|
Pontypridd, Caerphilly And Newport Railway
The Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway was built to bring the coal output of the Aberdare and Rhondda valleys directly to Alexandra Docks at Newport. It was a little over in length, running from Pontypridd to a junction near Caerphilly; from there to Newport existing allied railways conveyed the mineral trains. A passenger service was operated later, not stopping intermediately on the line, until in 1904 a railmotor service was started, calling at new low-cost intermediate stopping places. The line closed to passengers in 1962, and to freight from 1965. Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company The remarkable topography of south-east Wales consists of mountainous terrain with a number of valleys running north to south, or north-west to south-east. In addition, the region at the upper part of the valleys was rich in mineral resources, in particular iron ore, coal and limestone. The co-existence of these minerals encouraged the production of iron, but both that indus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aberdare
Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydfil, north-west of Cardiff and east-north-east of Swansea. During the 19th century it became a thriving industrial settlement, which was also notable for the vitality of its cultural life and as an important publishing centre. Etymology The name ''Aberdare'' means "mouth/confluence of the river Dare", as the town is located where the Dare river () meets the river Cynon, Cynon (). While the town's Welsh spelling uses formal conventions, the English spelling of the name reflects the town's pronunciation in the local Gwenhwyseg dialect of South East Wales. ''Dâr'' is an archaic Welsh word for oaks (''derwen'' is the singulative number, singulative), and the valley was noted for its large and fine oaks as late as the 19th century. In ancien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newport, Abergavenny And Hereford Railway
The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was a railway company formed to connect the places in its name. When it sought parliamentary authorisation, it was denied the southern section, and obliged to use the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company, Monmouthshire Railway between Pontypool and Newport, Wales, Newport. It opened on 6 December 1853, and was part of an important chain of lines between south-east Wales and Birkenhead; mineral traffic in both directions was dominant. The London and North Western Railway hoped to exploit the line to form a network in South Wales, but that aspiration was not fully realised, and in 1860 the NA&HR merged with other railways to form the West Midland Railway, which soon amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1863. In order better to serve the ironworks in the South Wales Valleys, the NA&HR built the Taff Vale Extension Line, running west from Pontypool and cutting across several of the valleys, making connections with other compan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog, who according to legend was slain at Merthyr by pagans about 480 CE. generally means "martyr" in modern Welsh, but here closer to the Latin : a place of worship built over a martyr's relics. Similar place names in south Wales are Merthyr Cynog, Merthyr Dyfan and Merthyr Mawr. Noted for its industrial past, Merthyr was known as the 'Iron Capital of the World' in the early 19th century, due to the scale of its iron production. The world's first steam-powered railway journey happened in Merthyr in 1804, travelling from the ironworks at Penydarren to the Glamorganshire Canal on the Merthyr Tramroad. The 1851 census found Wales to be the world's first industrialised nation, as more people were employed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in European theatre of World War I, Europe and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, Middle East, as well as in parts of African theatre of World War I, Africa and the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of Artillery of World War I, artillery, machine guns, and Chemical weapons in World War I, chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of Tanks in World War I, tanks and Aviation in World War I, aircraft. World War I was one of the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated World War I casualties, 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bassaleg
Bassaleg () is a village on the west side of Newport, Wales, Newport, Wales. It is in the Graig, Newport, Graig electoral ward and Community (Wales), community. Bassaleg is located northwest of Newport city centre. It is bounded by the A467 road (A4072) to the east, the railway spur to Lower Machen (the former Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway) to the north, the St Mellons Road (B4288) to the south and Rhiwderin to the east. The Ebbw River runs through the area. The A468 road passes through towards Caerphilly and junction 28 of the M4 motorway is less than a mile to the south. St Basil's Church The parish church of Basil of Caesarea, St Basil's is a Grade II* listed building. It has been suggested that the site of the church was originally dedicated to Gwladys, Saint Gwladys. Historians have suggested that Bassaleg is the only British place whose name derives from the word ''basilica'', a term used in early Christianity for a church containing the body of a saint. U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of —later slightly widened to —but, from 1854, a series of Consolidation (business), amalgamations saw it also operate Standard gauge, standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892. The GWR was the only company to keep its identity through the Railways Act 1921, which amalgamated it with the remaining independent railways within its territory, and it was finally merged at the end of 1947 when it was Nationalization, nationalised and became the Western Region of British Railways. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Szlumper
Sir James Weeks Szlumper JP DL (29 January 1834 – 27 October 1926) was an English civil engineer. He was Chief Engineer on a number of key railway engineering projects in the Victorian era. Biography Szlumper was born in Westminster to Albert Szlumper, a Polish tailor, and his first wife, Eliza. He began his career with a London firm of engineers, and in 1853 was appointed surveyor to the county of Cardiganshire, a position in which he held for 25 years. In this position, he was often in correspondence and conflict with the local landowners, particularly John Waddingham, the then owner of thHafod Estate His younger half-brother Alfred Weeks Szlumper (1858–1934) was also a railway engineer. Railway engineer Szlumper had a dual career as a railway engineer, laying out some of key lines linking the major routes to the wider countryside of Wales and the West. He started his railway career engineering parts of the London Underground in employment in London. When he took the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontypool, Caerleon And Newport Railway
The Pontypool, Caerleon and Newport Railway was promoted independently to relieve congestion on the heavily worked Eastern Valley Line of the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company. The Great Western Railway put up half the capital, making it in effect a GWR subsidiary. It opened in 1874, and most long-distance passenger and goods traffic, especially the heavy mineral traffic, transferred to it. It amalgamated with the GWR in 1876. The Llantarnam Link, connecting the upper Eastern Valley network, was opened in 1878 and from that time most local traffic transferred to the line. The main line was increasingly used for long-distance passenger and goods traffic, especially from Bristol and the West of England after the opening of the Severn Tunnel. As local traffics declined and were extinguished, the PC&NR main line remained a key part of the North and West Route from the Severn to Shrewsbury and from there to the Mersey, and North Wales, and carries that traffic at the present day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brecon And Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
The Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway (B&MR) was a railway company in Wales. It was originally intended to link the towns in its name. Finding its access to Merthyr difficult at first, it acquired the Rumney Railway, an old plateway, and this gave it access to Newport docks. This changed its emphasis from rural line to mineral artery. It opened at the Brecon end to a point near Dowlais in 1863, and in 1865 it opened a disconnected section from Rhymney to Newport. In due course the company connected the two sections and reached Dowlais and Merthyr, but had to concede sharing a route with the powerful London and North Western Railway. The was always short of money, and was notable for its prodigious gradients, but it survived until the grouping of 1923, when it became part of the Great Western Railway. Its network declined steeply after 1945, and passenger operation ceased in 1962. Goods and mineral operation also lost its market, and as of 2020, only a short stub to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhymney Railway
The Rhymney Railway (RR) was a railway company in South Wales, founded to transport minerals and materials to and from Colliery, collieries and ironworks in the Rhymney Valley of South Wales, and to docks in Cardiff. It opened a main line in 1858, and a limited passenger service was operated in addition. The first line was dependent on the cooperation of the parallel Taff Vale Railway (TVR) for part of the transit, and this relationship was uneasy; the Rhymney Railway built an independent line to Cardiff in 1871. Better relations were created with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), and later the Great Western Railway (GWR), and two important joint lines with the GWR were built: the Taff Bargoed line (1876) and the Quakers Yard and Merthyr Railway, Quakers Yard and Merthyr Joint line (1882). Although the Rhymney Railway network was never large, it was remarkably profitable, and paid excellent dividends for most of its life. Dependent on mineral traffic for its own succ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stages in 1840 and 1841. In the railway's first years, the coal mining industries expanded considerably and branches were soon opened in the Rhondda valleys and the Cynon Valley. The conveyance of coal for export and for transport away from South Wales began to dominate and the docks in Cardiff and the approach railway became extremely congested. Alternatives were sought and competing railway companies were encouraged to enter the trade. In the following decades further branch lines were built and the TVR used "motor cars" (steam railway passenger coaches) from 1903 to encourage local passenger travel. From 1922 the TVR was a constituent of the new Great Western Railway (GWR) at the grouping of the railways, imposing its own character on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynon Valley
Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. It lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash in the south. From 1974 to 1996, Cynon Valley was a local government district. At the 2001 census, the Cynon Valley had a population of 63,512, 12.1% of whom were Welsh speakers. In common with some of the other South Wales Valleys, Cynon Valley had a high percentage of Welsh speakers until the early 20th century. Former district From 1974 to 1996, the borough of Cynon Valley was one of thirty-seven districts of Wales. The district was formed from the Aberdare and Mountain Ash urban districts, the parish of Rhigos from Neath Rural District and the parish of Penderyn from Brecknockshire. It was one of six districts of Mid Glamorgan, and in 1996 was merged into the larger unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf. Throughout the council's existence, the Labour Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
