coordinates: 51°48′33″N 3°22′02″W / 51.8093°N 3.36731°W