Steam Days magazine February 2025 issue **20 PAGE FREE PREVIEW** by Mortons Media Group Ltd

BYWAYSTOBRECON: THELASTPASSENGERYEAR

Cove r: Th el as tp as se nger tr ai nt ot rave rs e th eM id -Wal es Ra il wayp au se sats nowy Ll an id lo es on De ce mb er 30 ,1962. An SL S sp ec ia lb ille da s‘ Fa rewe ll to th eB re co n li ne soft he Ca mb ri an an dM id la nd ra il ways ,’ Iv at t2 MT 2- 6- 0s No s. 4650 9a nd 4650 4 wi ll co nt inue to Br econ once wate ri ng is co mp le te .The fo ll ow ingd ay sawt he ro ut es ou th of he re cl os ed an dB re co nl os t to th ep as se nger ne twor k. AN HG love r/ Kidd er mi ns te rR ailw ay Mu se um

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No 426 Februar y2025

4Trains ofThought

5Byways to Brecon in their last passenger year –1962

AMid-Wales rail wayhub with routes from Heref ord, Ne wpor t, Neath and Moat Lane Junction, the threat of closuref or these lines ga ve Rober tDarlaston ne wf ocus in his quest to enjoyall bef oreitwas too late.

18 The Brill branch of theMetropolitan Rail wayand London Transpor t Link ing to theMet &GCR JointlineatQuainton Road, the ‘Met ’took over thisrural bywayfromDecember 1899 and atransf or mation began. Bruce La ws takes us on atrip along therouteand considers the changes,through to closurebyLondon Transpor tinNovember 1935.

Basingstokebeckons,twiceover

Thefrema nloosensupt he contents of thebunkerofJohnson 0- 4- 4T No.580 65 at Sout hwell, in betweent rips to themainlinestation at RollestonJunctioninA pril 1959.The ra pid deployment of Ivat t’smotor-ftted 2- 6-2T ta nk sint he post wa ryea rs decimatedpre -Grouping LM Slocot ypes on pull -pushdutiesa nd theser vice here ,wit hdrawn just twomonthslater,was thelastout post GH Hunt /Colour- Rail.com/B RM1579

Peter Kerslake recalls howdiminishingsteam acti vityathome led three friends to head forpasturesnew on August bank holidaySaturday 1965, visiting the Waterloo main line, andthen retur ning ayear later. 36 Subscriptions

38 Pull &push –the LMSinheritance

At the Grouping, proven motor train operationsofL&NWR, L&YR and Midland Rail wayheritage were all absorbed into the largest of the new‘Big Four’ companies. John Macnab and EricStuart consider theirsubsequent use.

47 Thor nton Junction post-Nationalisation

Its en virons,engine shed obser vations and Fif ecoalﬁeld role

Thevillage of Thor nton found itself at amajor rail wayhub,its engine shed enjoying asymbiotic relationship with local industries,inpar ticular the dominant coal business – RogerGrifths and John Hooper mar ry up BR steam-era sightings with some of theprimar ylocations ser vedatthat time.

Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR.

Next month…

Christchurch stations

Sleeper predicament at Ne wCumnock

Earl ypreservation pioneers –the DowtyRPS at Ashchurch

The name’s the same: Hurr icane

Steam to Stamf ordin colour

On sale Thursday, Februar y20, 2025

TR AINS of thought

Itisverynearlyall theBsinthisissueof SteamDays –Basingstoke,Blackrod, Bowhill,Brecon andBrill –albeittwo arebut glimpses within awider feature, an LMS pull &pushsection andone embracingthe role of TorntonJunctionshedand itslocomotives in servingthe Fife coalfeld.Wedoliketodartabout thenationwhenitcomes to themix foreachissue,but ofen Iwonder if it is more than just thetrainsorlocations in an articlethatsparksamemory, and sometimesjustthe circumstances of theday,especiallywithpersonalrecollections.Tis month, that notion is reallyinspiredbythe article‘Basingstokebeckons,twice over’byPeter Kerslake, although theexactcircumstances of thetripfor him andhis twofriends,interms of wherethey were in lifeinAugust 1965 andayearlater,are unlikely to be replicated by many readersatany moment in time.However,the ideathatthe railways we were broughtupwithare changedand that thereisneed to look forsomethingnew certainly can.

In acoupleofpreviousarticles, Peterhas made no secret forhis love of theGreat WesternKing class, andthatwas clearlyhis railwaytoo,inPlymouthand Gloucester, so theideathatventuring outtofnd Southern Railwaysteam once Westernsteam wasebbingawayand then lostmight ordinarilyseemnatural, giventhatPlymouthhad oneofthe Southern Region’s West of England main linetermini,but we all have ourallegiances,evenwithtwo railways on ourdoorstep. Ofen, theseare simplywhere we were broughtup, or ourfrstrailway experiencesorcherished memories, butthe naturalorder on therailway is oneofchange andso, inevitably,weventure outintothe unknown–well, unknowntous, at least. Iwonder, wherewas your ‘whathappens next?’

Quitea fewofushavemade ‘now or never’ pilgrimagestosee thelastrunsofaclass, andtravelbehindone too, andofcoursethere arethe steamchasers,who went huntingfor whatever waslef.Itisperhaps ironicthatevenaclass so large to be seeminglyomnipresent canultimatelyend itsdaysasa head-turner; but, then again, thereare thosetoo that sought outnew horizons –industrialsteam,perhaps? Or furtherafeld,soofenstartingwithFrance, Germanyoranother European railwaythatwas stillusing steambeyondAugust 1968… if you knew wheretolook. Steam, it seems, canbeinthe blood.

As forPeter,and many others,the Waterloo main line was, in thesummer of 1965, still aplace of toplinkpower,and he likedhis bigengines, hencethe stationbeckonedthe trio of friends more than once.Itwas ahaven forspottersand,impressively, once theengineering work forthe Bournemouthmainlineelectrifcationbegantobecompleteand thepermanent wayslackswerelifed,someofthe route’slastBulleid Pacifcswerestill capableof100mph momentstoprovide lastingmemories.

Andrew Kennedy

On Satu rd ay,J anua ry 15 ,1966, re bu iltWes tCou nt ry 7P Pa ci fc No.34037 Cl ovel ly ha ul st he 11.30L on do n( Wate rl oo)t oB ou rn em ou th (Centr al ) ex pr es sa lo ng th em ulti -t ra cked cu tt ingimm ed iate ly ea st of Ba si ng st okes tation ,w an wi nt er su nlig ht note no ug ht om eltal ig ht cove ri ng of sn ow ; of note in Ba rt on Mi ll Ca rr iage Si di ng si sag re en -liver ie dB RM kI Icom pa rt me nt fr st .O nt he fo ot pl

sh ovel fu ll of coal tu rn sab illowi ng ex ha us tad ir tier sh ad eofg reya st he engi ne coas ts pa st .B as

Byways to Brecon in their last passenger year –1962

AMid-Walesrailwayhub with incoming routes from Hereford, Newpor t, Neath and MoatLane Junction via Builth Wells ,the threat of closurefor theselines gave Rober tDarlaston newfocus in his quest to enjoythem all beforeit wastoo late ,not least the N&B route with its woeful ser vice provision.

Bythe spring of 1962, proposalshad been putfor ward by BritishRailways (Western Region)toend all passenger services to Brecon,and also forthe withdrawal of freight services from theHereford, MidWales andNeath lines; this wouldleave Brecon with just agoods-onlyprovision from theNewport direction.Irealisedthat Imustdeviseatripwhichwould take in all four lines, although it wouldhavetowait until Icould organise some holidayinthe summer.Meanwhile,there wasthe prospect of thefamily’straditional Easter weekend trip by cartosee ourWelsh relations. On this occasion, forsomereason, we forsook Tree Cocksfor ourcustomary picnic break, butmyknowledge of thetimetable enabled me to cajole my father into ashort detour to Eardisleystation just in time to seethe 12.42pmser vice from Hereford arrive and depart. Te stationand trainwereatempting sight in thespringsunshineand encouraged me to startplanninganitinerary to take in all of thethreatenedroutesbeforeitwas toolate. On Friday,July13, 1962,armed with aCircularTourticket, Ibeganatwo-day

On theex- MidlandRailway routetowards Brecon,14¼ milesfromHereford, we fndIvatt 2MT 2- 6- 0No. 46509atEardisley with the12.42pm Hereford-Three CocksJunctionser vice on Easter Monday,April 23,1962. This photograph wastaken during thecourseofaroadjourney with the family,while returning from avisit to ourWelsh relations, my father well used to me persuading himtodetourtosomeremotestation because“ there’satrain duethere in afew minutes’ time.” Themissing armfromthe bracketsignalrelated to theEardisley branch,nor th to Titley Junction andtaken outofuse in 1940,its course originally that of ahorse -drawn tramway; Titley wasalsoon theGWR’s Leominster to NewRadnorbranch. As forEardisley,itwas opened by theHereford, Hay &BreconRailway on June 30,1863. Initiallyworkedbyits contractor,ThomasSavin,the Brecon & MerthyrRailway operated thetrainsfromlateAugust1865until September30, 1868,and then the MidlandRailway steppedin. Closed to passengers from December 31,1962, itslastoperationswere goods- only;TalyllynJunctiontoEardisley wastaken outofuse on May4,1964, andthe sectionto Hereford followed suit exactlyfourmonthslater.OfnoteisthatEardisley’s stationbuildingisnow in useasWelshpool,Raven Square on thepreserved Welshpool&Llanfairnarrowgauge line Author

Th em ap fr om th eB R( We st er nR eg io n)1961/62p ub lict im et ab le of fe rs an over view fo rmy1962 tr avel scentr ed on Br econ’s by ways ,a lb eitt he fo rm er Br econ &M er thyr ro ut ef ro mN ew po rt as fa ra sPonts tici ll Ju nc tion is mi ss ing; in st ea dit‘st ar ts ’atM er thyr an dh ea ds to aj unct io ne as t of Br econ ,Tal ylly nJ unct io n(notn am ed he re). My pl an ni ng to ok in ma in li ne ss uc ha st hr ough Ch ep st ow to Newp or t(ta bl e105), th eC am br ia nf ro mM oat La ne Ju nc tion to Ab er ys tw yt h (184), th eS ou th Wa le sm ai nlin e(10 4) be twee nSwa ns ea an dN eath ,a nd th eH er efor dWo rces te rlin e(164);‘ot he r’ se co nd ar ylin es to tr avel we re Ab er ys tw yt h- Ca rm ar th en ,a nd vi a Ll an di lo to Sw an se a. RN Sm it hColle ct io n

Welshodyssey,aimingtocover allfour linesconvergingonBrecon, plus otherlines servingremoteparts of theprincipality; while Igivemention here to thefullitinerary,the photographic selectioncentres on thelines servingBrecon. Te plan entailed an early startfromhometoreach central Birmingham in time forthe 8.10amser vice from Snow Hill station. Consequently,I hadnotime to listen to theBBC news, nordid Istopto buya newspaper. It wastobeseveralhours before Iwould catchupwithnationalevents. Meanwhile, Iwas to remain in ignorance of amajor news item that wouldrevealan alarmingglimpse of thefuture.

Te startofmyitinerary followed the routeofmyfrstjourney via Newport, described in my introductory ‘Bywaysto Brecon’article in SteamDays October2024. From Newport, Iheadedoncemorefor Moat Lane Junction,99fascinating miles away anda journeyscheduled to take almost fve glorious hours, threadingwonderfulWelsh Flip th em ap over/t ur nt he page an dt he mi ss ingB &M ro ut ei sr evea le do nac lo se up of So ut hWal es –t he Newp or t- Po nt st ic ill Ju nc tion li ne ca nb efollowe da lo ng th et ab le 121m ar ki ng s, th ro ug hM ac he na nd th en no rt h-we st fr om ju st no rt hofPenga m( Mo n.) –s on ot th eN ew Tr ed eg ar br anch of th es am e ta bl e–c ro ss ingt he Rhym neylin eatB ar go ed an dconti nu ingo nw ar ds over Dowl ai sTop. RNS mi th Co ll ec tion

Ba ck in Ju ly 1959 It rave ll ed fr om Newp or t to Ta ly ll yn Ju nc tion on th e11.15am se rv ice, ph ot og ra ph ingatB ed wa s, Ma es yc wm me r, an dt he nt he high an db ar re no pe ng ro un d beyo nd Foch ri w, so th ev is it ju st sh or toft hr ee ye ar sl at er saws om ep hotogr ap hici nf llingof ot he rl oc at io ns fr om th es am es er vice ,i nt hi s ca se Foch ri ws tation .Thi sm in ingcom mu nity is ab ou tm id -w ay be twee nB ar go ed ,i nt he Rhym neyValley, an dM er thyr Tydf l, bu to n th er ou te th at sk ir ts th el at te rt oits ea st si de , th is be ingc re at ed fr om Pa nt as an ex te ns io n of th eB re co n&M er thyr Ra il way’sf rs tlin ei n ap us ht or ea ch Newp or t. As ingl e- tr ac klin e, lo op swer ep rovi de datcer ta in st at io ns ,s uc h as he re .L oo ki ng ba ck al ongt he tr ai n, th re e pa ss enge rs boar da nd th eh om es ig na li syet to ret ur nt od ange r. Au th or

Pa nt is no wt he so ut he rn te rm in us of th e na rr ow ga ug eB re co nM ou nt ai nR ai lw ay, an dt hi ss ta ti on ,D ol yg ae r, is on th at ro ut e bu tn ot ow ne db yt he ra il wa y. In st ea d, th e bu il di ng is Pl as Do ly ga er,a Br ec on Be ac on s’ ba se fo rS co ut s. Op en ed on Ma rc h19, 18 63 , wi th th eB &M Rr ou te fr om Br ec on to Pa nt , th eU pp la tf or mi sr ec or de dh er ea nd ,o nc e ag ai n, th er ei sl im it ed ac ti on on th ep la tf or m du ri ng th es ta ti on st op fo rt he 11.15a m

Ne wp or t- Br ec on se rv ic eo nJ ul y13, 19 62 ; de pa rt ur ew as bo ok ed fo r1pm .T he Ta f

Fe ch an re se rv oi ri sc lo se at ha nd bu tu ns ee n to th eo th er si de of th es ta ti on bu il di ng ,t he wa te rn ee ds of in du st ri al Me rt hy rTyd fl , ab out fv em il es so ut h, dr iv in gt he nec es si ty to fo od pa rt of th is va ll ey fr om 18 58 ,a nd th en in th is pa rt ic ul ar vi ci ni ty 69 ye ar sl at er

Lo st as as ta nd ar dg au ge li ne fr om Ne w

Ye ar ’s Ev e1962, th es ub se qu en tB re co n

Mo un ta in Ra il wa yh ad ap er io dw it hD ol -y -

Ga er as it sn or th er nt er mi nu s, to ap oi nt

ju st sh or to ft he pi ct ur ed st at io n, bu ti tn ow re ac he sTor pa nt au ,a st at io nj us ts ho rt of th eB &M R/ GW R/ BR fa ci li ty of th es am e na me . Au th or

station, as seen from the11.15am Newpor ttoBrecontrain on July 13,1962. Lookingback, south- east ,beyondthe trainthe line risesasthe 6¾ milesclimb at 1-in38 to Torpantau; when both distance andgradientare considered,few sections of main line railwayinBritain comparewiththisgradientinterms of ferocity.Althoughthe main stationbuilding is on theDown(Newpor t-bound)side, themainrunning line is that occupied by thetrain,the stockinthe distance beingonalongheadshunt to theDownloop; thegoods yard waslikewiseonthe Down side butgoesunseenovermyleftshoulder. Author

scener yand listeningtothe splendid sounds of asteam loco drifinginthrough theopen carriage window.Enroute, Itookahandful of photographstorecordmyjourney,largely forsakinglocations previously photographed, back on Monday,July27, 1959, foranew selection. As before,however,there wasthe usualchangeoftrainsatTalyllynJunction –43miles from Newportand just shortof four miles east of Brecon –where Ipicked up the1.20pmser vice from Brecon,as Ihad done previously,tocontinuetoheadnorth, ultimately to theCambrianmainline.

An ed it ed ex tr ac tf ro mt he BR (W )s um me rt im et ab le fo r1962, sh ow ingt he sc he du le fo rt he 1. 20 pm Br econ to Moat La ne Ju nc tion se rv ice, co mp le te with mi le sa nd ch ai ns fr om Br econ .N ot e‘a’ in dicate st ra in ar ri ve sh al f am inut ee ar lier,w hi le Xd en ot es th at an ot he rt ra in is bo oked to cr os s; ot he rn ot es ar ei nt he right- ha nd co lu mn an di nc lu de ‘z’for th re er eq ue st st op s. Au th or

On Mid-Wales trains,one wasalmost guaranteed an emptycompartment butjust occasionally, at some isolated halt,the door wouldopen, andone wouldenjoy thecompany of perhapsa localfarmlabourerfor acoupleof stops. Such passengers were always very curious to know what someonelikemewas doing travellingon‘their line,’but mostly,conversation wouldbelimitedtothe weatherand howthe year’s lambswerefaring. Soon theroute takes in Tree CocksJunction, themeeting pointfor theHerefordline, whichisnoted as 11¾ miles from Brecon in thepublic timetable, butmore

Bo oked to ca ll at Th re eCoc ks fr om 1. 55 -59, th e1.2 0p mB re co n- Moat La ne Ju nc tion is se en at th ecou nt ry ju nc tion on Ju ly 13 ,1962, on th er ig ht be hi nd an un id enti fed Iv at t 2MT2 -6 -0 .Pas si ng on th el ef ti st he 12 .30p m Bu ilth Road (L ow Leve l) to Br econ se rv ice, wh il et he He re fo rd li ne pl at fo rm sgou ns ee n on th eoth er si de of th eR ef re sh me nt Ro om s; th es er vice de pict ed in ou ro pe ni ng view wi ll be on th at si de of th es tation ,t he 12 .42p m ex-H er efor db ei ng at Th re eCoc ks fr om 1. 48 pm an du nt il ret ur ni ng as th e2 .15p m Th re eCoc ks -H er efor dd ut y, an dt hu soffer ing co nn ec tion with th en or th -s ou th Mi d-Wa le s ro ut e. Au th or

Talybont

ne ar to qu ar ries ,its vi ll agej us tt ot he so ut h an do nt he ot he rs id eoft he ri ve r; Er wo od Br idge pr ov id ed acce ss .D es pite th er ai lw ay ’s ab an do nm ento nt he la st dayof1962, av is it he re to dayw illf nd mu ch of inte re st as Er wo od St at io nC ra ft Ce nt re wa se st ab li sh ed in 19 84 an ds aw re st or at io noft he th en de re lict st at io n. As we ll as ag ro un de dcoa ch ,ofn ot ei s1939- bu iltJ oh nFow le r150 hp 0- 4- 0D MWor ks No.22878 , wh ic hc am ef ro mt he Sw an se aVal eR ai lw ay Pr es er vation Societ yi nm id -198 8. Pr ev io us ly with Ge or ge Co he n, So ns &Co, Mo rr is to n, fr om Ap ri l1973t oM arch 19 83 ,ita ls owor ke datS tAth an airf el df ro mJ ul y1969t o circ aA pr il 1973 ,a sA MW No.169,a nd wa sp reviou sl ye x- Mi ni st ry of Pu blic Bu il di ng s&Wor ks ,B ur to nwoo d. RA FB ur to nwoo do pe ne da sas er vici ng an ds to rage ce nt re in 1939 bu ti n1942b ec am et he USA’sp ri nc ip al ma inte na ncea nd sup pl yf ac ilit yi nE ur op e af te rA me rica ente re dt he wa r. It gr ew to ad mi ni st er nu me ro us sate llit ef ac ilit ie si nt he ar ea an dw as se rved by as izea bl er ai ld ep ot ,wes tofS an keyv ia du ct on th en or th si de of th eC he sh ir e

Li ne sCom mitt ee’s Ma nc he st er -L iver po ol ro ut e. Su rp lu sw he nt he Co ld Wa re nd ed ,t he site cl os ed in Ju ne 1994 . Au th or

preciselyas11miles 53 chains in theworking timetable. Ivatt2MT 2-6-0 hauled,other notable stopsonthisjourney were at Builth Wells, Builth Road (Low Level) forinterchange with theCentral Wales line,Newbridge-on-Wye, andRhayader.UponreachingMoatLane, on this occasionIwas boundfor Aberystwyth –previoustrips hadbeenhomewardbound via Oswestry andGobowen (July27, 1959), or Shrewsbury(October9,1961) –and so I changedtothe Down Cambrian CoastExpress Tisarrived punctually behindCollett 5MT 4-6-0No. 7803 BarcoteManor, itsimmaculate copper,brass andpaintwork glisteninginthe sunlight.Telocowas acredittothe staf at Aberystwythshedwho forseveralyears maintained it in showroom condition, especially forthe Cambrian CoastExpress As No.7803 pulled into Moat Lane,my attentionwas entirely absorbed by thesight of thelocoand itstrain, theharsh world of business andeconomics wasfar from my mind, butasIsankintothe comfortof an emptycompartment Inoticed acopy of the DailyTelegraph andMorning Post, abandonedbyanearlier passenger. Ipicked it up and, initially with little real interest,I turned thepages until, abruptly,atpage22, my attentionwas grabbedbyalarge and detailedmap of theBritish Railways network with theadjacentheadline‘NEARLY9200 MILES OF RAIL TRACKFACECLOSURE.’ It wasalready widely knownthatDrRichard Beeching, appointedaschairmanofthe British TransportCommissionayearpreviously, hadinitiated studiesintorailtrafc fows. Te map, thefrstfruit of hislabours,showed freight trafcvolumes andrevealedthat95%

of all freight trafcwas carriedon50% of the network. Asecondmap wastobepublished thefollowing week,whichthe newspaper stated wouldrevealsimilarproblemswith

thepassengernetwork.Tereportconcluded by warningthatscoresoflines in Scotland, Wales, theWestCountry,EastAngliaand northern Englandwerethusonthe danger list

Mo ntgo me rysh ir ei sf rs tr ea ch ed wh er e Rhyd yc lw yd au Br oo km et th eA fo nD ul as ,j us t ah ea dofG la n-y- Afon Ha lt ,a re qu es ts to p, bu tw it ht he ma in ri ve rt he nb rief yp layi ng ar ol ea st he co unty bo un da ry an dc ro ss ed fvet im es in litt le mo re th an 2½ mi le s, th e ra il wayw as br ie fy ba ck in Ra dn or sh ir eb efor e Ty lwch Ha lt .Thath altb oa st ed al oo pa nd wa sab oo ke ds to p, with th is view re co rd ed as th et ra in ge ts ba ck up to sp ee d. Nowf ully with in Mo ntgo me rysh ir e, th eA fo nD ul as is in view,f ow ingl ef t- to -r ig ht an dp as si ng be ne at ht he fo ur th of th eb ri dges ,t he ri ve r, havi ng or ig in ally cu tt he path th ro ug ht hi s sp ec ta cu la rl an ds ca pe ,t hu skee ps co mp any with th et ra in th ro ug ht oL la ni dl oe s, wh er e th eR iver Seve rn is me ta nd it sv alleya do pt ed by th er ai lw ay.For th em om ent, th et ra ck is th at es ta blis he dbyt he Mi d-Wa le sR ai lw ay, bu to ne mi le 45 ch ai ns no rt hoft he lo op wa s th es it eofPen po nt br en Ju nc tion ,w hich wa s wh er et he ill- fate dM anch es te r&M il fo rd Ra il waya rr ived fr om Ll angu rig, fo ur mi le s 68 ch ai ns to th ee as t, an dt he Ll an id lo es & Newt ow nR ai lw ay (m an aged by Ca mb ri an Ra il ways si nce186 0) pr ov id ed th er es toft he jo ur neyt hr ough to Moat La ne Au th or

forclosure.Aday whichIhad plannedasa relaxedjourney throughdelightfulcountryside wassuddenlytransformed into anightmare visionofthe future –atrue‘Friday the13th!’ Tatdirepress report provided theworld with apreview of the‘Reshaping’ report which wouldbepublishedearly thefollowing year

Fornow,the future waited itsturn, as Ihad ever yintention of enjoying the presentmoment. BarcoteManor rannicely as we hurrieddownthe long descentfrom Talerddig summit. Tere wasthe usualcallat Machynlleth, wherethe Pwllheliportion was detachedfor a55xxseries4575 class2-6-2T to take over,and then furtherspeedyrunning with theManor sawusarriveinAberystwyth afew minutesearly.Testation hadbeen elegantly rebuiltbythe GWRin1925, andjust ashort walk away Iwas soon booked into a localhotel.Teovernight stay in Aber ystwyth

Ou r1.2 0p mB re co n- Moat La ne view sofJ ul y 13 co nc lu de at Ll an id lo es ,a sp arce ls ar e load ed onto th et ra in .O ncet he he ad qu ar te rs of th eN ew town &L la ni dl oe sR ai lw ay (N &L R), th eb ui ldi ng wa sa gr an dios ea rc hite ct ur al st at em entatt he ju nc tion st at io nfor th re e ra il ways .A lm os te xa ct ly acentu ry be fo re my vi sit, th is wa ss om et hi ng of af ro nt ie r, th e town sfolks om ew hatp ut ou tt hatar ai lw ay sc he me to Ab er ys tw yt hwou ld pa ss to th e no rt hoft he m, wh il et he Mi d-Wa le sR ai lw ay wa ss anct io ne dt olink Newt ow na nd Br econ as of 18 59,a nd th en th en or th er nm os t pa rt of th es am et er rito ry wa st oh avet he Ma nc he st er &M il fo rd Ra il wayb ui lt ,byAct of Pa rl ia me nt in 18 61,a nd st riki ng of ft o th es ou th -wes t. Ke en to cl aimits gr ou nd , th eM &M Rb eg an bu il di ng wh at be ca me th e Ll angu rigb ra nc h(th er es toft he sc he me fa il ed ), an dp ap er ingove rt he lega lc ra ck s wa sa ch ieve di n1862w he nt he N& LR wa s bo rn an d, im po rt antl y, th en bu iltt hr ough to Pe np ontb re nJ unct io n, wh er et he M& MR an dM id -Wal es li ne swer et os ta rt .Ad ri ve no rt hw ar ds al ongt he A470 ma in road to day of fe rs as im il ar view to th at sh ow n, th e tr ac kb ed of th er ai lw ay –as tu bn or th fr om Ll an id lo es af te rD ecem be r31, 1962 ,b ut su rv iv inga sab ra nc hu nt il Oc to be r2 ,1967 –offer ingacou rs ee as toft he town ;G ra de IIli st ed ,t he st at io nb ui ld ings ur vi ve sa soff ce s, bu tt he go od ss he di sl ongs ince lo st . Au th or

Le ft : As pr oc ur ed fr om acom pa rt me nt on th e Ca mb ri an Coas tE xp re ss on Fr id ay Ju ly 13 ,1962, havi ng be en di sc ar de d on as eat, he re is The Da il yTel eg ra ph news re po rt of th at day, pl us th ea ccom pa ny ingm ap Ia ls os aved th ee dito ri al co mm entm ention ed at th eb ot to moft hi sp ie ce ; un de rt he he ad li ne

‘R ai lw ay Econ om ic s,’t he op en ingg am bitr ea ds : ‘D rB ee ch ing’st as ki s to ma ke th er ai lw ays pay. It is th er efor e di ff cu lt to ra is ea ny ge ne ra lo bjec tion to a po licy de sign ed to cu t th es er vice sa nd cl os e th elin es wh ic ha re ad di ng to th er ai lw ays’ alre ad yfor mi da bl e lo ss es .’ Su ff ce to say, ma ny of us have op in io ns on th is su bjec t!

Au th or ’s co llec tion

Ab ove: Th ef rs toft he infa mo us Be ec hi ng ma ps ,t hi so ne fo rf re ig ht : ba sica ll y, th et hicker th elin e, th em or et ra ff c, with dott ed li ne s re pr es enti ng ra il ways with up to 50 00 to ns of go od st ra ff cp er we ek ,s o th em os tv ul ne ra bl et oc lo su re .The pa ss enge rm ap wa st ofollow, an d th er ewou ld be as ep ar at em ap se ct io nd eliver ed as pa rt of th ei nf am ou s Re sh ap ingofB riti sh Ra il ways re po rt pu blis he di nM arch 1963;Il oo kat th os eB ee ch ingm ap sa nd th in kofa ll th os el os to pp or tu nities fo rcover ing li ne s, nott om ention th el os sofu se fu lt ra ns po rt li nk s. Au th or ’s co llec tion

wasver ywelcome as it gave opportunity foran enjoyablesummer’sevening trespass in theold Vale of Rheidolengineshed, wherethe narrow gauge line’sNos. 7and 9slumbered gently in steam, ready fortrips thenext day.

My routethe next morningtookthe line throughTregaronand Lampeter to Carmarthen, 56 miles from Aber ystwyth, taking aleisurely twohours 20 minutesand travelling behindBritish Railways Class2MogulNo. 78005. Tiswas to be my only journeyona lineofremoterural delightswhere severalstationsboreintriguing names: forexample,Caradog Falls, Strata Florida, Olmarchand Derr yOrmond. Surely this lengthy cross-country route, with itsthrice-daily train, wasthe most sequesteredcornerofthe Great Westernnetwork,far removedfromthe bustle of Paddington in spirit as well as geography.

On reachingCarmarthen, my directroute would have been on theSouth Wales main linethrough Swanseato Neath, whereI couldoncemorejoina trainmakingfor Brecon,but time allowedadetour, so Iforsook ex-GWR metals forthose of theLondon &North WesternRailway (later LMS) branch connecting Carmarthen with theCentral Walesline at Llandilo.By1962, operationsonthe branch had

been thoroughly ‘Westernised,’ so it wasapannier tank that headedmytrain andprovidedapleasant ride of 15 miles up theattractive Towy valley.One of theintermediatestationswas at Drysllwyn, only yards from thecastlewhichgaveits name to Collett4-6-0 No.7018, thefrstCastleclass loco to be equipped with adoublechimney,adevelopment in 1956 that greatlyenhancedthe performanceofthe classoverthe next fewyears.

At Llandilo,another pannier tank arrivedwith aCentral Waleslinelocal service from Llandovery, whichtookmesouth to theold L&NWR terminus at Swansea(Victoria), asadly shabby stationfollowing an airraidinthe war. Afeature of theapproachto Victoria wasthatthe lineran alongside thebeach, with splendid viewstoMumbles Head.Sandfrom thebeach regularlyblewontothe tracks, rendering thesleepersinvisible forseveralhundred yards–at leastlocos should have hadnoadhesionproblems on that stretch! Afer arrivalatVictoria, ashort walk acrossSwansea took me back to former GWR haunts, reachingHighStreetstation to catchthe 3pmservice to PontypoolRoad. Itravelled on that trainasfar as Neath(General),fromwhere Iplanned anothershort walk,thistimetothe nearby Riverside stationfor my traintoBrecon.

Above: Neat h’sRiver side st ationint he rain on July 14 ,1962, showingwar time -built 5700 class0 -6 -0 PT No.3687wit ht he two- coach 4.10 pm servicetoBrecon. Thesigna lbox is just outofviewtot he right, andunseenover my rightshouldera nd behind me is themain line crossing theN&B routeonabridge, the near by br acketsigna ldenotingt he tworoutes availa blefromN&B Junction just nort hoft he bridge:t he ta ller of thet wo home anddista nt signal sets is fort he link to theValeofNeath line ,while that to theright side (a swelook sout h) is fort he Neat h&Breconroute Author

In athunderstorm, 5700 0- 6- 0PTNo. 3753 at tempts to leaveNeath (General)against adversesignals with the3pm Swansea(High Street)toPontypool Road serviceonSaturday, July 14,1962. Thelight andweather is farfrom camera-friendlyand theloco, on themove at this point, hadalready passed thesignalat danger,see topright ,a pair of centre -balanced star tersignals hung from asmall gantry at theend of thecanopy. Thepoint immediately aheadofthe loco is forthe tworoutesfrom NeathLoopJunction, linkingfromthe Up main plat form butinthe Down direction, left to the Down main line,the SwanseaDistrictroute andsoontopassoverNeath (Riverside)station, or rightfor theValeofNeath,the required routeonthisoccasion. Of note is that theline immediatelyinfront of NeathWestSignalBox hadasanddrag, so wasnot amainrunning line. Author

Te PontypoolRoadtrain needed to reverseatNeath,and Iwaitedtowatch as Collettpannier tank No.3753 backed on to what hadbeenthe rear of thetrain. Meanwhile, athunderstormhad developed, andtorrentialrainwas pouringdown. Perhaps thestorm distractedthe driver,but as soon as theguard wavedthe ‘right-away,’the driver opened theregulator, andNo. 3753 made a briskstart –justasItookahasty photograph Forthe driver,alas, thestartingsignalhad notbeencleared;immediately,acoupleof platform inspectors materialised,blowing whistles, shouting andwaving. Fortunately, thedrivernoticed andquicklyhaltedhis train, butaninspector wasstraightintohis cab, notebook andpencilatthe ready. Tat incidentrecalledanother occasionwitha potentialfor disaster Iwitnessed afew years earlier.Ihad been on Pontypridd station wherea TreherberttoCardiftrain waswaiting at thecur ved, main down-valley platform, when afollowing Merthyr-to-Cardif train hurried into thesameplatform, having evidentlypasseda signalatdanger. Te driver made afull brakeapplication,and thetrain screechedsafelytoahaltwiththe loco wheels locked andsparksfying.Onthatoccasion too, an inspectorwas quicklyonthe footplate

Be low: Th ecom pl et ep ub lict im et ab le fo r se rv ices over th efor me rN eath &B re co nlin e fo rs um me r1962. Th eWor ki ng Time ta bl e al so sh owed an un ad ve rt is ed wo rk me n’s tr ai nat6 am fr om Ne at h, ar ri vi ng at Co lb re n Ju nc tion at 6. 51am ,w hich mighth ave fo rm ed th e8 .10a ms ch oo lt ra in ba ck ,b ut no em pt ycoa ch ings tock wo rk ings we re sh ow n. Au th or ’s co llec tion

Beyo nd Cr aig-y- No s, No.3687n ea rs th es um mita sith ea ds into th eB re co nB ea co ns with th e 4.10 pm Ne at ht oB re co ns er vice .For th em os tp ar t, it is th eA fo nTawet hatp laye dar ol ei n sc ul pt ingt he la nd he re ab ou ts ,r un ni ng ha lf am il eo rs owes tofC ra ig -y-N os ,b et we en it ss tation an d1841- 43 -b ui lt ca st le ,t he fo rm er ho me of Ad elin aPat ti bu tl at er ah os pita la nd to daya hote la nd we dd ingvenue .H owever,m anys ma ll tr ib ut ar ie sa re cr os se d, an datt he pointof th is ph ot og ra ph it is th ev alleyoft he de scen di ng Na nt Ty wy nt th at is clim be d, noto nl ybyt he ra il wayb ut by th em ai nr oa dt ow ar ds Se nnyb ri dge. Al so,t he Na nt -y-m oc hi ss ee nt um bling down th eh ills id ea nd be ne at ht he road sh or tl yb efor et he A4 067p as se su nd er th er ai lw ay,j us t be fo re th es um mit, 1245 fe et ab oves ea leve l, wh il et he high gr ou nd to ou rr ig ht pe ak satFan Gi hirych (2 381fee t) . Au th or

it ie sa nd co mm un it ie s ar ea lr ea dy be hi nd us ,t he vi ll ages beyo nd On ll wy ns ma ll er in size an dt he la nd sc ap e qu it ed if fe re nt .W it hh ar dc lim bi ng ah ea d, th e cr ew of No.3687t op up with wate ratCol br en Ju nc tion st at io no nJ ul y14, 1962 ,t he time ne ed ed allowi ng me ap hotogr ap hofmyt ra in ; at le as tt wo ot he rr ai lw ay enth us ia st sh avea simi la ri de a, in sp ec ti ng th es tation .The li ne on th er ig ht is to Sw an se aa nd wa so nceu se d by Mi dl an dR ai lw ay tr ai ns fr om Birm ingh am to Sw an se a(St Th om as), alth ough su ch alin k en de di nL MS days ,f ro mS ep te mb er 12 ,1932, al be it th er el at ed te rm inus co nt inue dt os ee us efor Br yn am ma n( Ea st)p as se nger wo rk unti lS ep te mb er 25 ,195 0. Au th or

taking down particularsfromthe unfortunate driver

MeanwhileatNeath,the rain hadeased, andsoIset of on theshort walk to fndmy trainonwards to Brecon.Overatthe Riverside station, the4.10pmser vice to Brecon wasa welcomingsight,waiting behind 0-6-0PT No.3687, readytoofermyfrstride on theformerNeath &BreconRailway,but passengers were few, numbered in single fgures. By that time,Riversidestation hada neglectedair,and itsimminentdemise wasall tooevident. Services hadbeenreducedtotwo departuresMondays-Fridays: on theroute to Brecon,mytrain operated on allweekdays, so includedSaturdays, andthe 11.25amto Brecon wasSaturdays only (SO), whileonthe routetoPontypoolRoad– via Glyn Neath, Hirwaun, Aberdare,and Hengoed–there wasa 4.20pmSaturdays excepted(SX) Neath (Riverside) to Hengoedser vice.Telatter Vale of Neathlinedutywas listed on Table 137 andthe useofRiverside station, rather than Neath(General),was in thefootnotes. Te tworoutesfromNeath (Riverside) parted companyimmediately northofthe station, N&BJunctionbeing straight aheadfor Brecon or rightfor NeathJunctiononthe Vale of Neathroute,where thedirectlinefromNeath (General) wasmet

Like on theBrecon&Merthyr line, the earlypartofthe N&B journeywas in typical SouthWales mining valley territor y, passing severalcollieries, thesebeing spottedin1962 with well-usedsidings. Allminingactivity ceased in thenextcoupleofdecades but currentlythere areplans to developaGlobal Centre of Rail Excellence at Onllwynonthis sectionofthe Neath& Brecon line, fortesting anddevelopingrailway technology forthe

Bo oked to aver agea bo ut 18 mp ht ot hi s point, No.3687p au se satt he si ng le -p latfor m Cr ay st at io nw it ht he 4.10 pm se rv icef ro m Ne at h( Ri ve rs id e) on Ju ly 14 ,1962. Ru nn ing ah ea dofs ch ed ul e, pa ss enge rt ra in swer e notnum er ou sh er ea nd ch il dr en watc hw hi le it wa it s‘rightt im e’ in th eu nlikel yeve nt of ap ros pe ct ivep as se nger tu rn ingu p, mo st likel yfor Devy nock &S en ny br idge or Br econ , re sp ec ti ve ly 3½ an d12¼ mi le saway. Th e location wa su se fu lfor agoo ds lo op bu tn ever ha da la rgep op ul at io n, th es tation be ing un st af fe da se ar ly as Ju ne 1, 1942 .G alla nt ly re ma in inga sas to pu nt il th elin ec lo se datt he en dof1962, th em ai nb ui ld ing, on th er ig ht of th is scen e, is nowl os t, al ar ge bu ng al ow occu py ingt he site ,a nd wh il et he loca ls ch oo l is lo ng si ncec lo se d, it do es su rv ivea sa re si de nce. Au th or

Viewed from thebarrowcrossingatBrecon station(therewas no footbridge), on the eveningofJuly14wewitness themeeting of twoser vices, onefromBreconand another from Newpor t. On thelef tisthe rear of my trainfromNeath,which wasbookedtoarrive at 5. 51pm;its stockcontinued as the6.15pm servicetoNewport ,but with thelocomotive that arrivedfromNewport .Meanwhile,the incoming Neath-basedloco, No.3687, is seen on theright at theheadofthe 6.20pm Brecon to Neath(Riverside) service, thedut ycomprising carriagesthatarrived in Brecon at 5. 36pm as the3pm from Newpor t. This Brecon stationwas provided in 1871 as aJoint facility andwas known as Free Street –itsupersededthe B&MR’s Watton andN&BR’sMount Street passenger facilities,toits east andwestrespectively, and thus createdaninterchange. Author

Below: Fa mily time on Saturday,August4 , 1962 ,provedtobeagoodftfor aphotogr aphic interludeatt he over bridge immediately sout h- ea st of Llanstepha nH altont he MidWa leslinet wo st ations nort hofThree Cock s Junction.The tr aina pproaching is the1.20pm from Brecon to Moat La ne Junction ,t he RiverWye just outofviewbehindascreenof bushes on thefar side of thefeld, whilet he high ground of theBreconBeacons provides thebackdrop. ThestopatLla nstephan fort his tr ainwas of fcia llybookedfrom2 .10½-2 .11pm. On this occa sion thelocomotiveisIvatt 2MT No.46511,t he type beingpreva lent on this routeinits la st year s. Author

future –itisa remarkable change forwhatat thetimeofmytripwas defnitely aneglected andscrufyrailway backwater.

Afer awater stop at ColbrenJunction, we enteredfne mountain scener y, andI listened to thesplendid bark of thepannier tank’s exhaust as No.3687 attacked thestif 1-in-50 climbtocross theedgeofthe Brecon Beacons.One of theremotestationsonthis sectionwas at Craig-y-Nos (Penwyllt), just east of theone-timepalatialhomeofthe opera

singerAdelina Patti(1843-1919),who had aprivate waitingroomatthe stationwhich wascarefullypreserved followingthe station’s closurein1962. At Cray, ourtrain wasahead of time,so we waited forafew minutesatthe grass-grown platform,the longer stop ofering an unexpectedchancetogainanadditional photograph from thetrackside.Agroup of children playinginanadjacentfeldcameto stareinamazementatthe remarkable and rare sight of atrain in theirlocal station. Te

last twostationsbeforeBrecon, Aberbranand Cradoc, hadlongsince been unstafed. Nature hadtaken over andtheyseemedtohavebeen givenupfor dead.Asweapproached, the trainslowedincasea passengershowedup unexpectedly, but(to quoteEdwardTomas’ Adlestrop)noone lef, andnoone came on thebareplatform. Te diminutivederelict timber buildings slippedslowlypastthe carriage window before thedriveraccelerated gently forthe last lapofthe journeyover

thedying Neath&BreconRailway.Mytrain reachedBreconafew minutes early, thus slightly extendingthe schedulednine-minute wait betweentrains.

Iwas soon on my wayagain, this time behindaCollett2251 class0-6-0, having joined the6pm servicetoHereford, where Iwould pick up theconnectionbackto Birmingham.Tothe travelleronthe four lines leadingtoBrecon, it usuallyseemedthattrains were fewand passengerloadings minimal, butBreconstation between5pm and6.30pm on aSaturdayoferedadiferentimpression. In that period therewerearrivals at 5.25pm

from Moat Lane,5.36pmfromNewport, 5.51pmfromNeath and6pm from Hereford Departures were at 5.05pmtoMoatLane, 6pm to Hereford,6.15pmtoNewport and6.20pm to Neath. Allexceptthe Neathtrainsmustered fair passengerloadings andthere wouldbea modestqueue at thebooking ofce window, whilethe thumpofthe ticket dating presswas aregular soundaspassengersbookedfor a wide rangeofdestinations.

My family continuedtomakeregularvisits by road to ourWelsh relationsand during the summer of 1962 Icontrived on acoupleof occasions to return home by trainvia Neath

Mo me nt sl at er,t he sa me tr ai ni sr ecor de di n th e30- se co nd st op at Ll an st ep ha n, Ra dn or Ha lt ,t hi sb ei ng th e‘goingaways hot.’G iven at wo -l in en am eb oa rd ,‘ Ra dn or Ha lt ’w as be low, th eR ad no rq ua li fc at io nd ou bt le ss incl ud ed to pr eventp os si bl econfu sion with Ll an st ep ha n, ne ar Ca rm ar th en ,a nd ‘H alt’ pu re ly de noti ng th at it wa su ns ta ffed .S uc h th ings we re notewo rt hy wh en it wa sa dd ed to th en et wo rk fr om Ma rc h6 ,1933, bu tb ec am e mo re co mm on pla ce in BR days wh en ma ny once bu sy co untr ys tation sl os tt he ir st af f. Once op en ed ,t hi sL la ns te ph an st op pi ng pl acer em ai ne di nu se unti lt he en dofp ub lic pa ss enge rs er vice so nt he Br econ li ne s, wh ic h sa dl yp rove dt ob el es st ha nf

andBrecon. Strangely, thecheapestfare involved bookinga dayreturnfromNeath to Brecon,whichwas lessthanthe singlefare. At Brecon,Iwould join thequeue to rebook, boldly requesting asingletoBirmingham in thevainhopethatsuchadditional revenue might staveofclosure

My fnal trip on theBreconlines wason September15, 1962, an interestingitinerary starting with the10.05 diesel-multiple-unit service from Birmingham (SnowHill) to PontypoolRoad. From there, Iset of west behinda Collett41xx2-6-2T forNelson& Llancaiach,makingmyonlyjourney across thefamousCrumlin viaduct. Even on a dayofmistand rain, that wasaspectacular experience,and Irememberlooking down to thevalley, more than 200 feet below, and watchinga seemingly miniatureChurchward 4200 class2-8-0T battling up thevalleywith an iron oretrain boundfor Ebbw Vale.Afer rebookingatNelson&Llancaiach, Ijoinedthe 3.15pmtrain from Ystrad Mynach to Dowlais (Cae Harris), terminus of theTaf Bargoed Jointline. My trainwas hauled by aCollett 5600 class0-6-2T,whichonthe 1-in-43 slog throughBedlinog exhibitedall tooevidently, thefore-and-afmotionofatwo-cylinder locomotive in need of some attention. Followingclosure to passengers in 1964, thelineremainedinuse foropen-castcoal extraction at Cwmbargoed until2023.

Two days later, anditisanother rainyday in Neath, in this case Monday,August6,1962. Just over threeweeks sincemyfrsttriponthe N&Bline, thesame570 0isagain on theBrecontrain –atthis stagethe nearby NeathN&B shed hadabout adozen of theseengines,all outstationed from Neath’s Cour tSar tdepot ,its parent ,and formanyyears these0 -6 -0PTshad astrangleholdonthe N&B shed’s duties.Viewedfromthe Bridge Street access stepstothe only used platformatRiverside station, No.3687waits with the4.10pmser vice to Brecon,while aHymek diesel-hydraulic takesthe 11.55pmLondon(Paddington)toPembrokeDockser vice alongthe main line.Hymek production wasongoing at this time,Cardiff Canton having received 15 of theselocos brand-newsince February 26;the Type 3has just departed from Neath(General) andthencrossedoverthe RiverNeath. Lookingnor th,the view includes theNeath &BreconJunctionbox andshows thecramped Riverside stationsitehemmedinby themainlinebridge, river, Bridge Street andCadoxtonRoad, N- E- S-W respectively. Author

From CaeHarrisstation,itwas astif uphill walk of just over half amileorso north-easttothe aptly-namedDowlais

Topstation,whichlay 1250 feet abovesea leveland wasonthe NewporttoBrecon routeofthe Brecon &Merthyr Railway, and subsequentlythe GWR. Ichatted with the bookingclerkand wasdelighted to be ofered an economical souvenir, aGreat Western Railwaychild’s monthlyreturntoPantywaun Halt,asmall miningoutpost on windswept

Ar et ur nt ic ke ti ss ue datN eath in lieu of a si ng le fr om Ne at h( Ri ve rs id e) to Br econ . Gi ve nt he la ck

eS tr ee ts tation we re both Up fo rt he B& Ma nd N& B(co nt ra ry to th e dire ct io noft he He re fo rd an dM id -Wal es se rv ices no rt hofTal ylly nJ unct io n),U pw as th es tatu s of alla rr iv al si nt oB re co ns tation an d, co nver se ly,a ll de pa rt ur es st ar te da sD ow nt ra in s. Au th or

As forthe weather, on September15, by thetimeIreached Brecon therainhad ceased andsoa couple of photographsweretaken,including this west-facingview. From DowlaisTop,I caught the 3pmtrain ex-Newport ,which is seen on theleftand hadarrived at 5.36pm;its carriageswillgo forwardat6.20pmtoNeath,but thelocoreturnedtoNewport headingthe 6.15pm departurefrom themainplatform, wherepassengersare alreadyawaitingthe arrivaloftheir trainfromNeath,due at 5.51pm.Onthe rightisthe stockofthe 6pmser vice to Hereford,waiting in thebay,mytrain,soI will nowcross-over to thebooking offcetobuy my next ticket ,toHereford. Author

About1¾hours later, aftermytripalong the N&Broute ItookthisphotographatBrecon–an Ivatt2MT 2- 6- 0arrives with the4pm service from Hereford.The trainisgoing behind the south-side platform,anisland. Having arrived on the4.10pmfromNeath,onarrival Ihave walked beyond thefront of my train, purchased anew ticket forthe next stageofthe journey andthenjoinedthe 6pmtoHereford. In the east-facingbay,myHerefordtrain is just in view, farleft, complete with apannier tank at itshead, theser vice beingmyvantage point. We will pass themainBrecongoods yard as we pick up speedawayfromthe station, theyardbeing on theright ,while thedistant high ground locates Talyllyn tunnel,TalyllynJunctionand itstriangle of linesbeing on theeastsideofthis. Author

My single ticket from Nelson &Lla ncaiach to Dowlais(Caeharris) wa snot collectedso remainsinmycollection. As areminderof theday ’s activities ,Idon’t have much else as my trip on September15, 1962 ,suf fered from torrential rain at thesta rt of theday and photogra phywas pointless. Author ’s collec tion

Also from my time at Dowlaist hatday is this GW Rtickett hatwas stillinstock at Dowlais Topstation ,at hird classchild’s mont hly returntoPanty waun Ha lt ,just75chainsaway, towa rdsBargoed andNewport .Printed tickets from previous er as were at reat to fnda nd purchase, as here .Ibelieve that in theearly 1950 ssome B&MR ones from thes ameroute were stillinstock elsewhereatone of theless busy st ations ,sot heyhad been in stockfor about30yea rs or more ! Author ’s collec tion

Id on’t have my Dowl ai s- Br econ ticket fr om Se pt em be r15, 1962 ,b ut my Br econ to He re fo rd si ng le ticket wa sn ot co ll ec te da s fr om He re fo rd th er et ur nl eg of my or ig in al ret ur nt ic ke tf ro mB ir mi ng ha mw as va li da nd im me di at el yu se dt ocom pl et emyjou rn ey Au th or ’s co llec tion

moorland amiletothe south. Afer ashort wait,pannier tank No.3700 arrivedwiththe 3pm(SO) servicefromNewport to provide my fnal ride over airy Torpantausummit.On reachingBrecon, it wasnecessary to rebook to Hereford,whencethe return half of my

fa ci ng sc en ei st ak en fr om th ef oo tb ri dg eove rl oo ki ng Bu rc ot tR oa dl evel cr os si ng as th et ra in tr aver se sB re co nC ur ve an dc on ti nu es th ro ug ht oB ar to n&B re co nC ur ve Ju nc ti on ,w he re th eo ri gin al He re fo rd &N ew po rt ma in li ne wa sm om en ta ri ly ga ine d/cr os se db ef or et he tr ai n cu rved we st .B re co nc on ne ct io ns he re we re pa rt of twot ri an gu la rf or ma ti on sw it ht he two Sh rews bu ry -H er ef or d- Newp or tr ou te s, th el at er on et hr ou gh Ba rr sC ou rt st at io na nd ea rl ie r on et hr ou gh Ba rt on Au th or

ticket purchased that morningwould cover my return to Snow Hill.Inoticedthatthe fare on theBreconticketwas printedas6s6d(32½p) buthad since increasedby50% to 9s 9d (49p) –inrealterms,takinginfationintoaccount, theprice shouldbe£8.49 now, butsadly,even if it were possible to make thesamejourney, I’msurethatthe modernrailway wouldbefar more expensive.Iwas glad to retain that ticket as asouvenir of thelastofsomanydelightful journeys on theBreconlines.

Tistime, the6pm departurewas hauled by apannier tank.AsIheadedfor home, IgainedafnalglimpseofTreeCocks Junction,looking attractive in thegolden lightofthe settingsun andevoking childhood memories of joyful family picnics andof veteranDeanGoods0-6-0 locos.

By that time,t he last riteswere imminent at Brecon.TheNeath lineclos ed on Oc tober15, 1962, anda ll ot herp assenger serv ices were withdraw nonand from Mond ay,D ecember31, 1962; freig ht over theBre con&Mer thyr lineintoBre con lingere donintoMay 1964. Of thefour railways that converge donBre con, theonly se ct ionnow remainingino cc asiona luse is thef ive-milelin kf romB assa leg Junc tion

(outside Ne wp or t) to Machen Qu ar ry.Once af inedouble-t rackline, it is nowreduced to an overgrow nsinglet rack. Thef inal trainintoBre conovert he Mid-Wales and Hereford lines wasa sp ecia lr un on Sund ay, De cember30, 1962, by theStephenson Locomot iveS ociet y(Midl andAre a), promoted as fare well to theBre conlines of theC ambr ianand Midl andrai lways; se et he frontcover picture. On ad ay of he av ysnow, thet rackswerequicklycovered andw ip ed from view,justast he lines were li ke wise lost fore verf romt he railwaymap

SOURCES/FURTHER READING

Te Mid-Wales Railway–R WKidner–OakwoodPress (2003)

Te Mid-Wales Line –Derek JLowe– Book LawPublications (2017)

Regional Histor yofthe Railways of Great Britain, Volume 11, Northand Mid-Wales –PeterEBaughan (David &Charles (1980)

Te Brecon andMerthyr Railway–D SBarrie –Oakwood Press(1957)

GWR AnalysisBook–PRGale– GWR, Paddington (1926)

Sundry GWR andBR(WesternRegion) public andworking timetables

Iconcludewiththe entrance to theformer Neath&BreconRailway goodsyardatEly Place, Brecon,which closed from September5, 1955,leaving thenearbyex- N&BMount Street site (openuntil December 31,1962) as well as theex- B&MR Watton yard,which waseastof Free Street stationand lasted untilMay 4, 1964 Photographed in 1969,one suspects that the localcar ter’shorse -drawn cart hadnoproblems with access,but latermotor vehicles (not to mentionmoderncontainerlorries)would have hadtrouble gainingentry! Author

The Brillbranchof the Metropolitan Railwayand London Transpor t

Linking to the Met&GCR Joint lineatQuainton Road, Bruce Laws looks at theWotton Tramway in the 1899-1935 per iod

dofN ovem be r1935. Ah ea doft he Beye r, Pe acoc k&CoLtd -b ui lt engi ne is it so ut st at io nh om efor awee k, th et wo -r oa dt im be r- bu ilt

Br ille ng in es he d, af ar cr yf ro mits allocate dh om ei nN ea sd en . Le ns of Su tt on As so ci at io n

Myearlierarticle,publishedinthe September2024 issueof Steam Days,set outthe background and context of theWottonTramway,takingthe stor yuptothe late 1890s andalittlebeyond. Initiallyhorse-drawn,the six-mile route opened in twostages, frstly to Wotton,in April1871, andbythe time Brill wasreached in March1872, twosteam engineswereinuse, of thetraction engine type.Tebrainchild of the3rd DukeofBuckingham, thelinewas intended to meet agriculturalneeds andlinkto theAylesbur y&BuckinghamRailway,which it did,albeitvia awkwardentry viaawagon turntableintothe back of thegoods yard at the original Quainton Road station.

Twoother locos sawuse in theearly years, andthere wasvisionfor thelinetobecomea railway, butthere wasnosignalling, andthe permanentway wastoo light forlocos that may achieve thedesignatedminimum speed,sothe

Th et ra mw ay co mp anyc ap tion is mi sl ea di ng on th is Nove mb er 19 06 po st ca rd th at sh ow s th eWot to nTra mw ay li nk of 1897 le ad ing into th en ew ju nc tion st at io natQ ua into n Road ,t he br ic kwor koft he br anch pl at fo rm st illl oo ki ng qu it ef re sh .The loco is Ma nn ing, Wa rd le &CoLtd Kc la ss 0- 6- 0STWor ks No.1249of1894, bo ug ht newbyt he O& AT an do rigi na ll yn am ed Ea rl Te mp le bu t re na me d Br il lN o. 1 in ea rl y1899. In th ec ab, dr iver Ha rr yC ros sl ea ns fo rw ar d, an dh is fr em an is Ar th ur Baylis s. Th em ixed tr ai n, ph ot og ra ph ed on ar ri va lf ro mB ri ll ,i nc lu de s twoe mp ty Mi dl an dR ai lw ay fve- pla nk op en wago ns af te rd eliver yofcoa l, wh il et he coac h is ab ra ke th ir dofO ld bu ry Ra il wayC ar ri age &Wagon Co mp anyb ui ld br oughti nby th eM et ro po lita nR ai lw ay af te rt ak ingove r op er at io noft he tr amway. Jo hn Al so pColle ct io n

Wotton Tramwayremainedjustthat. However, aplanto extendtoOxfordwas foated in 1883 andthe idearefused to go away.An1888 variation, completewithan1894 tweak, sawthe Oxford &Aylesbury Tramroad (O&AT) take over andbegin improvements to thepermanent way, andthusManning,Wardlesaddletanks were able to work theline, andbogie coaches were purchasedtoo;the servicewas much improved by theend of the1890s.

Meanwhile, establishedmainlinerailways were foatingplans,the Metropolitan Railway entering this storythrough aschemefor a

London-Aylesburyand Oxford route, the latter part by extendingthe WoottonTramway Aylesburywas reached, theAylesbury& Buckingham Railway(A&BR) wastaken over, andits lineimproved, andalsoQuainton Road gotanew stationasaproperbranch interchange, completewiththrough running on/ofthe tramwayasofNew Year’s Day1897; anew relationship begantoblossombetween theO&ATand theMet. Meanwhile, themain linecompany wasalsoworking with theGreat CentralRailway andaidingits goal of reaching London,achievedonMarch 15, 1899, using

Acom me rc ia lp os tc ar dt hath ad ‘B ri ll st at io n, Me tr op olit an Ra il way’ as it sc ap tion .The MR on th eb uf fe rb ea moft he Ma nn ing, Wa rd le loco in dicate st hatiti sn ow re fu rb is he da nd in th em ag ni fcentM et ro po lita nR ai lw ay ma roo nliver y; th eWot to nTra mw ay wa ss ti ll ow ne dbyt he O& AT bu tl ea se dbyt he Me t. Th ep urch as ed 0- 6- 0STs we re allKc la ss Hu dd er sf el d wa ss ol doff in 19 01 an diti su ncer ta in if th is is Br il lN o. 1 or Wo tt on No .2 ,t he latt er bu ilti n1899. Th es tation st af fo nt he pl at fo rm ar eb ew hi sker ed st at io nm as te rJ am es Hi ls de nw it hTom Co ok an dJ ac k Lewi s. Th ed at ei su nk nown ,b ut th ey ar di sn ow bu ll he ad ra il ,s oiti sa ft er th ed er ai lm entofaM et ro po lita nDc la ss 2- 4- 0T on Ma rc h27, 19 03 –n o su rp ri se re ally in te rm soft he po or tr ac kwor katt he time –a nd th es ub se qu entr el ay ingoft he wh ol ey ar dh er e, un de rt aken be twee nA pr il an d Augu st 19 03 ,cos t£ 80 4. Th ecoa ch is once ag ai nO ld bu ry-b ui lt Jo hn Al so pColle ct io n

Metropolitan metals from Quainton Road

As forthe Wotton Tramway, aMet leaseof theline–includinganoptiontobuy that was nevertaken up –saw theMetropolitanRailway operating thetramway from December1,1899.

Te company’sstock purchasesattakeover includedthree 0-6-0STlocomotives, Wotton No.2, Brill No.1 (formerlynamed Earl Temple), and Huddersfeld,as well as twobogie passengercars, andtwo others,plussome wagons.While thenew operatorinevitably startedout with what wasonsite, therewas soon change.Noneofthe line’scoachingstock hadanactivefuturehere; in fact, in 1899 the OA&T hadhired in athirdclass,rigid eightwheelcoach from theMetropolitanCompany, as thecomposite coachwas said to be a‘little outofcondition’and no othercarriages hada guard’scompartment.Tehired-in carriage, oil-lit, hadseven passengercompartments, so couldseat70, plus guardaccommodation. Forthe useofthiscoach,the trackalongside thecur vedplatformatQuaintonRoadwas modifedtostopthe step foulingthe platform

Only theone wagonwas up to RCH specifcation, andonlythe twobetter Manning, Wardle &CoLtd-built saddle tanks lasted beyond theshort-term.Teir tenure was frst undermined when Wotton No.2 failed in March1903, leadingtoa Metropolitan Dclass 2-4-0T beingdrafedinfromthe Aylesbur y-VerneyJunctionlinefor twotrips, andthe followingyearsaw theSharp,Stewart &CoLtd built2-4-0Tsinuse again, Nos. 71 and72beingtransferred to theline. Also, it is of note that theMetropolitan&Great CentralRailway Companies ActofAugust 1905 establishedaJoint Committee to take

over,onlease,the Harrow SouthJunctionto Verney Junction lineand theChesham branch from April2,1906, andthe same daysaw the JointCommittee also assume controlofthe O&AT-ownedlinetoBrill.Withthe weighty Dclass engineshavingcausedtrackdamage–Brillyardwas re-laidwithbullheadrailafer theuse on March27, 1903 –the trackbetween Quainton Road andBrill wasre-laidtoMet standardsin1910 usingtrackremoved from theinner London Metropolitan Railwayroute butdeemedacceptablefor aruralbranchline; afer this improvement, thetramway’s speed limitwas allowedtobeincreased to 25mph

Notwithstanding theenhancements made by theMet,other lines were builtinthe area between1899 and1910 whichoferedmore direct services to London andthe northof England, andthe Brill Tramwaywentinto fnancial decay. Signifcantly, theGreat Central Railway& GreatWestern foundcommon ground to create ajoint routeout of the capital,and this ledtonew railways passing over thetramway at Wotton,and under it at Wood Siding, each with amainlinestation, respectively Wotton,GCR,and opened on April2, 1906, andBrill &Ludgershall,opened on July 1, 1910, by theGWR

It wasnot good news in termsofgoods businesseither, afer theearly yearsofthe 20th century trafconthe Church Sidingbranch became very light,and it ceased altogether in about1910;mostofthe railswerelifed in about 1915, leavingonlyaquarter-mile stub at the junction,which survived untilthe Brillbranch closed.Another adversefactorwas the1911 closureofthe Brill Brick&TileWorks,which could notcompete with thelargerand better

connectedBuckinghamshirebrickworksat Calvert, near theGCR main line. Te sidingto thebrickworkswas removed, otherthanthe rails on thelevel crossing,whichin1984 were stillin place,albeittarmacked over.

In othernews, upon theoutbreakof theFirst WorldWar in 1914, Brill became a centrefor trainingcadets,who were housed in Wotton Houseand were carried in trains of fvepassenger coaches. Te Kingswoodbranch wasabandoned at theend of 1915, having been used to carrymaterials forthe construction of theGW&GCroute, with thetrack removed in 1920. Also in that decade,two cattle wagons were addedtothe line’sstock

Te Dclass 2-4-0T likely sawintermittent tramwayuse post-1903, while Brill No.1 and Wotton No.2 were notsoldofuntil 1915. Notsatisfedwiththe performance andsafety of itsD classlocos,the Metsold them of between1916 and1922, butnew coverwas soon at hand as,withmuchofits routeclosetoLondonnow electrifed, the Methad surplussteam locomotivesand it transferredtothe Brillbranchtwo Aclass 4-4-0T condensing steamlocomotives built by Beyer, Peacock&C oLtd of Openshaw, Manchester,No. 23 (built 1866) andNo. 41 (built 1869). Te Aclass locomotiveswerethe frst ownedbythe Metropolitan;in1863,the frst year of operation, thecompany hired in GWR locomotives. Remarkably,Nos. 23 and 41 were themostadvancedlocos to regularly operate on theBrill branch,but they were stillolder than allother rollingstock on the tramway! Tese twoengines worked theroute on aweek-on/week-ofrota, although theMet sometimessubstituted othersimilarengines.

Ox fo rd (S tevco),t he re

Th el ocod at es fr om

Th et ra in is al ongs id et he Br ills tation

Theother Aclass to make Brillits homeonaweek- on,week- of fbasis wasNo. 41,which is recorded in OctoberorNovember1935outside theengine shed as thefremancleansout thesmokebox;note thesemi- circular smokebox door.New in 1869,unlikeNo. 23 thepictured4 -4 -0Tspent most of its life withoutcondensingequipment .Uponcomingupfor airmore often, thecit ylines were electrifed between1905and 1907,the classreceivedcabs, as here.By1933, when theLPTBcameintobeing, therewerejustfve of the66MetropolitanRailway Aclass locosstill in service, Nos. 23,27, 41,48and 49,their weight of 42½tonsmakingthemsuitablefor useonthe Brillline; thecoalcapacit ywas 67 cubicfeet, andthe tanksheld1000gallons of water. GK JKerley/Bluebell RailwayMuseumArchive

Brillstation wasbythattimesomewhat little used by passengers,and likewise that was thecaseatnearbyWoodSiding– between them, in 1932, Brilland Wood Sidingwitnessed just 3272 passengerjourneys; that broughtin only £191 (about £17,000 today) in passenger revenues. However, helping to balancethe books, Brillcontinued to ofer valuable service as ashipmentpoint betweenthe dairyfarms of Buckinghamshireand themarkets of Aylesbury andLondon–about 30 cartsconveyedmilk to Brill stationfor thefrsttrain each morning. Tere wasalsoasmall quantity of coal trafc; BrillcoalmerchantGeorgeGreen received threecoalwagonsper month. Furthermore, a

storehouse at thestation remained in usefor beer deliveredbythe breweries of Brackley and Aylesbury. With Aclass enginesnow in service, what might be regarded as theclassic era of the tramwayisathand, as representedbythe lion’s shareofthe photographshere.

Ajourney alongthe Brillbranch Te poet John Betjeman visitedQuainton Road in 1929, toward theend of thereignof theMetropolitanRailway,and watchedatrain depart forBrill.Years laterhesummed up the wholethingnicely in his1973 documentary Metro-Land, commenting:“Te steamtrain stoodready to take twoorthree passengers

throughoil-lithalts andoverlevel crossings, a rather bumpyjourney.”

Letusnow imaginethatwehaveboarded that trainfor ajourney alongthe tramway. At its head is oneofthe aesthetically pleasingBeyer, Peacock &CoLtd-built Metropolitan RailwayA class4-4-0Tshauling asinglecoach.Betjeman wasright:there arefew otherpassengers! Followingrebuildingbythe Met, Quainton Road stationhas twoplatforms on theformer A&BRlineand athirdfor Brilltrains. We depart from thetramway platform at Quainton Road andheadofsouth-westalong thesingle-track line. We areridingone of thefourtrainsper day(each way) that will rununtil closureof thebranchinsix years’ time.Serving alightly populatedarea, in former timesthe trains on this lineran only marginally quickerthanwalking pace,astheywererestrictedbypoor-quality locos runningonungraded, economically-laid trackthatfollowedthe contours of thehills.With fveintermediatestops to pick up andset down goods, passengers andlivestock trains needed onehour45minutes to travel thejourney of six milesfromBrill to thejunctionstation at Quainton Road in 1887. Improvements to the linecarried outatthe time of thetransferto theOxford&AylesburyTramroadand useof better-quality locomotivesand rollingstock has reducedour journeytimefromQuaintonRoad to Brill to between32and 36 minutes.

Te frst stationwereach is Waddesdon –knownasWaddesdonRoadSidingatthe time of theline’sopening butrenamed Waddesdon when thelinewas convertedfor passenger use, andthenWaddesdon Road in 1922. It was heavilyusedduringthe construction of Baron FerdinanddeRothschild’sestateatWaddesdon Manorinthe 1870s and1880s. Te station nowseeslittlebusinessother than forshipping milk from nearby farmstoAylesburyand