Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway

The Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway, running trains between a station platform in a former colliery furnace site, up a steep but short section of railway line to a halt platform opposite the Whistle Stop public house (famed for its collection of miner's lamps) in Blaenavon.

Visitor attraction

The railway was opened to visitors in the 1980s. It runs every weekend between spring and September. There are also a selection of special weekends through the spring and summer, as well as Santa Specials nearing Christmas.

The railway has not increased in track size since opening, but it has increased as a going concern, with a larger number of volunteers, a larger amount of operational rolling stock, and more definite plans for the railway's future.

Expansion

It is planned to first extend the railway towards the town of Blaenavon, the nearest town to the railway's headquarters by roughly a mile, to the site of the former Blaenavon High Level station (once the London and North Western Railway's station in the town). After this is achieved, the railway will turn towards extending the line northwards, under a small road bridge and along the still intact track bed.

The Pontypool Blaenavon Railway Company has been granted an Order under the Transport and Works Act to extend and operate its line from the Whistle Inn in the north to Blaenavon (High Level) some two miles to the south.

Work, which started in December 2004, was initially complicated by difficulty in determining who built the railway. The order allowing most of the initial construction was the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Act of 1866, but a short section in the south was built under the LNWR (Wales &c) Act of 1875. Once the two months spent on this research was complete matters progressed rapidly so that a formal application to the Welsh Assembly was made on 3 May 2005. By the end of June 2005 the application became public with a two-month subsequent period allowed for formal objection.

By 28 November 2005, the inspector appointed by the National Assembly for Wales, Stuart B Wild, MRTPI, MCMI made his report to Parliament. Subsequently a full meeting of the planning Decision Committee of the National Assembly for Wales, chaired by Carwyn Jones, Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside, approved the application on 24 January 2006. The minister in turn wrote to Winckworth Sherwood on 31 January. The Order, called the Pontypool and Blaenavon (Phase 1) Order 2006 was finally made on 20 June 2006 and came into force on 21 June 2006.

The railway is now concentrating all its efforts on extending the line southwards a further 1 ¼ miles from its existing main station at Furnace Sidings to Blaenavon (High Level). The route southwards is made difficult by the need to refurbish a number of bridges en route. A substantial report which has just been issued by the Company to Torfaen County Borough Council, the successor to the Welsh Development Agency, and other interested parties, estimates the lowest cost for the extension and the provision of a minimal station at High Level at between £235K and £395K, with cost of the bridges lying between £162K and £323K—by far the dominant item in the total cost. The Company is now actively seeking partners to help raise funds to meet the refurbishment costs. Blaenavon (High Level) station is close to the centre of Blaenavon town, and, as a result, a substantial increase in passenger numbers is confidently expected. Blaenavon is the centre of the World Heritage Site of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, a landscape which includes Big Pit National Coal Museum and the famous Blaenavon Ironworks. The presence of the railway there is expected to significantly add to the visitor experience and tourist potential of the town.

Motive Power

[ [http://www.pontypool-and-blaenavon.co.uk/pages/rolling.html Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway - Rolling Stock ] ]

team Locomotives

*GWR 4200 Class 2-8-0T No.4253. Awaiting restoration.
*GWR 5600 Class 0-6-2T No.5668. Awaiting restoration, has been asbestos stripped.
*GWR 5700 Class 0-6-0PT No.9629. Undergoing restoration with the frames receiving attention.
*Andrew Barclay & Sons Co. 0-4-0ST "Harry". Awaiting restoration.
*Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST "Tom Parry". Awaiting restoration.
*National Coal Board Austerity class 0-6-0ST No.8. Restoration on hold.
*Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST "Llantarnam Abbey" Under restoration.
*Avonside Engine Company 0-6-0ST No. 2 "Pontyberem". Awaiting restoration.

Diesel Locomotives)

*BR Co-Co Class 37 no. 37216. Under restoration back into early BR green
*BR Co-Co Class 31 no. 31203/D5627 'Steve Orgam G.M' in early BR green
*British Rail Class 03 shunter 03141. ex Swansea Vale Railway. cite web |url=http://aligrieve.fotopic.net/c1501259.html |title=The PBRs new toys |accessdate=2008-05-05 |date=2008-04-28 |author=Alistair Grieve]
*English Electric 0-6-0DH, No.104 "Llanwern". In passenger use.
*Rolls-Royce Sentinel 0-4-0DM, No.1 "Panteg". In P WAY use.
*Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0DH, NCB DL16. In shunting use.
*Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0DM, Shell-BP No.14. In shunting use.
*Ruston 48DS "Gower Princess". In shunting use
*English Electric 0-6-0DH, No.106.Stored pending restoration.
*John Fowler 0-6-0DM No.RT1. Undergoing restoration.
*Wickham 6947. Nearing end of restoration.
*Hunslet 0-8-0DH, No.170 "Ebbw". Stored.

Diesel Multiple Units

*BR Class 108 DMCL W50632
*BR Class 108 DMCL W52044
*BR Class 205 DMBS 60117
*BR Class 205 DTCL 60828
*BR Class 108 DMBS 51942. Undergoing restoration
*BR Class 108 DTCL 56270. Undergoing restoration
*BR Class 117 DMS 51351. Undergoing restoration
*BR Class 117 DMS 51397. Undergoing restoration
*BR Class 117 TCL 59520. Undergoing restoration

Electric Multiple Units

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_411 BR Class 411] Unit number 1198 {3 coach unit formed for exclusive use on the Lymington Branch in Dorset}
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_421 BR Class 421] Unit number 1399.

ee also

* List of closed railway stations in Britain

References

External links

* [http://www.pontypool-and-blaenavon.co.uk/ Official website]
* [http://www.emups.org.uk/ Official website for the owning group of 3 CEP 1198]