Reports of outdoor meetings 2024.
Thursday 18th July - Barry Railway, Tonteg to Treforest.
The fine weather we experienced on our walks last year was again with us as 5 walkers gathered at our start point near the village of Tonteg. The scene which greets us today is very different to that which once existed as it was here at Tonteg Junction that our route diverged from the Barry Railway main line which linked Trehafod in the Rhondda Valley with Barry docks, down which so much mineral wealth flowed. Opening with the main line in 1889, our route's purpose was to abstract from the TVR and divert to Barry docks some of the mineral wealth from the valleys of the Cynon and Taff. All that remains today is the bridge which spanned the tracks at Tonteg Halt, but an information board depicting the changed scene from the bridge over the years does justice to the site's history by proclaiming that Tonteg Junction was once one of the busiest junctions in the world for export coal traffic.
As we progressed down the gradient towards the railway's interface with the TVR at Treforest, the large retaining walls necessary to protect our route from the Barry's main line above us to our left became evident. We were soon at the point where our walk took a detour to cross the existing railway by means of a new bridge and it was here that we observed, with some surprise, that a section of track which formed the siding to Treforest Tinplate Works is still in situ although heavily obscured by vegetation. A number of buildings on the site of the Works remain, including a rolling mill dating from the 1830's, and are Grade II listed. The Works closed in 1939 although the site was requisitioned during the war by the Ministry of Supply for storage. Even the main railway which is part of the South Wales Valleys network is much changed from bygone days as the electrification catenary is now in place for the Metro and the 4 tracks necessary to accommodate the endless flow of coal traffic has now given way to 2 tracks.
The main purpose of our diversion off the main route was to observe the substantial remaining bridge parapet which carried the Cardiff Railway across the River Taff at Rhydyfelin in its ill-fated attempt to tap the coal riches of the TVR by means of a connection with that railway at Treforest in the hope of emulating the success the Barry Railway had previously enjoyed in bleeding off a considerable proportion of the TVR's traffic. Naturally, the TVR was not amused by this threat to its lifeblood and so commenced a legal wrangle which spanned 13 years during which the Taff joined forces with the Barry to raise every objection the two railways could muster to prevent the Cardiff Railway's connection. Eventually, the combined financial clout of the Taff and Barry won the day and prevented any coal traffic from being abstracted. A temporary junction was put in but served only to pass an inaugural train in 1909 after which further legal wrangling and the outbreak of war resulted in the connection being removed leaving the Cardiff Railway to terminate ignominiously in a field a few hundred yards beyond the parapet we observed.
Our second detour of the day occurred after lunch when we visited the grounds of the University of South Wales to witness the south portal of the BR's Treforest Tunnel. Reporting to the university's security lodge, we were granted permission to enter but arrival at the tunnel's mouth took longer than anticipated due to the walk leader embarrassingly taking a wrong turn and getting lost within the extensive site of the university campus! Fortunately, with our objective achieved, the imposing sight of the tunnel portal and the cooler air it gave made our efforts to find it worthwhile!
Although our itinerary provided for a return to our start point by bus, most elected to walk back reflecting on an enjoyable and interesting day with special thanks due to David Bird and Committee member Chris Dyke for travelling considerable distances in order to participate.
 079887 (3).jpg "Barry Railway, Treforest Tunnel (South Portal)")
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GWR, Hengoed to Nelson & Llancaiach, Saturday 17th August
In seasonally pleasant weather, 6 walkers, plus a 4-legged friend named Bryn, gathered on the platform at Hengoed station for a walk westward of around 3 miles to the once substantial junction station at Nelson & Llancaiach. In a change to the intended itinerary, we elected to cross the impressive 16-arch Hengoed Viaduct on our return by staying on our bus to Maesycwmmer, allowing us to walk over the structure to regain our start-point at Hengoed.
Our walk took us along the route originally constructed by the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway which completed a link with the Taff Vale Railway at Quakers Yard in 1858. The section walked was that from Hengoed, where the viaduct conveyed the line across the Rhymney Valley, to Nelson & Llancaiach where the GWR/RR Joint line branched off to Dowlais and the TVR joined from Pontypridd. A through route to Swansea was created in 1864 when the NA&HR was absorbed by the GWR and an extension was completed to the Vale of Neath Railway at Middle Duffryn, near Mountain Ash, in the Cynon Valley. The line became one of the busiest freight routes on the GWR system, its lifeblood coming from the collieries it served, either through the valleys in which it ran or the connections it made with the valleys it crossed. The line closed as a through route in 1964 - less than 4 months short of its centenary - but a section beside which we walked remained active until very recently. This being that from the site of Penallta Junction to Nelson and up the former GWR/RR route which handled coal traffic from the Ffos-y-Fran opencast site at Cwmbargoed to Port Talbot steelworks until 23rd February this year when coal loading ceased following the enforced end of mining.
Hengoed once provided an important interchange between the GWR, passing through Hengoed High Level, and the Rhymney Railway, running through the Low Level station where services survive today operated by Transport for Wales and used by some of the walk participants. A nice touch on the site of the High Level station is a replica running-in board, but smaller than the original, proclaiming 'Hengoed High Level, change for Cardiff, Caerphilly and Rhymney Valley.' Walking away from the station we observed the expanse of where the sidings once stood , now covered in vegetation and trees although the brick remains of what appeared to be a loading platform can be seen in the vicinity of the long-gone Goods Shed. Next, we walked under the bridge which carries Bedwlwyn Road over our route and just beyond this bridge is a second by which the road crossed the GWR Hengoed Loop, that linked the GWR with the RR by means of Rhymney Jctn and Ystrad Mynach North Jctn.
A little further along, our route passed over the RR Cylla branch which served Penallta colliery. Concrete sleepers below the road overbridge could be seen until the branch was converted to a footpath in the last few years. The colliery survived the Miners' Strike and made impressive gains in production after the return to work but eventually closed in 1991. The former Goods Yard at Cylla is now occupied by a small housing estate, but the land's former use has been recognised by naming the road serving it 'Cylla Sidings.'
As we neared the site of Penallta Jctn - by which the RR line from Ystrad Mynach South Jctn joined our route in 1871 giving that Company access to the mineral wealth of the Cynon Valley and the ironworks of Merthyr and Dowlais through joint lines with the GWR - we viewed a bridge at Pont y Saeson, slightly off the current footpath, by which a tramway once crossed taking coal from an opencast working to a siding on the RR route.
Beyond the site of Penallta Jctn the existing single track quickly came into view over which coal trains from the Ffos-y-Fran opencast site at Cwmbargoed to Port Talbot steelworks ran until recently. The rails are now rusty, and vegetation is taking hold but at least the line survives although its future is uncertain. Very little now remains of the once substantial station at Nelson & Llancaiach although the bricks of a platform facing can be glimpsed through the dense vegetation.
After about three-quarters of a mile we crossed the line by means of a boarded foot crossing and headed into Nelson for lunch at the Lord Nelson Inn. The pub, a traditional 18th century coaching inn with its low ceiling, oak beams and open fireplace, was cosy and welcoming and the food good, but sadly there was no real ale! We reflected on an enjoyable walk and looked forward to the next one in September. On emerging from the pub, we were surprised to see light drizzle falling as we crossed the road to the small bus station, passing on the way the one remaining bridge span of the Taff Vale Railway which served Nelson with a passenger service that ceased in 1932. The railway cutting is long filled, the site now occupied by the bus station. Thankfully, the drizzle didn't last as our bus, running to time, dropped us in Maesycwmmer for a walk across the splendid Hengoed Viaduct to return us to our start point at Hengoed station to complete another satisfying and successful walk.
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LNWR, Clydach to Brynmawr, Tuesday 3th September
For our final walk of the season, five walkers congregated in the car park of Clydach ironworks in anticipation of a walk from Clydach to Brynmawr along a section of the LNWR's route from Abergavenny to Merthyr. The walk offers spectacular views from the former railway's lofty course and includes the most heavily engineered section of the entire route.
As parking at the start of our walk is very restricted, we transferred to one car for the short but steep climb along narrow roads to a point close to the site of Clydach station. Here we observed the remains of the platforms, the station house which is currently being renovated to reflect its former glory and walked over, and then under, Clydach Viaduct to marvel at its engineering grandeur. The viaduct, which opened in 1862, consists of 8 arches, and is 104 yards long and 75 feet high, was originally constructed for a single track but an additional section was added when the line was doubled in 1877. The later construction could be clearly seen when viewing the arches from below.
Beyond the station is Clydach tunnel - down bore 330 yards, up bore 302 yards - the east portals of which are fenced off and inaccessible, so we took the footpath to view the portals at the west end. Of interest here is an apparent inner lining on the westbound bore, this bore being added when the line was doubled.
Having passed Llanelly quarry, which supplied limestone to the Clydach ironworks, we entered the impressive Clydach Gorge which the railway negotiated by clinging to the rock face before plunging into Gelli Felin tunnel - down bore 386 yards, up bore 352 yards. Should one desire, the up bore is open to walk through but resisting the temptation we elected instead to take the walk route around. An interesting feature of this tunnel is the brick lined eastbound bore suggesting this was the last built which would mean the later bore was westbound through Clydach tunnel but eastbound through Gelli Felin tunnel.
Next up was the brick built waiting shelters of Gelli Felin halt, opened in 1933, although the short timber platforms have long gone. Such is the dense vegetation growth around the structures they were nearly missed, and it was interesting to compare this growth with the relatively unobstructed photos I had of the shelters from my visit in 2011 at the same time of year.
We were now on our approach to Brynmawr and with the recently widened A465 coming alongside it was pleasing that the trackbed has been retained with, presumably, the land take for the new carriageway having occurred on the opposite side.
The Bridgend Inn was well populated when we arrived for lunch reflecting the high reputation the pub has for good food and drink. Suitably refreshed, we headed for the bus stop for the punctually operated Stagecoach route 78 service to convey us the 3 miles back to Clydach. Our walk from the bus stop to the car park took us passed the remains of Clydach ironworks at which we stopped to observe.
The ironworks started production in 1793 and eventually had four furnaces, employing over 1,350 by 1841. The site struggled to be profitable however and with bigger and better equipped furnaces nearby the works fell into decline with furnace production ceasing in 1861
At an elevation of over 1,000 feet this walk, with its spectacular views and heavy engineering, is one of the finest railway walks in South Wales and we should be grateful for the route having been preserved and a footpath created so that the scenery and railway history can be enjoyed by those who walk it.
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Many thanks to Keith Dumelow.