- Tonight! -
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 15
The 10.35am Carmarthen to Aberystwyth
Michael L. Roach
A weekend in October 1964 found me staying just outside Gloucester where I had taken my parents to stay with my Mother's brother and his wife, so I felt free to go off in search of steam in West Wales. Because there was no convenient connecting train, and knowing I would be back very late I opted to drive to Cardiff and park the car at Cardiff General Station rather than Gloucester Station. The cost of parking on the south side of Cardiff General was two shillings (10p). To put that amount into context, I was probably earning around 20 to 22 p an hour at the time. I would have left Twigworth around 05.00 to 05.15 to be sure of getting to Cardiff in time to catch the 07.35 dmu to Carmarthen. In fact, the train departed 11 late and reached Carmarthen 34 late after, doubling its length at Swansea High Street from 3-car to 6-car. Upon arrival at Carmarthen our train mto Aberystwyth was being put together in the bay at the north end of the station used by some trains to Llandeilo as well.
The engine ended up by adding eight empty milk tanks to two passenger coaches with the engine, 7826 Longworth Manor, of Llanelli Shed was way off the end of the platform. There was only nine minutes between our arrival and scheduled departure time at 10.35am so I had no time to go anywhere else on the station to get a view other than that shown in Part 9 image 7720 from the end of the platform. In fact because of all the shunting our train again departed 11 late.
The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line was single track, 56 miles long, and had just three passenger trains each way Monday to Saturday by this date, 10 October 1964. Passengers trains left Carmarthen at 06.10, 10.35 and 17.50 and Aber at 07.00, 11.55 and 17.40. These trains would normally cross in the passing loops at Tregaron, Strata Florida and Lampeter respectively, although they could cross almost anywhere if running late, as most of the stations had a passing loop and a signal box. Points to note en-route were the freight-only Newcastle Emlyn branch going off at Pencader Junction just north of Pencader Station (14½ miles); the freight-only Aberayron branch going off at Aberayron Junction just north of Lampeter Station (27½ miles); the milk depot and factory alongside Pont Llanio Station (34¾ miles); and the line turning through 90 degrees to the west at Strata Florida Station (42¼ miles) for reasons which will be explained.
The Carmarthen – Pencader – Newcastle Emlyn line was built by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway which never reached Cardigan. The Pencader – Strata Florida – Aberystwyth line was built by the Manchester and Milford Railway. At Strata Florida the line was due to head straight on to Manchester but the line was never built and this was the nearest the line got to Manchester some 140 miles away; it never reached Milford Haven either. Strata Florida to Aber was to be a branch line but became the main line. Both railways were taken over by the Great Western Railway. The M&M opened in sections in 1866 and 1867 (more on Wikipedia). Never having the finance to do what it wanted to do, the company decided that most of its station buildings would be made of prefabricated elements which were then very popular and available from a number of manufacturers. These were the first prefabs and consisted of a timber framework covered on one side with corrugated iron sheets of a panel size that could be transported and handled easily by two or three men. The buildings were particularly popular during the second half of the nineteenth century for village halls and chapels. Many survive and in the most unlikely places; a few years ago I spotted one in a residential road in Harrow, London, but generally they were used in rural areas. The M&M prefab buildings date from about 1866 and there is one to be seen in image 8268 at Pont Llanio. All the M&M examples were demolished when the line closed but just one example survived. Ten years ago, I wrote an article drawing attention to the one derelict example of an M&M corrugated iron station building then just about hanging on waiting for someone to take it on and rejuvenate it. I am happy to report that it has been completely renovated and now looks as good as new and better than it has looked in its 158 year history. More on this station building and Pont Llanio Station in a later instalment.
Our train left Carmarthen at 10.46 (11L) because of all the shunting, and the engine 7826 Longworth Manor coped well with the extra load. The first 14 miles of line to Pencader were particularly curvaceous as the track wound its way along river valleys, so I took several photos out of the drop-down window. Even after that there were still other curves to be used. At Pencader we crossed pannier tank 9677 with six wagons on a southbound freight. At Lampeter Station 4 milk tanks were detached from the train and left in the siding beside the goods shed; this took 3½ minutes. The wagons would be picked up later by a different engine and tripped down to Green Grove Siding, some 7 miles down the 12 mile freight-only branch to Aberayron. The siding had been constructed in 1951 specifically to serve a new milk factory. Our train left Lampeter 12L and carried on to Pont Llanio where the passenger coaches were left in the single platform while the engine detached the remaining four milk tanks; ran into the goods loop in front of the signal box to the north of the platform and left the wagons there. They would later be pulled back into the milk siding using a winch and winch wire. 7826 came back onto its train of two coaches and departed 15½ late, having taken 7 mins to detach the wagons. Later the loaded tanks would be left in the same position in the loop and picked up by a south-bound passenger train by reversing the whole train into the goods loop.
We would later have to wait 9 mins in the loop at Tregaron waiting for the 11.55am from Aber which we should have passed 5 miles further north at Strata Florida had we been on time. The train departed Tregaron 23½ mins late but by dint of slick train working reached Aber just 13½ mins late, after leaving Carmarthen 11½ late. A very creditable performance by the train crew. This was almost certainly one of the most interesting rail trips I ever made. Agricultural produce was the life-blood of the line as some of the other stations dispatched live cattle and sheep by the thousand. This rail traffic continued for a few years after the line closed to passengers in February 1965. I returned a few weeks later to try to repeat the trip but was disappointed to find that the line had been dieselised during those few weeks.
Most of the photos attached to this article show the station at Pont Llanio (Llanio Bridge in English). As old maps show there was very little at Pont Llanio between the arrival of the railway and the first milk depot thirty years later. A bridge over the river, a railwayman's cottage, a post office, one large house and a public house. The station was built principally to serve the village of Llandewi Brefi more than a mile to the south east. The village became famous some twenty years ago as the setting for the BBC comedy series “Little Britain.” Pont Llanio station opened to passengers on 1 September 1866 with the length from Lampeter to Strata Florida and closed to passengers on and from Monday 22 February 1965
The engine ended up by adding eight empty milk tanks to two passenger coaches with the engine, 7826 Longworth Manor, of Llanelli Shed was way off the end of the platform. There was only nine minutes between our arrival and scheduled departure time at 10.35am so I had no time to go anywhere else on the station to get a view other than that shown in Part 9 image 7720 from the end of the platform. In fact because of all the shunting our train again departed 11 late.
The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line was single track, 56 miles long, and had just three passenger trains each way Monday to Saturday by this date, 10 October 1964. Passengers trains left Carmarthen at 06.10, 10.35 and 17.50 and Aber at 07.00, 11.55 and 17.40. These trains would normally cross in the passing loops at Tregaron, Strata Florida and Lampeter respectively, although they could cross almost anywhere if running late, as most of the stations had a passing loop and a signal box. Points to note en-route were the freight-only Newcastle Emlyn branch going off at Pencader Junction just north of Pencader Station (14½ miles); the freight-only Aberayron branch going off at Aberayron Junction just north of Lampeter Station (27½ miles); the milk depot and factory alongside Pont Llanio Station (34¾ miles); and the line turning through 90 degrees to the west at Strata Florida Station (42¼ miles) for reasons which will be explained.
The Carmarthen – Pencader – Newcastle Emlyn line was built by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway which never reached Cardigan. The Pencader – Strata Florida – Aberystwyth line was built by the Manchester and Milford Railway. At Strata Florida the line was due to head straight on to Manchester but the line was never built and this was the nearest the line got to Manchester some 140 miles away; it never reached Milford Haven either. Strata Florida to Aber was to be a branch line but became the main line. Both railways were taken over by the Great Western Railway. The M&M opened in sections in 1866 and 1867 (more on Wikipedia). Never having the finance to do what it wanted to do, the company decided that most of its station buildings would be made of prefabricated elements which were then very popular and available from a number of manufacturers. These were the first prefabs and consisted of a timber framework covered on one side with corrugated iron sheets of a panel size that could be transported and handled easily by two or three men. The buildings were particularly popular during the second half of the nineteenth century for village halls and chapels. Many survive and in the most unlikely places; a few years ago I spotted one in a residential road in Harrow, London, but generally they were used in rural areas. The M&M prefab buildings date from about 1866 and there is one to be seen in image 8268 at Pont Llanio. All the M&M examples were demolished when the line closed but just one example survived. Ten years ago, I wrote an article drawing attention to the one derelict example of an M&M corrugated iron station building then just about hanging on waiting for someone to take it on and rejuvenate it. I am happy to report that it has been completely renovated and now looks as good as new and better than it has looked in its 158 year history. More on this station building and Pont Llanio Station in a later instalment.
Our train left Carmarthen at 10.46 (11L) because of all the shunting, and the engine 7826 Longworth Manor coped well with the extra load. The first 14 miles of line to Pencader were particularly curvaceous as the track wound its way along river valleys, so I took several photos out of the drop-down window. Even after that there were still other curves to be used. At Pencader we crossed pannier tank 9677 with six wagons on a southbound freight. At Lampeter Station 4 milk tanks were detached from the train and left in the siding beside the goods shed; this took 3½ minutes. The wagons would be picked up later by a different engine and tripped down to Green Grove Siding, some 7 miles down the 12 mile freight-only branch to Aberayron. The siding had been constructed in 1951 specifically to serve a new milk factory. Our train left Lampeter 12L and carried on to Pont Llanio where the passenger coaches were left in the single platform while the engine detached the remaining four milk tanks; ran into the goods loop in front of the signal box to the north of the platform and left the wagons there. They would later be pulled back into the milk siding using a winch and winch wire. 7826 came back onto its train of two coaches and departed 15½ late, having taken 7 mins to detach the wagons. Later the loaded tanks would be left in the same position in the loop and picked up by a south-bound passenger train by reversing the whole train into the goods loop.
We would later have to wait 9 mins in the loop at Tregaron waiting for the 11.55am from Aber which we should have passed 5 miles further north at Strata Florida had we been on time. The train departed Tregaron 23½ mins late but by dint of slick train working reached Aber just 13½ mins late, after leaving Carmarthen 11½ late. A very creditable performance by the train crew. This was almost certainly one of the most interesting rail trips I ever made. Agricultural produce was the life-blood of the line as some of the other stations dispatched live cattle and sheep by the thousand. This rail traffic continued for a few years after the line closed to passengers in February 1965. I returned a few weeks later to try to repeat the trip but was disappointed to find that the line had been dieselised during those few weeks.
Most of the photos attached to this article show the station at Pont Llanio (Llanio Bridge in English). As old maps show there was very little at Pont Llanio between the arrival of the railway and the first milk depot thirty years later. A bridge over the river, a railwayman's cottage, a post office, one large house and a public house. The station was built principally to serve the village of Llandewi Brefi more than a mile to the south east. The village became famous some twenty years ago as the setting for the BBC comedy series “Little Britain.” Pont Llanio station opened to passengers on 1 September 1866 with the length from Lampeter to Strata Florida and closed to passengers on and from Monday 22 February 1965
7826 heads the train out of the loop at Llanybyther still with the full load of eight tanks as far as Lampeter. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pont Llanio looking towards Carmarthen. The two coaches have been left in the platform while the engine deposits the four empty milk tanks in the loop. Note the very basic station building. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7826 has returned to its train. Note the signal box, the milk trucks in the loop, and the oil lamp. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Strata Florida showing how it was built on a sharp curve, with the Cambrian Mountains in the background. View taken out of the last window of the last coach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Our train has arrived at Aberystwyth – the coaches are already being removed by the station pilot. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7826 is seen on its return working, the 5.40pm Aber to Carm at Pont Llanio. Note the very primitive “gents.” Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking the other way at Pont Llanio it can be seen that we left the carriage door open while we took our photos to ensure we did not get left behind. Had there been any sun it would have set a few minutes earlier. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
'The Age Of Steam' - Crowlas
By Roger Winnen
Part 2
14.05.1977 - Age of Steam Crowlas. Copyright Roger Winnen
14.05.1977 - The Age of Steam Crowlas. Copyright Roger Winnen
14.05.1977 - Travel aboard the Age of Steam. Copyright Roger Winnen
14.05.1977 - Travel aboard the Age of Steam. Copyright Roger Winnen
14.05.1977 - Model Railway. Copyright Roger Winnen
Bath Green Park Station Repairs
Paul Negus
It looks like the builders have finished repairs to the fire damaged part of Bath Green Park Station. The damage was the result of arson but as far as I am aware no arrest has ever been made.
Full marks to the owners, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, for continuing to maintain the Grade II listed station to a good standard.
Full marks to the owners, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, for continuing to maintain the Grade II listed station to a good standard.
Repairs to Bath Green Park station. 08.11.2024, copyright Paul Negus.
Many thanks, Paul - a good job well done.