Taff Vale Railway

The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales.

History

In 1804, a young engineer, Richard Trevithick, drove the world's first ever steam locomotive along a track at the Penydarren ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil. The track, which was built as a tramway to carry iron ore in horse-drawn carriages, proved too weak to carry his heavy loco, but this isolated experiment would foreshadow the creation of the Taff Vale Railway 32 years later.

On 21st June, 1836, Royal Assent was given to a Parliamentary bill allowing for the creation of the Taff Vale Railway Company by the ironworks owners of Merthyr.

Construction of the railway was started in 1836, and the main line, from Merthyr to Cardiff Docks was completed on October 8 1840. It was built by Josiah Guest and Anthony Hill, owners of ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, to transport iron from Merthyr to the port of Cardiff. The engineer responsible for the construction was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The main line of the TVR was 24 miles long. However, no fewer than 23 branch lines took the full length of track to 124 miles and 42 chains. Many of those branch lines were smaller lines taken over by the TVR. (see below)

The line proved its worth immediately. At its peak, two trains a minute passed through the busiest station, Pontypridd.

The TVR System

Main Line

The main stations on the TVR main line were:

• Cardiff Dock (later Bute Road), opened 8th October 1840
• Cardiff Queen's Street, opened 8th October 1840
• Llandaff, opened 8th October 1840
• Radyr
• Treforest, opened 1847
• Pontypridd, opened 8th October 1840. At a third of mile long, Pontypridd had at one time the longest platform of any railway station in the country. It was known as Newbridge Station from 1840 to 1891.
• Navigation House (later Abercynon), opened 1st December 1896
• Merthyr Tydfil Plymouth Street Station

Branch Lines

Some branch lines include:

• The Rhondda branch line from Pontypridd to Pandy was opened in June 1841. The line was extended to Treherbert in 1856
• The Rhondda Fach line from Porth to Ynyshir was opened in 1849. It was extended to Ferndale in 1856.
• The Roath line was opened in 1887. It closed in 1968

Railways amalgamated with TVR

August 26 1889

• Cowbridge Railway, (Aberthaw - Llantrisant) opened 1865
• Dare Valley Railway opened 1866
• Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway opened 1863
• Rhondda Valley and Hirwain Junction Railway opened 1878
• Treferig Valley Railway opened 1883
• Cardiff, Penarth and Barry Junction Railway opened 1887

January 1 1895

• Cowbridge and Aberthaw Railway opened 1892

July 1 1902 Aberdare Railway opened 1846

TVR leased two railways:

• Penarth Harbour, Dock and Railway opened 1865
• Penarth Extension Railway opened 1878

It also had ‘running powers’ over several other companies’ lines, including the Barry Railway, Great Western Railway and the Rhymney Railway.

Information in this section from The Railway Year Book for 1912 (Railway Publishing Co Ltd)

Strike

In 1901 the Taff Vale Railway Company successfully sued the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, a trades union, for damages due to losses accrued during a strike by their members. The Company was awarded £23,000 in a landmark decision, shattering the belief that unions were immune to damages due to the actions of their members. It lead, following the election of the Liberal Party in the general election of 1906, to the 1906 Trades Disputes Act, guaranteeing union immunity from damages.

Later history

The TVR became a part of Great Western Railway in 1927, and part of British Rail following the nationalisation of the UK railways in 1948.

It is currently run by Valley Lines.

See also

Much of the information in this article comes from Taff Vale Railway Miscellany by John Hilton, published by the Oxford Publishing Company, ISBN 0-86093-414-4

• Rail transport in the United Kingdom
• UK topics