Abersychan and Talywain railway station
Encyclopedia
Abersychan and Talywain railway station served the west of Abersychan
village in the Welsh
county of Monmouthshire
. The station was the meeting point for two major pre-grouping railways as they competed for the South Wales
coal traffic.
Opened on 1 May 1878 by the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway, it became part of the London and North Western Railway
which through the connection with the Heads of the Valleys Line
was able to take coal directly to destinations in the Midlands
. A junction with the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
led to joint use once that railway was absorbed into the Great Western Railway
.
Passenger use ceased during the Second World War, the first day without service being 5 May 1941, but general goods were carried until 1954 and the line was used by the Big Pit
at Blaenavon
until the coal mine closed in 1980.
.
Abersychan
Abersychan is a settlement and community north of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It has a population of 6,826.It lies in the narrow northern section of the Afon Lwyd valley...
village in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
county of Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
. The station was the meeting point for two major pre-grouping railways as they competed for the South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
coal traffic.
History
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
which through the connection with the Heads of the Valleys Line
Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
The Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway was a railway company operating between 1860 and 1958 between the towns of Merthyr Tydfil, Tredegar and Abergavenny through the counties of Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire in south east Wales....
was able to take coal directly to destinations in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
. A junction with the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway in South Wales, running trains between a halt platform opposite the Whistle Stop public house southwards to the town of Blaenavon via a two-platform station at the site of former colliery furnace.The line is the highest...
led to joint use once that railway was absorbed into the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
.
Passenger use ceased during the Second World War, the first day without service being 5 May 1941, but general goods were carried until 1954 and the line was used by the Big Pit
Big Pit
Big Pit: National Coal Museum is a museum in Blaenavon, Torfaen, South Wales. A working coal mine from 1860 to 1980, it was opened to visitors from 1980 under the auspices of the National Museum Wales...
at Blaenavon
Blaenavon
Blaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people...
until the coal mine closed in 1980.
The site today
The line through the station site can still be traced on an OS map. A cycle path has been built on the former station site. The former goods shed of the Abersychan and Talywain station near Church Road has survived and is now used by private firm C & M Haulage. The large goods shed was given listed building status in 28 July 1997 by the local Torfaen authority. Reopening the station is one of the long-term aims of the Pontypool and Blaenavon RailwayPontypool and Blaenavon Railway
The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway in South Wales, running trains between a halt platform opposite the Whistle Stop public house southwards to the town of Blaenavon via a two-platform station at the site of former colliery furnace.The line is the highest...
.