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The Cardiff Riverside Branch was a short railway constructed as an 
In 1894 the line was upgraded for passenger use, allowing the TVR to extend its existing passenger services, running from to Clarence Road from 2 April 1894. This also allowed connection to the made with the Cardiff Tramways Company system. During both World Wars the line was used to transport raw materials and munitions to and from the Curran's works, which became a munitions factory manufacturing shell casings and tank tracks. Production of machine gun ammunition continued until the 1960s.
The line continued to run under British Railways from 1948. The passenger service to Clarence Road station closed in March 1964. Freight services to the Curran's yard sidings continued until July 1968, when the entire line was closed and quickly taken up.
The entire spit has been redeveloped, with industry squeezed out between developing office, retail and housing developments. Few signs of the former line or its stations exist today.
The Cardiff Riverside Branch was a short railway constructed as an industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway (usually private) that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics, or military site. In regions of the world influenced by British ra ...
in Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
, South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
by the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 mill ...
. The line was subsequently upgraded for passenger services.
New industries had developed along the banks of the River Taff
The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the ...
south from station towards Cardiff Docks
Cardiff Docks ( cy, Dociau Caerdydd) is a port in southern Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost . Once the main port for the export of South Wales coal, the Port ...
. Whilst the main Bute and Roath docks were well serviced by both the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the Taff Vale Railway (TVR), the relatively thin spit of land between the River Taff and the Glamorganshire Canal
The Glamorganshire Canal in South Wales, UK, was begun in 1790. It ran along the valley of the River Taff from Merthyr Tydfil to the sea at Cardiff. The final section of canal was closed in 1951.
History
Construction started in 1790; being wa ...
, known locally as "Rat Island", was not.
station was built immediately to the south of Cardiff Station (the mainline GWR station, now called ), with the tracks joining the GWR mainline immediately to the west. Construction began in early 1882, reaching an interim goods-only station two-thirds along the spit, allowing opening on 14 September 1882. This served several factories, notably Curran Steels
Curran Steels was a manufacturing company in Cardiff, Wales, founded as the ''Edward Curran Engineering Co'' and known locally as ''Curran's''.
The factory was located on the east bank of the River Taff, near to Cardiff Docks. It was served ...
, to the west of the line, which produced rolled steel and brass and then pressed them to make enamel wares. The line was then extended to a second goods-only station at , making the total length of the line .
In 1894 the line was upgraded for passenger use, allowing the TVR to extend its existing passenger services, running from to Clarence Road from 2 April 1894. This also allowed connection to the made with the Cardiff Tramways Company system. During both World Wars the line was used to transport raw materials and munitions to and from the Curran's works, which became a munitions factory manufacturing shell casings and tank tracks. Production of machine gun ammunition continued until the 1960s.
The line continued to run under British Railways from 1948. The passenger service to Clarence Road station closed in March 1964. Freight services to the Curran's yard sidings continued until July 1968, when the entire line was closed and quickly taken up.
The entire spit has been redeveloped, with industry squeezed out between developing office, retail and housing developments. Few signs of the former line or its stations exist today.See also
*Butetown branch line
The Butetown branch line, also known as the Cardiff Bay Line, is a commuter railway line in Cardiff, Wales from Cardiff Bay to Cardiff Queen Street. The service pattern used to comprise a mixture of shuttle services along the branch and throu ...
References
External links
* Aerial view showing most of the railway line (1937) Railway lines opened in 1882 Railway lines closed in 1968 Rail transport in Cardiff Closed railway lines in Wales Standard gauge railways in Wales Former Taff Vale Railway stations History of Cardiff Butetown 1882 establishments in Wales 1968 disestablishments in Wales {{UK-rail-transport-stub