South Wales Railway

South Wales Railway
Legend
Cross Country Route to Birmingham to Bristol to docks and GRC&W Works Gloucester Eastgate Gloucester Docks Gloucester(GWR) River Severn Alney Island River Severn Ledbury and Gloucester Railway Oakle Street Grange Court Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway Westbury-on-Severn Halt Newnham Ruddle Road Halt Bullo Pill Railway Bullo Pill(Goods only) Awre for Blakeney Forest of Dean Central Railway Gatcombe Severn Bridge Railway to Sharpness Severn Railway Bridge over River Severn Severn Bridge Severn Bridge Tunnel Lydney Lydney Junction Lydney Harbour Branch Dean Forest Railway Tinworks branch Woolaston Wye Valley Railway Tutshill for Beachley Halt Chepstow East Chepstow Bridge over River Wye Chepstow Bristol and South Wales Union Railway Portskewett (original location) ("Portskewett Junction" 1863–1886) Portskewett South Wales Main Line via Severn Tunnel Caerwent Training Area Caldicot Severn Tunnel Junction Undy Halt Magor flying junction Bishton Crossing Llanwern station / steelworks Goods line to Uskmouth Welsh Marches Line to Abergavenny and Hereford River Usk Newport High Street Brecon and Merthyr Railway to Ebbw Vale Alexandra Dock Brecon and Merthyr Railway to Machen and Merthyr Tydfil Marshfield River Rhymney Roath Rhymney Railway to Caerphilly Cardiff Queen Street Taff Vale Railway to Pontypridd Cardiff Central Bute Street Queen Alexandra Dock P and A Campbell ferry across the River Severn Barry Railway to Barry, Penarth and Vale of Glamorgan Cardiff Canton Locomotive Depot Ninian Park Leckwith Junction Penarth Harbour and Dock Railway to Taffs Well Ely Main Line St Fagans St Fagans Junction Barry Railway ↑ to Barry ← to Tynycaeau Junction Drope Junction Peterston Pontyclun Ely Valley Railway Cowbridge and Aberthaw Railway Llanharan Cardiff and Ogmore Valley Railway Pencoed Barry Railway to Vale of Glamorgan Bridgend Llynvi and Ogmore Railway to Maesteg Llynvi and Ogmore Railway to Tondu Pyle Junction Pyle Llynvi and Ogmore Railway to Porthcawl Port Talbot Railway to Tondu Port Talbot Railway to Tonmawr Junction (Mean) Port Talbot Port Talbot Docks Baglan Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway to Treherbert South Wales Mineral Railway to Tonmawr Briton Ferry Swansea District Line Neath Vale of Neath Railway River Neath Skewen Swansea District Line to Swansea docks Llansamlet Landore Viaduct over River Tawe Landore High Level Swansea High Street Cockett Tunnel Cockett Gowerton North Loughor Loughor Viaduct Trostre Tinplate Works Llanelli Pembrey and Burry Port Lando Platform Kidwelly Flats Halt Kidwelly Ferryside Carmarthen Junction Carmarthen for Carmarthen Aberystwyth Line via Lampeter Sarnau St Clears Whitland West Wales Line to Pembroke Dock former line to Cardigan Clunderwen Rosebush loop Clarbeston Road Fishguard branch Haverfordwest Wolf's Castle Halt Welsh Hook Halt Mathry Road Rosebush loop Jordanston Halt Fishguard and Goodwick Fishguard Harbour Ferry to Rosslare Europort Johnston Neyland Waterston oil refinery Robeston oil refinery Milford Haven Newton Noyes Hakin Docks

The South Wales Railway was a 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge railway that linked the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway with Neyland in Wales. The line now forms part of the South Wales Main Line and Gloucester to Newport Line.

History

The need for the railway was created by the need to ship coal from the South Wales Valleys to London, and secondly to complete Brunel's vision of linking London with New York, and more financially rewarding immediately to the South Wales coal and ferries to Ireland.

A prospectus was issued in 1844 to build a railway through South Wales from a junction with the Great Western Railway at Standish in Gloucestershire. The proposed route would cross the River Severn west of Gloucester, and run through South Wales to Abermawr, near Fishguard, thereby connecting to both southern Ireland and New York. The Great Western Railway agreed to subscribe £600,000 of the £2,400,000 required to build the railway.^[1]

However, local objections were raised over the proposed long bridge over the River Severn. The objections were overcome by linking with the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway at Grange Court,^[2] and linking with the rest of the existing 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge system at Gloucester. This diversion added an extra 18 miles (29 km) to the journey between South Wales and London.^[1]

The initial part of the line between Chepstow and Swansea was opened on 18 June 1850, with trains operated by the Great Western Railway under a lease agreement.^[3] At the eastern end of the line the connection to Gloucester and London Paddington was completed in July 1852 when the bridge at Chepstow was finished. Construction of the line west of Swansea was delayed, due to the financial problems of the late 1840s, and the abandoning of construction of the Irish railways that would connect with the Fishguard ferries at Waterford. The western terminus of the line was changed from Fishguard to New Milford (Neyland)^[4] and the line west of Swansea was built in stages, reaching New Milford in April 1856.

As coal traffic from the South Wales Valleys increased, the tensions between the South Wales Railway and the Great Western increased due to a lack of wagons. These were eventually resolved when in January 1862 the two companies merged.

In May 1872, the South Wales Main Line was re-gauged from broad gauge to standard gauge.^[5]

In 1886, the direct route to South Wales was implemented with the opening of the Severn Tunnel between Bristol and Severn Tunnel Junction.

Chronology

• 1845 South Wales Railway authorised by Act of Parliament from Chepstow to Fishguard
• 1846 Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway authorised by Act of Parliament
• 1850 Opened Chepstow to Swansea
• 1851 Opened Grange Court to Chepstow East

Vale of Neath Railway opened from Neath

• 1852 Chepstow Bridge opened, linking the two sections of railway

Railway opened from Landore to Carmarthen

Branch to Swansea Docks opened for goods traffic only

New Act of Parliament authorises the western terminus to be changed from Fishguard to Neyland

• 1854 Railway extended to Haverfordwest
• 1856 Railway completed to Neyland
• 1862 South Wales Railway amalgamated with the Great Western Railway
• 1872 Re-gauged from broad to standard gauge.

Stations

Includes stations opened by the Great Western Railway and subsequent operators

• Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway
  • Gloucester (Great Western Railway)
  • Oakle Street
  • Grange Court
• South Wales Railway
  • Newnham
  • Awre for Blakeney
  • Lydney Junction
  • Woolaston
  • Chepstow East (1851 – 1852 temporary station)
  • Chepstow (1850)
  • Portskewett
  • Caldicot
  • Severn Tunnel Junction (1886, after the opening of the Severn Tunnel)
  • Undy Halt
  • Magor
  • Llanwern
  • Newport High Street (now Newport)
  • Marshfield
  • Cardiff (later Cardiff General, now Cardiff Central)
  • Ely Main Line
  • Peterston
  • Llantrisant
  • Pontyclun
  • Llanharan
  • Pencoed
  • Bridgend
  • Pyle
  • Port Talbot (now Port Talbot Parkway)
  • Baglan
  • Briton Ferry
  • Neath
  • Skewen
  • Llansamlet
  • Landore
  • Swansea High Street (now Swansea)
  • Cockett
  • Gowerton
  • Loughor
  • Llanelly
  • Pembrey and Burry Port
  • Kidwelly
  • Ferryside
  • Carmarthen Junction
  • Carmarthen
  • Sarnau
  • St Clears
  • Whitland
  • Clunderwen
  • Clarbeston Road
  • Haverfordwest
  • Johnston
  • Neyland
  • Milford Haven

References

1. La Luciole – Britain's 7 ft (2,134 mm) gauge railways
2. Grange Court
3. MacDermot, E T (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, volume I 1833–1863. London: Great Western Railway.
4. Jones, Stephen K. (2006). Brunel in South Wales. II: Communications and Coal. Stroud: The History Press. p. 167. ISBN 9780752439181.
5. Hodge, John (2002). The South Wales Main Line. Part Two: Severn Tunnel to Newport. Wild Swan Publications. p. 1. ISBN 1-874103-76-3.

External links

• Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway at Railscot.co.uk