Maerdy Branch

Maerdy Branch
Maerdy Branch
Legend
Non-passenger head station Water
Mardy Colliery
Stop on track Water
Maerdy
Underbridge Water
Station Road
Water turning from left Small bridge over water Water turning right
Water turning left Small bridge over water Water turning from right
Rhondda Fach
Water turning from left Small bridge over water Water turning right
Non-passenger terminus from left Unknown BSicon "WBRÜCKE1q" Junction from right
Ferndale Colliery
Water Underbridge
Station Road
Water Stop on track
Ferndale
Water turning left Small bridge over water Water turning from right
Water turning from left Small bridge over water Water turning right
Water Underbridge
Llanwonno Road
Water Stop on track
Tylorstown
Water Unknown BSicon "BROADo"
Furnace Road
Water turning left Small bridge over water Water turning from right
Underbridge Water
Margaret Street
Stop on track Water
Pontygwaith
Underbridge Water
Ynyshir Street
Straight track Water
Underbridge Water
Station Street
Stop on track Water
Ynyshir
Water turning from left Small bridge over water Water turning right
Water Underbridge
Llanwonno Road
Unknown BSicon "exCONTg" Water Straight track
North to Treherbert
Unknown BSicon "exSTR" Water Underbridge
Tynewydd Square
Unknown BSicon "exSTRlf" Unknown BSicon "exWBRÜCKE1q" Unknown BSicon "eABZlg"
Maerdy Junction
Water Unknown BSicon "KBHFxe"
Porth
Water Unknown BSicon "exCONTf"
South to Pontypridd and Cardiff

The Maerdy Branch was a railway branch line in South Wales. Financed and operated by the Taff Vale Railway, on amalgamation became part of the Great Western Railway in 1923. Designed and mainly operated as a coal mining freight railway, its creation and demise was wholly defined by the South Wales Coalfield.

Contents

Design

The branch was wholly designed, being developed from integrating a series of private industrial track railways with the extension of the Taff Vale Railway from the south at Pontypridd. In 1840, the TVR bought the private Ferndale to Maerdy colliery track, and then extended to it from Porth from 1849.[1]

Operations

Passenger operations started on the day of opening of the Mardy Colliery, serving interim stations from Porth at Ynyshir, Pontygwaith, Tylorstown, and Ferndale. Passenger traffic was neither heavy nor a major contribution to line finances, and so in 1900 the GWR introduced steam rail motors.

Closure

The last passenger train ran on 15 June 1964 under the Beeching cuts, leaving only the freight service to Mardy Colliery. As a result the line was reduced to single track working. The line was placed into maintenance only upkeep from 1986, after the coal mined at Mardy was extracted from Tower Colliery.

Present day

The track was lifted in 1987, with the trackbed and most of the bridges left in situ. This formed the canal section of the Taff Trail cycle route.

In 2004, Rhondda Cynon Taff council came to an arrange with Network Rail to buy the trackbed from just north of Maerdy Junction to Margaret Street, Pontygwaith into a relief road for Ynyshir. Construction work started in May 2005, removing the remains of Ynyshir station, the bridges at Llanwonno road and Station street, and the replacement of the Rhonnda Fach bridge at Ynyshir and the Ynyshir road bridge.[2] Today the A4223 Porth and Lower Rhondda Fach Relief Road (Porth Bypass), has meant a significant decrease in traffic flows through the main street, Ynyshir Road.[3]

References