Tondu railway station
Encyclopedia
Tondu railway station is a railway station serving the town of Tondu
, Bridgend county borough
, South Wales
. It located on the Maesteg Line
from Cardiff
via Bridgend
.
Passenger services are operated by Arriva Trains Wales
as part of the Valley Lines
network for local services.
It hence had an extensive set of railway workshops, and was also the junction access point for the Tondu Ironworks.
The ironworks shut form 1895 onwards, but the previous developments meant that it remained an important junction with the instalation of a wagon works for the collieries in the area. After the Beeching Axe
in the 1960s, and the closure of the Balengarw and International collieries in the late 1980s, the station and lines were greatly rationalised.
The current passing loop is still controlled by the former Tondu junction signal box, which manually controls the line using semaphore signals. As well as the former Maesteg Line, the former Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company line exists as a freight-only by-pass line to Margam
.
Tondu
Tondu is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about north of the town of Bridgend.Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th century as a coal mining village servicing the Parc Slip Colliery...
, Bridgend county borough
Bridgend (county borough)
Bridgend is a county borough in the historic county of Glamorgan, south Wales. The county borough has a total population of 130,000 people, and contains the settlements of Bridgend, after which it is named, Maesteg, and the seaside town of Porthcawl...
, 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...
. It located on the Maesteg Line
Maesteg Line
The Maesteg Line is commuter rail line in South Wales from Cardiff to Bridgend and Maesteg. The line follows the South Wales Main Line as far as Bridgend, where it then diverges to continue to Maesteg.-History:...
from Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
via Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
.
Passenger services are operated by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
as part of the Valley Lines
Valley Lines
Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes is the busy network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glamorgan and the South Wales Valleys....
network for local services.
History
Originally developed as part of the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway, it was a junction of six railway lines:- The Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway from Porthcawl to Maesteg
- The Maesteg LineMaesteg LineThe Maesteg Line is commuter rail line in South Wales from Cardiff to Bridgend and Maesteg. The line follows the South Wales Main Line as far as Bridgend, where it then diverges to continue to Maesteg.-History:...
to BridgendBridgendBridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
, connecting to the South Wales Main LineSouth Wales Main LineThe South Wales Main Line , originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain... - The Ogmore Valley Railway to BrynmenynBrynmenynBrynmenyn is a small village located at the confluence of the Garw and Ogmore rivers in south Wales, around 4 miles north of Bridgend, and it also in the Bridgend County Borough council area. The village has its own primary school.-Transport:...
- The Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company to Port Talbot docksPort Talbot DocksThe port of Port Talbot is located on the River Afan estuary next to Port Talbot Steelworks in the industrial town of Port Talbot, South Wales. The whole basin complex covers about , consisting of: an inner set of floating docks, developed from 1834 onwards; and an outer tidal basin, completed in...
and Pontyrhyl - The Garw Valley Railway to BrynmenynBrynmenynBrynmenyn is a small village located at the confluence of the Garw and Ogmore rivers in south Wales, around 4 miles north of Bridgend, and it also in the Bridgend County Borough council area. The village has its own primary school.-Transport:...
and onwards to the Blaengarw and International collieries
It hence had an extensive set of railway workshops, and was also the junction access point for the Tondu Ironworks.
The ironworks shut form 1895 onwards, but the previous developments meant that it remained an important junction with the instalation of a wagon works for the collieries in the area. After 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...
in the 1960s, and the closure of the Balengarw and International collieries in the late 1980s, the station and lines were greatly rationalised.
The current passing loop is still controlled by the former Tondu junction signal box, which manually controls the line using semaphore signals. As well as the former Maesteg Line, the former Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company line exists as a freight-only by-pass line to Margam
Margam
Margam is a suburb of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway.- History :...
.