Hengoed Viaduct
Encyclopedia
Hengoed Viaduct is a Grade II* listed railway viaduct, located above the village of Maesycwmmer
, in Caerphilly county borough, South Wales
. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR)
across the Rhymney River
, it is now part of National Cycle Route 47
, and the mass-extraction of coal
from South Wales
, there was a resultant growth in construction of railways into the South Wales Coalfield
. The Taff Vale Railway
so monopolised the trade of shipping coal to Cardiff Docks
, that mine owners were desperate for competitor railway companies to both improve speeds of shipping, provide access to new markets, and hence reduce shipping rates.
The London and North Western Railway
had developed a route for the industrialised West Midlands
and Northwest England, by controlling the Llanfihangel Railway and the Grosmont Railway's as feeder lines into the Hereford Railway, and hence onwards via the joint GWR/LNWR controlled Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
. This allowed shipment of goods from Pontypool
and the Ebbw Valley to Hereford
. However, access to the productive Rhymney Valley
and Rhondda Valley coalfields was at best restricted, through having to route trains south to Cardiff along the TVR, then along the South Wales Railway
to Newport
via the GWR, before being able to access LNWR controlled track.
The UK Parliament hence approved an Act of Parliament
on 3 August 1846, the construction of the Taff Vale Extension, which would connect Coedygric North Junction at Pontypool with the TVR/GWR at Quakers Yard
, and hence allow direct and LNWR controlled access. The LNWR approved the required capitol expenditure, and merged the existing three railways and the extension project in the new Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway.
(the Crumlin Viaduct
); and one 4 miles (6.4 km) further west across the Rhymney River
, the Hengoed Viaduct.
The last major project for the NA&HR to complete the Taff Vale Extension before the line was opened in 1858, Charles Liddell
, the chief engineer of the NA&HR, decided that while a stone bridge would be impractical at Crumlin due to the narrow valley sides and hence high winds, at Maesycwmmer all of the natural resources existed to build an effective stone viaduct.
Having won the contract to design and provide the structure of the wrought iron bridge at Crumlin, it was natural for Scottish
civil engineer
, Thomas W. Kennard to win the design of the Hengeod Viaduct. Apart from spanning the Rhymney river, the viaduct also had to span the Brecon and Merthyr Railway
's station on the south side, and curve slightly across the valley to initialy form a junction with the B&MR on its northern side, before entering the Bryn Tunnel (398 yards (363.9 m)).
With a stipulated completion date of October 1st 1854, Liddell engaged contractors Messrs Rennie and Logan who began work on this masonry structure mid 1853. Maesycwmmer was a quiet rural farming valley before 1846, but Messrs Rennie and Logan first project was to construct to construct both a quarry
from which to extract stone from which to build the viaduct, and also build a complete housing and social complex in which to house the workers and their families. Hence the houses along the present mainroad were purpose built for the workers that built the Hengoed Viaduct, while the now disused quarry lies in a field behind the houses of St Annes Gardens.
Liddell's design consisted of 16 arches, with the first effectively a separate bridge skewed across the low level B&MR, to allow for crossing their Hengoed railway station
. With a maximum height above the valley bottom of 120 feet (36.6 m), the full length of 284 yards (259.7 m) came at a cost of construction was one fatal accident, and a financial outlay of £20,000 (an equivalent sum of money at 2003 would be £1,430,400).
during the railway grouping in 1921, in 1928 the entire length of the Taff Vale Extension was downscaled to a single track.
After the closure of Abergavenny Junction station in 1958, and the removal of all passenger traffic from, the line was completely closed and the track lifted in 1964 as part of the Beeching Axe
. After the closure, Hengoed viaduct was offered for sale at a nominal sum of £1.
. Integrated as part of the Celtic Trail within National Cycle Route 47, which provides a (mostly) traffic free cycle route from Quakers Yard to Newport, its ownership was transferred from Network Rail
to Railway Paths Ltd. Hengoed Viaduct was opened for public access in 2000.
In April 2004, the Heritage Lottery Fund
gave Caerphilly borough council a grant of £870,000. This allowed a programme of refurbishment to taken place, including repairing and repointing to the pier bases, parapets and arches; as well as repairs to the remains of Hengoed ‘High Level’ Station at the western end of the viaduct. Works have improve public access and safety, with new fencing, viewing platforms and the installation of lighting. Finally, the site and route was added to by the addition of "Wheel o Drams" (locally known as "The Stargate") sculpture by Andy Hazell, an unusual piece of modern art formed from a circle of coalmining dram trucks to commemorate the industrial heritage
of this locality within the history of the South Wales Valleys
.
Providing spectacular views when crossing the valley, the Grade 2* listed status puts it, along with the Nine-Arch Viaduct at Tredegar
, as one of the two listed viaducts in Wales.
Maesycwmmer
Maesycwmmer is a village and community in the centre of Caerphilly County Borough in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.- Origin of the name :...
, in Caerphilly county borough, 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...
. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR)
Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway
The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was a railway line connecting the Welsh port city of Newport via Abergavenny, to the major English market town of Hereford.Sponsored by the LNWR, it opened on 6 December 1853...
across the Rhymney River
Rhymney River
The Rhymney River is a river in the Rhymney Valley, south-east Wales, flowing through Cardiff into the Severn estuary.The river forms the boundary between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.-Path of the river:...
, it is now part of National Cycle Route 47
Background
During the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, and the mass-extraction of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from 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...
, there was a resultant growth in construction of railways into the South Wales Coalfield
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
. The Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
so monopolised the trade of shipping coal to Cardiff Docks
Cardiff Docks
Cardiff Docks is a port in south Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost...
, that mine owners were desperate for competitor railway companies to both improve speeds of shipping, provide access to new markets, and hence reduce shipping rates.
The London and North Western Railway
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...
had developed a route for the industrialised West Midlands
West Midlands
West Midlands may refer to:* West Midlands , a region in England* West Midlands , the metropolitan county in the West Midlands region* West Midlands conurbation, the large conurbation in the West Midlands region...
and Northwest England, by controlling the Llanfihangel Railway and the Grosmont Railway's as feeder lines into the Hereford Railway, and hence onwards via the joint GWR/LNWR controlled Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an independently developed English railway, the first to run train services in Herefordshire.Built between 1850 and 1853, it crossed a number of services by both the Great Western Railway and London and North Western Railway companies, became a joint...
. This allowed shipment of goods from Pontypool
Pontypool
Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
and the Ebbw Valley to Hereford
Hereford railway station
Hereford railway station serves the city of Hereford, England. Managed by Arriva Trains Wales, it lies on the Welsh Marches Line between Leominster and Abergavenny and is the western terminus of the Cotswold Line.The station has four platforms...
. However, access to the productive Rhymney Valley
Rhymney Valley
The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...
and Rhondda Valley coalfields was at best restricted, through having to route trains south to Cardiff along the TVR, then along the South Wales Railway
South Wales Railway
The South Wales Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway with Neyland in Wales.-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...
to Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
via the GWR, before being able to access LNWR controlled track.
The UK Parliament hence approved an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
on 3 August 1846, the construction of the Taff Vale Extension, which would connect Coedygric North Junction at Pontypool with the TVR/GWR at Quakers Yard
Quakers Yard
Quakers Yard is a village in the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, situated where the Taff Bargoed Valley joins the Taff Valley. Quakers Yard is part of the community of Treharris.-History:...
, and hence allow direct and LNWR controlled access. The LNWR approved the required capitol expenditure, and merged the existing three railways and the extension project in the new Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway.
Construction
The route for the Taff Vale Extension required the construction of two significant vaiducts across two major river valleys: one across the Ebbw RiverEbbw River
The Ebbw River is a river in South Wales.The main Ebbw River is formed by the confluence of the two minor Ebbw rivers, Ebbw Fach, and Ebbw Fawr ....
(the Crumlin Viaduct
Crumlin Viaduct
Crumlin Viaduct was a railway viaduct located above the village of Crumlin in South Wales. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway across the Ebbw River....
); and one 4 miles (6.4 km) further west across the Rhymney River
Rhymney River
The Rhymney River is a river in the Rhymney Valley, south-east Wales, flowing through Cardiff into the Severn estuary.The river forms the boundary between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.-Path of the river:...
, the Hengoed Viaduct.
The last major project for the NA&HR to complete the Taff Vale Extension before the line was opened in 1858, Charles Liddell
Charles Liddell
Charles Liddell , was an English railway engineer.Born in Easington, County Durham, he was the son of the Rector. A student and educated by George Stephenson, he resultantly became involved in a number of Styephenson's projects, including the Grand Junction Railway and London and Birmingham...
, the chief engineer of the NA&HR, decided that while a stone bridge would be impractical at Crumlin due to the narrow valley sides and hence high winds, at Maesycwmmer all of the natural resources existed to build an effective stone viaduct.
Having won the contract to design and provide the structure of the wrought iron bridge at Crumlin, it was natural for Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, Thomas W. Kennard to win the design of the Hengeod Viaduct. Apart from spanning the Rhymney river, the viaduct also had to span the Brecon and Merthyr Railway
Brecon and Merthyr Railway
The Brecon and Merthyr Junction Railway was one of several railways that served the industrial areas of South Wales and Monmouthshire. It ranked fifth amongst them in size, although hemmed in by the Taff Vale Railway and Great Western Railway...
's station on the south side, and curve slightly across the valley to initialy form a junction with the B&MR on its northern side, before entering the Bryn Tunnel (398 yards (363.9 m)).
With a stipulated completion date of October 1st 1854, Liddell engaged contractors Messrs Rennie and Logan who began work on this masonry structure mid 1853. Maesycwmmer was a quiet rural farming valley before 1846, but Messrs Rennie and Logan first project was to construct to construct both a quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
from which to extract stone from which to build the viaduct, and also build a complete housing and social complex in which to house the workers and their families. Hence the houses along the present mainroad were purpose built for the workers that built the Hengoed Viaduct, while the now disused quarry lies in a field behind the houses of St Annes Gardens.
Liddell's design consisted of 16 arches, with the first effectively a separate bridge skewed across the low level B&MR, to allow for crossing their Hengoed railway station
Hengoed railway station
Hengoed railway station is the name of an operational National Rail station situated in Hengoed on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network.The current station was initially named Hengoed & Maesycwmerr when opened by the Rhymney Railway in 1858...
. With a maximum height above the valley bottom of 120 feet (36.6 m), the full length of 284 yards (259.7 m) came at a cost of construction was one fatal accident, and a financial outlay of £20,000 (an equivalent sum of money at 2003 would be £1,430,400).
Operations
The line opened as a double track as agreed in 1858. Integrated as part of the Great Western RailwayGreat 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...
during the railway grouping in 1921, in 1928 the entire length of the Taff Vale Extension was downscaled to a single track.
After the closure of Abergavenny Junction station in 1958, and the removal of all passenger traffic from, the line was completely closed and the track lifted in 1964 as part of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. After the closure, Hengoed viaduct was offered for sale at a nominal sum of £1.
Today
Inaccessible to the public for over 35 years, it was agreed to become part of the National Cycle NetworkNational Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
. Integrated as part of the Celtic Trail within National Cycle Route 47, which provides a (mostly) traffic free cycle route from Quakers Yard to Newport, its ownership was transferred from Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
to Railway Paths Ltd. Hengoed Viaduct was opened for public access in 2000.
In April 2004, the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
gave Caerphilly borough council a grant of £870,000. This allowed a programme of refurbishment to taken place, including repairing and repointing to the pier bases, parapets and arches; as well as repairs to the remains of Hengoed ‘High Level’ Station at the western end of the viaduct. Works have improve public access and safety, with new fencing, viewing platforms and the installation of lighting. Finally, the site and route was added to by the addition of "Wheel o Drams" (locally known as "The Stargate") sculpture by Andy Hazell, an unusual piece of modern art formed from a circle of coalmining dram trucks to commemorate the industrial heritage
Industrial heritage
Industrial heritage is an aspect of cultural heritage dealing specifically with the buildings and artifacts of industry which are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations, often forming a significant attraction for tourism.The...
of this locality within the history of the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
.
Providing spectacular views when crossing the valley, the Grade 2* listed status puts it, along with the Nine-Arch Viaduct at Tredegar
Tredegar
Tredegar is a town situated on the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in south-east Wales. Located within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the Industrial Revolution in South Wales...
, as one of the two listed viaducts in Wales.