Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway-History of the line

History of the Line

The line from Brynmawr to Blaenavon was originally built in 1866 by the Brynmawr & Blaenavon Railway and immediately leased to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), to transport coal to the Midlands. Eight years later it was extended to meet the Great Western Railway at Abersychan & Talywain. Here the line carried on down the valley through Pontypool to the coast at Newport. In 1922 the LNWR was grouped into the London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS).

The line was closed to passengers in 1941, and to goods in 1954, though the section from Blaenavon to Pontypool was in use for coal from Big Pit and other local mines until 1980. Our line is on part of the northern section, with our main station 'Furnace Sidings' built close to the site of the former washery and some other colliery buildings which were demolished during 1987. The line northwards is the steepest standard gauge preserved passenger-carrying line in Britain, and the steep pull up the line ensures some spectacular starts from our locomotives. The northern terminus, Whistle Halt, stands at 1307 feet above sea level and is the highest (and probably the most windswept!) station in England and Wales. The Whistle Inn, next to the station, is famous for its extensive collection of miners lamps. A mile or so further on up the line, the summit of the line at Waenavon is reached and this was once the highest station in England and Wales at over 1400ft above sea level. The landscape through which our railway runs was once dotted with collieries and slag heaps, and still contains a fascinating mix of relics from the days of steel and coal. Today however, there is much which is new, and the addition of the Garn Lakes (with its resident duck population), provides an ideal spot for picnics and walking after a ride on the train.

The passenger services were operated by the GWR & the freight services by the LMS. An impressive variety of locomotives operated over the years on this line, including:

LNWR 0-6-2 Webb Coal Tanks
LNWR 0-8-4 Beames Tanks
GWR 0-6-0 Pannier Tanks
GWR 2-8-0 Class 42xx heavy freight locomotives
GWR 2-8-2 Class 72xx heavy freight locomotives

In it's BR days the line was solely operated as a mineral line although several "specials" operated passenger trips over the line in the late 1970's, leading to several unusual visitors :

Class 37 mainstay of the line
Class 25 often double headed
Class 31 "Special"
Class 20 "Special"
Class 45 "Special"
Class 101 DMU "Special"
Class 116 DMU "Special"

The PONTYPOOL & BLAENAVON RAILWAY was started in 1980, and is operated exclusively by volunteers who form the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway Company (1983) Ltd. and its support group the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway Society. After Big Pit stopped producing coal in 1980, the track was lifted from Cwmbran through Pontypool to just south of Blaenavon (High Level) Station. We started running trains in 1983 and have continued continuously for over twenty five years. We have now secured funding to extend the line for passenger services by about a mile and a quarter further southwards from Furnace Sidings to Blaenavon (High Level). We now need a number of new volunteers to help re-lay the existing trackwork, and rebuild the station at Blaenavon (High Level). If you would like to help us with this important work, then return to the HOMEPAGE and click on MEMBERSHIP.