The Elan Valley Railway (EVR) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

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 r ...

built to assist in the construction of the

Elan Valley Reservoirs The Elan Valley Reservoirs () are a chain of man-made lakes created from damming the Elan and Claerwen rivers within the Elan Valley in Mid Wales. The reservoirs, which were built by the Birmingham Corporation Water Department, provide clea ...

in mid

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It was in operation from 1896 to about 1912/1916.

History

The four dams in the

Elan Valley The Elan Valley () is a river valley situated to the west of Rhayader, in Powys, Wales, sometimes known as the "Welsh Lake District". It covers of lake and countryside. The valley contains the Elan Valley Reservoirs and Elan Village, desi ...

were built to supply water to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, and were authorized by an act of parliament in June 1891. By 1893 dam construction was underway and the railway was completed in 1896. At its maximum extent, the railway had of track supporting the construction work, running from a junction with the

Cambrian Railways The Cambrian Railways owned of Railway track, track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with c ...

Mid Wales line near

Rhayader Rhayader (; ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Radnorshire. The town is from the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon, the highest point of the Cambri ...

to, at the furthest point, the Craig Goch dam site. The railway, built in

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

http://www.elanvalley.org.uk/heritage/the-railway/ The Elan Railway which consisted of four lines, known as Railway No. 1, Railway No. 2, Railway No. 3 and Railway No. 4, was owned and operated by the

Birmingham Corporation Water Department The Birmingham Corporation Water Department was responsible for the supply of water to Birmingham, England, from 1876 to 1974. It was also known as Birmingham Corporation Waterworks Department. Early history 1808–1876 The earliest formal supp ...

(now Birmingham City Council) which also owned the dams and associated works. The railway was mainly operated using a fleet of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s owned by the corporation, with occasional assistance from locomotives borrowed from neighbouring railways. The dams were officially opened by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

on 21 July 1904, although construction continued until 1906. The railway connection with the Cambrian Railways line was reduced from a loop and double junction to a single junction in June 1908, as traffic reduced. The majority of the EVR was lifted by 1912, with the final main line track being removed in 1916. As of 1997, most of the line was walkable; and three such walks have been described.

References

; Notes ; Sources * *

External links

The Railway on elanvalley.org.uk
Reservoir construction railways Railway lines opened in 1896 History of Powys Standard gauge railways in Wales {{UK-rail-transport-stub