The Amman Valley Railway Society ( cy, Rheilffordd Dyffryn Aman) is situated near the former Gwaun Cae Gurwen

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

, that runs alongside the River Amman, some north of Swansea in west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Its primary focus is to construct Swansea 9 Lines, an eco-friendly tram system to the heart of Swansea and the surrounding areas. The project was originally based on a heritage railway proposal on a lines that formerly served the various collieries of the area north of Swansea and Llanelli. In 2014 the Abernant Branch line had been cleared, along with a station platform, track beds and unearthed

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

lines, all of which were being restored.

The Society

AVRS (Amman Valley Railway Society) was formed in 1992 with 84 founder members, became a registered charity in 2004, incorporated in 2006 and grew to become a Social Enterprise Company in 2008, after opening shops in Brynamman, Ammanford,

Pontardawe Pontardawe () is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. With a population of 6,832, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the county ...

and in

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen ( cy, Gwauncaegurwen) is a village and community in the borough of Neath Port Talbot, South West Wales. Historically a part of Glamorgan, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is a parish made up of the electoral wards of Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Lower ...

Swansea 9 Lines Project

The AVRS project aims to attract tourists, create trade and connect the countryside to the coastal areas of Swansea. The aim is for the railway to reintroduce public passenger services using "low carbon footprint" tram services over nine routes, spreading throughout the Carmarthenshire, Neath & Port Talbot, and Swansea areas. The route is planned to link up with the Heart of Wales line to provide services from North Wales and England. The services would run in both directions from 06:00 to midnight, covering a population in excess of 370,000 and serving 29 destinations.

Branch Line history

Coal train joins the Amman Valley railway branch - geograph

Originally developed by the Llanelly Railway and Dock Company, which by 1840 had reached Pantyffynnon. Here the railway branched, with the Amman Valley developed for commercial purposes to transport extracted coal to

North Dock, Llanelli North Dock is a former industrial dock in Llanelli, West Wales used mainly for exporting coal and tin plate from South Wales. It is also the name of the area immediately surrounding the dock. Llanelli Beach is also known locally as North Dock. ...

. The eventual plan was to develop the line as far as Clydach on the Morriston Loop, but this never happened. Taken over by the Great Western Railway on amalgamation in 1923, its stock was converted to standard GWR rural practices. The line was closed to passenger services by British Railways on 18 August 1958, ahead of the Beeching Axe, although it did stay open as a freight route until the closure of the

Abernant Colliery Abernant Colliery was a coal mine in the River Amman valley at Pwllfawatkin, north of Pontardawe and north of Swansea, West Wales. Development Abernant was developed by the National Coal Board as one of the West Wales "super pits" alongside Cyn ...

super pit in 1988.

Former rolling stock

In mid-2006, a

British Rail Class 103 The British Rail Class 103 diesel multiple units were built by Park Royal Vehicles with diesel engines by British United Traction (BUT). Ordered in the first half of 1955, 20 of these sets were built by Park Royal at the Crossley Motors works ...

diesel multiple unit (DMU) vehicle was saved from scrapping in Coventry by AVRS, moving it to Swansea for later restoration and possible eventual use on the line, but was passed over to an Essex Museum for restoration in 2008. This was M50397, of the Denbigh & Mold Junction Railway. The Society once owned three tank wagons (from the Swansea Vale Railway) at

Cwmgors Cwmgors is a village in the county of Glamorgan, and administered as part of the unitary authority borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It is part of the community of Gwaun-cae-Gurwen and lies within the ceremonial county of West Glamorgan. Cw ...

which were gradually being refurbished ready for use on the heritage line section. They have received offers of several locomotives from various organizations and patrons.

References

External links

Amman Valley RailwayWebsite of the Amman Valley Railway SocietyAmman Valley Railway Society online bric-a-brac store
{{Coord, 51.779, -3.997, display=title, format=dms, name=Pantyffynnon railway station Heritage railways in Carmarthenshire