61-558: From 1839 the trustees of the Marquis of Bute , operated a large dock operation in Cardiff , the " Bute Docks ". This was very successful, but was overwhelmed by the huge volume of coal exported through Cardiff. At the same time it was seen that railway companies, especially the Taff Vale Railway (TVR), were making money conveying the coal to the docks. The Bute Docks company decided to build
122-473: A businessman, his energies were on a monumentally Victorian scale. "A liturgist and ecclesiologist of real distinction", he published on a wide range of topics. But at a distance, just over one hundred years from his death, it is his architectural patronage as "the greatest builder of country houses in nineteenth-century Britain" that creates his lasting memorial. In 1865, the Marquess met William Burges and
183-681: A dock connection in Cardiff, for minerals it brought there from along its own line, and this demand put yet further strain on the docks. A second dock was built, and as the Bute East Dock, it opened on 20 July 1855; the original Bute Dock was renamed the Bute West Dock. From these years there was continual feuding between the Taff Vale Railway and the Rhymney Railway. Finally on 7 October 1871
244-482: A late start, became the home of an important dock operation. Nevertheless, the huge expansion of South Wales steam coal overwhelmed the available dock facilities, and this led to corresponding hostility to the Bute Docks Trustees, who were seen with some justification as happy to take excessive charges for the use of the dock without making adequate steps to enhance the capacity, and more importantly, to modernise
305-745: A new mausoleum for the Bute family with sarcophagi in red marble. In 1866 he donated a site in Cardiff Docks for the Hamadryad Hospital Ship for sick seafarers and, on his death in 1900, bequeathed £20,000 towards the cost of a new bricks-and-mortar hospital, which became the Royal Hamadryad . The Marquess was involved in a notable company law case, known as "the Marquess of Bute's Case", reported on appeal in 1892, called Re Cardiff Savings Bank [1892] 2 Ch 100. The Marquess had been appointed to
366-567: A protracted illness ( Bright's disease ), his first stroke having occurred in 1896, and was buried in a small chapel on the Isle of Bute , his ancestral home. His heart was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem . In his will he left £100,000 to each of his children, with the exception of his eldest son, who inherited the Bute estates including Cardiff Castle and the family seat, Mount Stuart House on
427-694: A railway from Pontypridd to their dock; they obtained an act of Parliament, the Cardiff Railway Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. cclxii), giving authority for part of the route in 1898, and changed the company name to the Cardiff Railway . To be successful, they needed to make a junction with their main rival, the TVR, at Treforest . A single mineral train traversed the junction in 1909 but legal challenges prevented any further use. The Cardiff Railway had built an expensive railway line that failed to connect with
488-491: A railway from Roath Dock to its newly authorised line, joining the Rhymney Railway near the junction. Also proposed in the bill was a new line from Heath Junction to the docks, which would have made the Cardiff Railway independent of other lines at the southern end, but this was rejected by Parliament. On 30 January 1902 the board was informed that the construction to Tongwynlais was substantially completed, and at this time
549-404: A short tunnel and a viaduct contributed to the difficult nature of the work. The engineers were Sir Douglas Fox and Mr. H. White, Mr. Herbert E. Allen, M.I.C.E., being resident engineer. The Cardiff Railway were now unable to operate across the junction, and indeed never did so again. Having had no income from the line, they decided now to operate a passenger and local goods service on the part of
610-747: Is 14 minutes with five intermediate stops. The Cardiff Railway had 36 steam locomotives, all built by private manufacturers, which were acquired by the GWR on 1 January 1922. For details see Locomotives of the Great Western Railway Only one locomotive survives. Built in 1898, ex-Cardiff Railway 0-4-0ST No.5, GWR No.1338, is restored to working order, and currently preserved at the Didcot Railway Centre . John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute , KT (12 September 1847 – 9 October 1900)
671-509: The London and North Western Railway secured access to the docks by virtue of running powers over the Rhymney Railway. The Bute docks in Cardiff were not the only docks available. From the outset Newport Docks had been a serious rival. Further west, the small harbour at Porthcawl , and the Port Talbot docks were important alternatives, although Porthcawl never developed much. Swansea too, after
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#1732859244798732-551: The Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway , and then more hills. The Taff Vale Railway at this point was quadruple track, with the passenger lines on the east side and goods and mineral tracks on the west side. Immediately north of the proposed point of junction, southbound trains could diverge to the lines of the Barry Railway Company . It was a point of contention that many mineral trains were divided at this location, on
793-567: The Bute Trustees were successful. Their act of Parliament, Cardiff Railway Act 1897 ( 60 & 61 Vict. c. ccvii),of 6 August 1897 authorised a line from a junction with the Rhymney Railway at Heath to the Taff Vale at Pontypridd, with a junction to the Taff Vale Railway at Treforest. The act authorised the change of name from the Bute Docks to the Cardiff Railway , although the dock operation
854-506: The CR in May 1908; it was now six years after the issue was first raised. At this time the TVR offered to purchase the Cardiff Railway. With the CR docks operation, this would have been highly advantageous to the TVR, enabling them to take control of the transport of minerals to the docks and loading there. At the same time the Cardiff Railway was now in financial difficulty, having expended a major outlay on
915-552: The Cardiff Railway laid in a temporary junction at Treforest. On 15 May 1909 a revenue-earning coal train from the Bute Colliery at Treherbert passed from the TVR system on to the Cardiff Railway. A directors' saloon was attached to the train and the Marquis of Bute and directors of the Cardiff Railway travelled in the train; the Marquis travelled on the engine for the actual crossing of the junction. Immediately after this apparent triumph,
976-633: The Rhondda and the upper part of the Taff Valley and the Cynon Valley . This, they believed, would enhance their income from transport to their docks as well as the operation of the docks as such. In 1885 they purchased the moribund Glamorganshire Canal and the Aberdare Canal , with the intention of converting them both into railway lines. This was not proceeded with at once, but in the 1896 session of Parliament
1037-585: The South Wales Valleys to wharves on the Bristol Channel . For many of the pits, Cardiff was the nearest and most convenient location, and in 1790 the Glamorganshire Canal opened from Navigation House ( Abercynon ) to Cardiff. This represented huge progress, but the canal had 49 locks and did not directly reach the majority of the mineral sites. As iron smelting developed on an industrial scale,
1098-452: The TVR main line, was contemplated, but probably not actually built and certainly never opened; there would have been difficult pedestrian access problems. The line was double track throughout and all the stations had "platforms" on both tracks. There were goods sheds at Whitchurch and Glan-y-llyn, and the goods and mineral traffic was also available to operate from 1 March 1911, but there was very little demand for some considerable time. There
1159-479: The TVR, which again rejected them. The design was said to be dangerous; the location was very busy: 294 trains passed the location in 24 hours, and in addition the Barry section of many trains was separated there; long mineral trains were divided on the running line. The Barry Railway also objected, fearing interference with their own traffic. The exchange sidings were said to be insufficiently long to hold full length trains;
1220-485: The Taff Vale Railway demanded that the temporary junction be removed, on the grounds that it was unauthorised and in a location not permitted by Parliament. (In addition it seems likely that Board of Trade approval for the configuration and working of the junction had not been obtained; as it lay in the TVR passenger line this was a requirement.) The line had been expensive to construct; the Railway Magazine described
1281-573: The University of St Andrews , he provided the university with a new home for its Medical School and endowed the Bute Chair of Medicine. A supporter of education for women, he also paid for St Andrews University's first female lecturer, who taught anatomy to women medical students when Professor James Bell Pettigrew refused to do so. At the University of Glasgow , he gifted the funds required to complete
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#17328592447981342-566: The age of 21 scandalised Victorian society and led Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli to use the Marquess as the basis for the eponymous hero of his novel Lothair , published in 1870. Marrying into one of Britain's most illustrious Catholic families, that of the Duke of Norfolk , Bute became one of the leaders of the British Catholic community. His expenditure on building and restoration made him
1403-480: The alignment proposed by the Cardiff Railway was outside the limits of deviation permitted by the CR Act. The question went to arbitration, and then to litigation, and judgment was eventually given against the Cardiff Railway. The CR now went to Parliament to seek the powers that had not been granted before, and they obtained an act of Parliament on 4 August 1906, authorising the junction and crossovers they desired. However
1464-488: The board of directors of the Cardiff Savings Bank as "President", at the age of six months, in effect inheriting the office from his father. He attended only one board meeting in the next 38 years. When the bank became insolvent following a fellow director's fraudulent dealing, Stirling J held that the Marquess was not liable as he knew nothing of what was going on. It was not suggested that he ought to have known what
1525-513: The collieries beyond Pontypridd. The company became part of the Great Western Railway (as did the TVR) in 1923. A low-key passenger service was operated, and a colliery at Nantgarw was served until 1952. The passenger service was cut back to Coryton in 1931 and continues to operate today. Already in the 18th century, it was obvious that some improved means was needed to convey coal mined in
1586-547: The company put details of its proposed junction with the Taff Vale Railway at Treforest to that company for approval. The terrain at the point chosen by the Cardiff Railway for its junction with the Taff Vale was extremely awkward. The Taff Vale Railway run down the west bank of the River Taff and was closely hemmed in by the hills to the west. Immediately to the east was the River Taff and the Glamorganshire Canal, and then
1647-455: The completion of the junction at Treforest, the terminus is at Rhyd-y-Felin. The first stations were at Heath, Rhubina (the spelling was changed later), Whitchurch, Coryton (originally intended to be called "Asylum"), Glan-y-llyn, Nantgarw, Upper Boat and Rhyd-y-felin. A "Portobello" station was proposed, between Tongwynlais and Glan-y-llyn, but this was not built. Birchgrove was built in GWR days. A station called Treforest, as close as possible to
1708-516: The demands of that industry too soon outstripped the transport facilities available. The first large dock opened in Cardiff on 9 October 1839; it was named the Bute Dock after Lord Bute who was the principal owner. From 8 October 1840 the Taff Vale Railway opened, in stages, from Merthyr to the Bute Dock, later connecting in pits in the Rhondda and elsewhere. The Rhymney Railway too opened its line from
1769-548: The desire to escape the scene of that wealth's creation. The theme recurs again and again in the huge outpouring of Bute's patronage, in chapels, castle, abbeys, universities and palaces. Bute's later buildings are hardly less remarkable than his collaborations with Burges. Robert Rowand Anderson rebuilt the Georgian Mount Stuart House for him, and Bute worked in collaboration with many of Burges's colleagues, including William Frame and Horatio Walter Lonsdale , on
1830-459: The distance." The following fifty years saw his faith vindicated, but the ensuing riches were to be enjoyed, and spent, by his son, "the richest man in the world", rather than himself. The 2nd Marquess died in 1848 and his son succeeded to the Marquessate when less than six months old. He was educated at Harrow School , and matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1865. His mother died when he
1891-739: The foremost architectural patron of the 19th century. Lord Bute died in 1900, at the age of 53; his heart was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem . He was a Knight Grand Cross of the Holy Sepulchre , Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great and Hereditary Keeper of Rothesay Castle . The future Marquess was born at the family seat of Mount Stuart , on the Isle of Bute in Scotland , to John, 2nd Marquess of Bute , and Lady Sophia Rawdon-Hastings , daughter of The 1st Marquess of Hastings . At birth, he
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1952-434: The geographical suffix "Glamorganshire" (or "Glam"). The section of line north of Rhydyfelin had been retained in operational condition for political reasons by the CR, but as the GWR now owned the TVR lines as well, there was no point in this, and the section north of Rhydeyfelin was placed out of use from 16 September 1924. The light traffic on the line resulted in a decision to single the line north of Whitchurch, and this
2013-501: The interiors. John Kinross was Bute's architect for the sympathetic and creative reworking of the partially ruined Falkland Palace . Kinross also restored Greyfriars in Elgin for Bute. As a burgess of Cardiff, the Marquess accepted the invitation to be mayor of Cardiff for the municipal year from November 1890. The Marquess's patronage was extensive, with a particular enthusiasm for buildings of religion and academia. Whilst Rector of
2074-407: The junction was not to be opened until the Cardiff Railway had constructed exchange sidings on their own property short of the TVR main line, so that CR engines need not enter TVR tracks. The space available for the purpose of building the sidings was constrained by the point at which the CR line crossed the River Taff, but the sidings were squeezed in. New proposals for the junction were submitted to
2135-447: The latest loading aids, with the benefit of new access railways not constrained by the capacity of the existing railways. The Taff Vale Railway had long been criticised for congestion of its lines leading to the Bute docks. Against this background the trustees of the Earl of Bute decided that they should build a railway line to get access to the lucrative traffic in coal and other minerals from
2196-533: The line up to the junction but short of it. The line was inspected by Colonel Druitt of the Board of Trade on 18 October 1910, for passenger operation from Heath Junction (with the Rhymney Railway) to "the termination in a field at Treforest". However the stations were not ready and rolling stock had not even been ordered, and Druitt declined approval. A second inspection took place on 30 January 1911. This time approval
2257-419: The mechanical handling facilities in their dock. This feeling led to a long-standing desire to build alternative dock facilities in the Cardiff general area. These included Penarth Dock , developed by the Taff Vale Railway, Roath, also developed by the TVR and reached by the building of a new branch line opened in 1888, and Barry Docks . This last was an extensive dock facility laid out with plenty of space and
2318-473: The railway and having gained no income from it. Terms were agreed, and the matter went to Parliament in the 1909 session, but Parliament rejected the proposal on the grounds of the reduction in competition that would be caused. The Barry Railway and the Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks and Railway Company had opposed it, as well as the TVR. Meanwhile, having obtained Inglis's adjudication in their favour,
2379-543: The running line, with one portion for Cardiff TVR and one for the Barry line. The Cardiff Railway proposed to join the passenger lines and then make crossovers to the mineral lines—the main object of their railway was of course the mineral traffic. The existing traffic on the TVR was remarkably intensive at this time, and the proposal alarmed the company. They examined the rights of the Cardiff Railway and saw that there were no running powers granted on their own line, nor powers to connect to all four tracks; moreover, they claimed,
2440-549: The space available was clearly not long enough, unless the sidings were extended over the Taff, which would require a series of bridges for them. There was now a dispute about how long a standard wagon was, and whether new Railway Clearing House recommendations for wagon sizes had been allowed for. Once again the matter went to arbitration, held by J. C. Inglis of the Great Western Railway, and at length Inglis found in favour of
2501-479: The structure on the line: The construction of the Cardiff Railway has involved a number of heavy engineering works. There are nine skew bridges, five crossing the Merthyr river, three across the Glamorganshire Canal, and one across the River Taff. Near Nantgawr the River Taff has been diverted. The various cuttings and embankments are mostly of an extensive character. Ten retaining walls, 12 under bridges, 10 over bridges,
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2562-652: The trustees submitted a bill for the purpose. The Taff Vale Railway saw this as an obvious assault on its established near-monopoly in those areas, and sought to counter-attack by proposing yet another dock near Cardiff, on the east bank of the River Ely opposite Penarth, and a bill was submitted for this work in the 1896 session. Both this and the Bute Bills were rejected, however. In the following session, both companies tried their proposals once again in Parliament, and this time
2623-407: The two embarked on an architectural partnership, the results of which long outlasted Burges' own death in 1881. Bute's desires and money allied with Burges' fantastical imagination and skill led to the creation of two of the finest examples of the late Victorian era Gothic Revival , Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch . The two buildings represent both the potential of colossal industrial wealth and
2684-597: The university's huge central hall, named the Bute Hall in his honour, and he is commemorated both at the university's Commemoration Day and on its Memorial Gates . He was made the Honorary President ( Scottish Gaelic : Ceannard Urramach a' Chomainn ) of the Highland Society of the University of Edinburgh . Between 1868 and 1886 he financed the rebuilding of St Margaret's Parish Church , Roath , Cardiff, creating
2745-576: The upper part of the valleys, also reaching the Bute Dock. In 1850 the South Wales Railway opened part of its main line; instead of bringing down minerals from the upper part of the valleys, the South Wales Railway was a trunk line, conceived to connect London (through the developing network of the Great Western Railway ) with Milford Haven , and from there to generate a transatlantic shipping connection. The South Wales Railway also required
2806-561: The year 1921 of £193,973. It had distributed a dividend of 1% on ordinary stock in 1921. It handed over to the GWR 36 locomotives, mostly dock shunters, and 8 passenger vehicles and 43 freight wagons. There were 2,702 employees, reflecting the size of the dock activity rather than the railway. The new company now had some passenger stations with duplicate names, so that from 1 July 1924 Heath became Heath Halt Low Level; Rhydyfelin became Rhydyfelin Halt Low Level; Whitchurch and Coryton acquired
2867-567: Was 12. Bute had been attracted to the Roman Catholic Church since childhood, and the efforts of his guardians to weaken this attraction only added to it. He was never a member of the Church of England , despite efforts by Henry Parry Liddon to attract him to it. Bute's letters to one of his very few intimate friends during his Oxford career show with what conscientious care he worked out the religious question for himself. On 8 December 1868, he
2928-455: Was a Scottish landed aristocrat , industrial magnate , antiquarian , scholar , philanthropist , and architectural patron . When Bute succeeded to the marquisate at the age of just six months, his vast inheritance reportedly made him the richest man in the world. He owned 116,000 acres mostly in Glamorgan, Ayrshire and Bute. His conversion to Catholicism from the Church of Scotland at
2989-405: Was a colliery at Nantgarw on the line, but it too was very slow to pick up, only being commercially productive from 1920. In 1912 the public passenger service was reduced as an economy measure. After World War I the government decided that most of the railways of Great Britain would be compulsorily restructured into one or other of four new large companies, the "groups". The relevant legislation
3050-456: Was buoyant at this time, and the access to it from Coryton was causing operational difficulties, as the signalling had been substantially reduced there. A new connection was installed from the former TVR main line at Taffs Well, crossing the River Taff and joining the extremity of the CR line, giving a new access to the Nantgarw mine, and enabling complete closure of the CR line north of Coryton. This
3111-415: Was commissioned on 16 June 1952. The colliery came under threat of closure due to geological exhaustion in 1986 and the spur line was closed in 1990. The line continued an uneventful existence operating passenger trains to Cardiff. It has developed into a useful commuter line into Cardiff from Coryton; in 2018 trains run typically at 30-minute intervals; the journey time from Coryton to Cardiff Queen Street
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#17328592447983172-465: Was delivered during March, and during occasional non-availability of the vehicles, a conventional engine was hired in from the Great Western Railway to cover the service. The locomotive sections were subcontracted to Sissons of Gloucester; the passenger sections had first and third class accommodation. An editorial in the Railway Magazine was enthusiastic: On February 27th the first passenger trip
3233-429: Was done from 16 May 1928. The passenger business continued to decline due to bus competition, and it was reported that the takings from the passenger business at station north of Coryton were £30 a week in 1930. The line north of Coryton was therefore closed to passenger traffic on 20 July 1931. In 1948 the main line railways of Great Britain were taken into national ownership, under British Railways. The Nantgarw colliery
3294-479: Was given. Most of the halts were merely small cleared areas of ground at ground level, and authority was given for operation by single railcars only. At this time many railway companies had been experimenting with railmotors , generally single coaches with an integrated small steam locomotive. The idea was to enable passenger operation from very low-cost stopping places. In most cases they had retractable steps so that passengers could join and alight at ground level. This
3355-602: Was going on or that he had a duty of care to inform himself as to the affairs of the bank. The case set a famous legal precedent , now superseded, for the minimal view of the duties of company directors. It was naturally a considerable embarrassment for the Marquess although he escaped legal blame. John, 3rd Marquess of Bute, married the Hon.Gwendolen Mary Angela Fitzalan-Howard (daughter of The 1st Baron Howard of Glossop and granddaughter of The 13th Duke of Norfolk ) in 1872 and had four children: Lord Bute died on 9 October 1900 after
3416-480: Was known by the courtesy title Earl of Dumfries . The 2nd Marquess was an industrialist and began, at great financial risk, the development of Cardiff as a port to export the mineral wealth of the South Wales Valleys . Accumulating major debts and mortgages on his estates, the Marquess rightly foresaw the potential of Cardiff, telling his concerned solicitor in 1844, "I am willing to think well of my income in
3477-697: Was received into the Church by Monsignor Capel at a convent in Southwark , and a little later was confirmed by Pius IX in Rome , resulting in a public scandal. His conversion was the inspiration for Benjamin Disraeli 's novel, Lothair . The Marquess's vast range of interests, which included astrology , medieval art , religion , medievalism , the occult , architecture , travelling, linguistics , and philanthropy, filled his relatively short life. A prolific writer, bibliophile and traveller, as well as, somewhat reluctantly,
3538-470: Was run on the new railway in one of the handsome rail motor cars which have been built for the Company… The train was started on the Cardiff Railway by the Marquis of Bute, who for a short time took up the position of driver. The passenger train service was publicly commenced on March 1st. The rail motor car by which the traffic is at present conducted makes 11 double journeys daily (5 on Sundays), but, pending
3599-458: Was the Railways Act 1921 . The so-called "Western Group" was eventually named the Great Western Railway , and the old GWR was naturally the dominant part of the new company. Nevertheless, because of the important dock activity, the Cardiff Railway was considered a constituent (not merely a "subsidiary") of the new GWR. The Cardiff Railway reported £5.95 million of issued capital, and an income in
3660-485: Was the Cardiff Railway's intended passenger operation; in fact at first only Heath had a conventional elevated passenger platform. The first steam railmotor was delivered from the Gloucester Carriage and Wagon Company on 23 February 1911, and a trailer vehicle a few days later. A public passenger service was started on 1 March 1911. There were eleven trips each way on weekdays, and five on Sundays. A second railmotor
3721-474: Was to be included in the new company's activity. The Taff Vale Railway was alarmed at this development, as it could only result in traffic, and income, being diverted from its line to the Cardiff Railway. Having found success, the Cardiff Railway promoted a further bill in the following session, and was authorised as the Cardiff Railway Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. cclxii) on 12 August 1898 to build
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