68-612: Cwmavon may refer to: Cwmavon, Torfaen , a small village in Monmouthshire, Wales Cwmavon, Neath Port Talbot , a large village in Wales Cwmavon RFC , a rugby union club based in Cwmavon, Wales Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Cwmavon . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
136-400: A detention of some hours, and on coming through Tredegar Park, the chimney was carried away by a branch of a tree hanging over the tram-road; and in consequence of these accidents it did not arrive at Newport till the evening. There were problems with steaming and with boiler feed water in the early days. Nevertheless, the results of locomotive operation were encouraging. However, the weight of
204-507: A distance of twelve miles and a half, there is a rise of 447 feet by the canal; in its railway continuation to Blaen-Din there is a rise of 610 feet in a distance of five miles and a quarter. From Crindau Farm to Crumlin Bridge the canal rises 358 feet in eleven miles; the railway from Crumlin Bridge to Beaufort rises 619 feet in ten miles; the Nant-y-Glo branch has a rise of 518 feet. The gauge of
272-666: A junction at Coed-y-Gric Farm near Pontypool. Accordingly, the Monmouthshire now started doubling their line to accommodate the extra traffic. In addition the line had to be completed from the temporary terminus at Marshes Turnpike Gate to Mill Street; this was opened on 9 March 1853. The official opening of the NA&;HR took place on 2 January 1854: five trains per day were run. The remaining three were mixed goods and passenger with third class accommodation, and had an intermediate stop at Pontnewydd. The Eastern and Western Valley sections were not connected at Newport, due to objections from
340-609: A result, the company was unable to complete the Newport and Pontypool Railway within the time limit set by Parliament. The Newport and Pontypool Railway Amendment Act 1848 ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. cxx) was passed, allowing an extension of time for construction, authority to carry passengers, and a change of name to the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company . They were freed from the obligation to provide mineral wagons, but locomotives remained their responsibility, and horse traction
408-527: A special "combination" wheel that could run on a standard gauge edge rail track or the narrower tramplate track. Over 521 tons of improved wrought iron tramplates were purchased, and the cost of improvements by November 1846 was £17,742. At the time of authorisation of the Pontypool line in 1845, the company was heavily committed in upgrading its existing lines. A financial depression set in at this time, and money became impossible to obtain for railway schemes. As
476-637: Is a branch canal to Crumlin Bridge. At Court-y-Bella Farm at Risca and at Pillgwenlly it joins the Sirhowey Tramroad. From the Crumlin Bridge branch, there is a railroad to Beaufort ironworks; a branch to Sorwy furnace, another to Nant-y-Glo works and a third to the Sirhowey Railroad to Risca. Near Pontypool is a railway branch to Trosnant furnace and another to Blaen-Din works. From the Usk to Pontnewynydd in
544-556: Is a hamlet about 2 miles south of Blaenavon and 4 miles north of Pontypool . The hamlet is part of the community of Abersychan in the county borough of Torfaen in south east Wales , and is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire . Cwmavon is in the south of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape (a World Heritage Site ), the Blaenavon Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest, and in
612-451: The Board of Trade was called in to adjudicate. In fact Simmons reviewed the whole of the company's proposed operation, and on 28 April 1849 they received his judgment. He was critical of the combination rail and wheel arrangement, and he recommended that "proper" railway track should be used, laid adjacent to the existing tramplate to allow for continued operation during the conversion. He wanted
680-566: The 22 miles of the connecting Rumney Tramroad, and 14 miles of the Sirhowy Tramroad. Some of the curves were sharper than 15 feet radius, an impossibility under locomotive operation. The work involved closure of part of the upper end of the canal; the Pontnewynydd to Pontypool section was closed in 1849, and Pontypool to Pontymoile in 1853. The company engineer, Edward Barber, designed a combination tramplate which provided an edge rail, and
748-630: The British Historic Buildings Trust and the National Trust . The Cwmavon Conservation Area was designated in 1994 by Torfaen Borough Council. The Blaenavon Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest was one of the landscapes included when the register was first published in 1998. The Blaenavon Industrial Landscape was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 2000. A three-hour circular walk around Cwmavon highlights
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#1733085111231816-626: The Cwmavon Conservation Area . The scattered settlement lies in the steep wooded valley of the Afon Llwyd . The agricultural landscape, with irregular field patterns, scattered farmsteads, woodlands, sheep folds, limestone quarries and kilns is typical of the medieval and post-medieval mixed agriculture in the wider region. The Afon Llwyd is at the eastern edge of the South Wales coalfield , so no coal mining took place in Cwmavon. However,
884-517: The Great Western design of bridge rail which the South Wales Railway was laying on its line through Newport. The rail weighed 120 lbs. to the yard, and was described as a kind of rail and tramplate combined in such a way that neither would interfere with the other, but would allow the present antiquated trams and the locomotive engines to travel with perfect safety and ease. David Jones,
952-695: The Monmouthshire Canal Navigation Company to make additional wharves on the banks of the River Usk to enable cargoes to be transferred to ships for export. The canal was to be extended a mile and a quarter down the river from Llanarth Street, the original termination, to Pillgwenlly ; the cost was said to be £100,000. Work was begun in 1806. Passengers were carried on the Monmouthshire plateway lines from 1822. They were carried on specially constructed vehicles operated by independent carriers. John Kingson operated his horse-drawn omnibus from
1020-515: The Newport and Pontypool line was authorised in Parliament, the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway had also received its authorisation. That company had intended to build a line throughout from Newport, but Parliament objected to the building of two railways between Newport and Pontypool along pretty much the same ground, and obliged the NA&HR to use the Monmouthshire's line to reach Newport from
1088-466: The Sirhowy Tramroad, connected from Tredegar . Steam locomotives were used from 1829. By 1850 pressure was mounting to modernise the line, and in 1848 an act of Parliament authorised conversion to a modern railway, construction of a new railway from Newport to Pontypool, and a change of name for the company to the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company. The high volume of mineral activity in
1156-563: The Tredegar Arms at Newport to Tredegar; his carriage was nicknamed the "Caravan" and ran twice weekly, Kingson paying tolls along the route. A man called Samuel Homfray soon joined Kingson with services from other towns to Newport. The transit from the ironworks to Newport was slow and expensive, as each wagon was accompanied by a horse and driver. The employment of steam locomotives elsewhere had been beneficial, and Samuel Homfray and his engineer Thomas Ellis were interested in using one at
1224-638: The Tredegar works. A locomotive was ordered from Robert Stephenson of Killingworth for trials. The locomotive, named Britannia , started work in October 1829, and the following December made its first journey to Newport. A newspaper reported: It was confidently stated for some weeks past that the Tredegar Iron Company... were to start a locomotive engine the day of the Cattle Show, on Thursday last, to bring
1292-592: The Usk River, not a great distance below the town of Newport, close to the termination of the Rumney and Sirhowey Railroads: passing on in a direction nearly full north and leaving Newport to the east, the canal extends by Pontypool to Pontnewynydd, a distance of more than seventeen miles and three-quarters. Near this place it connects with the Abergavenny and Brecknock Canal. In its course it passes Malpas opposite which at Crindau
1360-544: The Western Valley Line was sustained by the continued operation of British Steel's works at Ebbw Vale . A passenger service from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff was resumed on 6 February 2008. For centuries the mineral wealth of Monmouthshire had been exploited, especially in the manufacture of iron; the necessary raw materials were all at hand: coal, ironstone, limestone, and timber. This availability encouraged technical innovation, and this in turn led to considerable progress in
1428-460: The act was passed. There was a considerable fall from the top of the canal to Newport: the Pontnewynydd arm descended 447 feet, using 42 locks; there were two tunnels. The Crumlin arm descended 358 feet to Crindau, and required 31 locks. Reservoirs had to be created at the heads of the canal to ensure a reliable water supply. The main arm of the canal opened in 1796, and by this time tramroads had already been constructed in readiness connecting
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#17330851112311496-582: The area kept the company in good financial health for many years, but it failed to keep abreast of competing developments, and faced with unforeseen major loss of business it sold the rights to operate its network to the Great Western Railway in 1875. The GWR developed the network, until in the period after 1918 road competition increasingly abstracted passenger and non-mineral goods traffic. Passenger operation ceased in 1962. The Eastern Valley Line closed completely south of Cwmbran Junction in 1963, but
1564-499: The canal was 11 miles in length. The canal was authorised by the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3 . c. 102), and the act included permission to build connecting tramways or plateways (or alternatively "stone roads") to pits within seven miles of the canal, and to raise £120,000. The estimated cost was £106,000, and such was the enthusiasm for the scheme that the capital was all subscribed before
1632-491: The carriers themselves. Early in 1845 an accommodation was reached between the canal company and the promoters of the railway; the canal company would promote the necessary railway themselves. The Monmouthshire Canal Navigation got the Newport and Pontypool Railway Act 1845 ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. clxix), authorising it to build the Newport and Pontypool Railway, to use locomotives and become sole carriers. Authorised capital
1700-545: The colliery to Cwmavon railway station . Sometime in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century, a file factory opened on the site of the Cwmavon Forge and a house was built nearby. Cwmavon Reservoir was built in the late 19th century by the Pontypool Gas and Water Company to supply water to Abersychan, and also supplies the village. The reservoir is fed by a spring at its northern end. In 1906 two bodies were discovered in
1768-545: The committee at £200 a share... Among the conditions of purchase it was left to the Canal Company to take shares in the railway in lieu of the purchase money... The Canal Company had not yet given notice of the number of shares that it might be their intention to take... Although the purchase had been authorised, the Monmouthshire Railway Company failed to raise the cash it needed for the purchase. The purchase
1836-402: The company was obliged to proceed with the work. By 1 August 1849 it appeared that opening to locomotive operation could take place. In fact eight new locomotives were delivered shortly before the proposed inauguration, but the combination tramplates were to be used. The locomotives were so heavy at about 20 tons, that widespread breakage of the new tram-plates took place, causing serious damage to
1904-529: The control of a new company, the Newport and Pontypool Railway. In 1848, after slow progress on building, the railway company was taken over by the canal company to form the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company . The section from Newport to Pontypool was opened in June 1852, but the northern connection to Blaenavon could not be completed until part of the old canal had been drained. The completed line opened in 1854. In 1860 Varteg Collery opened and an incline linked
1972-400: The existing canal there. This time the line would have "all convenient turnouts" (passing loops) and "if required to construct double rail". In addition Outram recommended further reservoir capacity for the canal, and conversion of all the existing tramroad connections to plateways, in which the rails are L-shaped plates, the vertical flange providing the guidance to unflanged wheels; the gauge
2040-457: The existing lines, and improving the canal. The Sirhowy Tramroad Company would be formed to build the majority of the new line from Tredegar as far as a location nine miles from Newport, later named Nine Mile Point. The canal company was to build its own tramway from there to a terminus at Llanarth Street in Newport, at the canal basin. The line passed through the estate of Sir Charles Morgan , later Lord Tredegar, and he reserved tolls for himself on
2108-539: The forge. The forge closed later but was revived in 1823, and Cwmavon House was built (sometime between 1825 and 1835) about 40m north of Forge Row for Mr Partridge, owner the forge. The forge closed in 1840 and many of the workers moved away. In 1845 the Monmouthshire Canal Company obtained an Act of Parliament to improve the Blaenavon Railroad and connect it to a new railway to Newport under
Cwmavon - Misplaced Pages Continue
2176-506: The former brewery of the same name that is nearby. The Westlakes pub was closed 6 years ago and now the nearest one is The Rising Sun in Abersychan or The Crown in the Varteg. The new Cwmavon Village Hall was built nearly 6 years ago. In 1973 the 12 cottages at Forge Row (by now converted into 6 cottages) were designated as Grade II* listed buildings. The cottages were restored in 1989 by
2244-482: The furnaces of Trosnant, Blaendare and Blaenavon to the line of the canal. When the Crumlin arm was ready, corresponding tramroad connections led to it from Beaufort , Sorwy, Nantyglo and Aberbeeg . In fact, the numerous short tramroad connections exceeded in aggregate length the extent of the canal to which they led. Priestley described the route of the canal: This canal and its branches and railroads commence in
2312-554: The inaction of the Monmouthshire Company, and they decided that the solution was a new railway for both passengers and goods: the Newport and Nantyglo Railway, soon retitled the Monmouthshire Railway . The proprietors of the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation themselves proposed a railway to head off the competitive threat, and to alter all their tramroads to "make them suitable for locomotive haulage" and to become
2380-499: The independent users would be allowed three months by the company to alter their stock. Dock Street station in Newport was brought into use on 4 August 1852 as the terminus for the Western Valley traffic; the temporary station at Courtybella was now closed. The Eastern Valley too received an improved Newport terminal: on 9 March 1852 the line was opened from Marshes Turnpike Gate to Mill Street. A new branch line from Pill Bank to
2448-449: The industrial and agricultural heritage of area. The Eastern Valley Heritage Ride (34 miles by bicycle) affords views of Cwmavon from the western side of the valley. . The Chartism Trail is 12 mile car tour around Torfaen with stopping points and optional walks, and downloadable MP3 files with commentaries. One of the stops is Forge Row in Cwmavon. Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company The Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
2516-430: The industry. The iron production took place some distance from the coast, and transport away to a point of use was exceedingly difficult and expensive. Industrialists in the area combined to finance the construction of a canal from Pontnewynydd , a little north-west of Pontypool, to Newport, and a second arm from near Crumlin, through Rogerstone to join the first arm of the canal at Crindau, close to Newport. Each arm of
2584-467: The iron from the Works to this port [Newport], a distance of twenty-four miles. The persons assembled at the Cattle Show (which was close to the tram-road) were looking anxiously for the steam-engine, but it did not make its appearance. The engine did, however, start from the Works early in the morning, but unfortunately, at one of the crossings in the tramroad... the wheels got out of the tram-plates, which caused
2652-547: The issue turned acrimonious. A Committee of Investigation was appointed on 5 April 1851, and several directors lost their seats as a result. Work was now resumed and carried forward swiftly, and after an inspection Captain Simmons on 14 June 1852, the Newport and Pontypool Railway was opened to traffic on Wednesday 30 June 1852, from a temporary terminus at Marshes Turnpike Gate, Newport to the Crane Street station at Pontypool. It
2720-472: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cwmavon&oldid=987919611 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Cwmavon, Torfaen Cwmavon ( Welsh spelling: Cwmafon ; translation: "river valley")
2788-503: The locomotive caused many of the tramplates to break, and the company set about adapting their track by installing more substantial plates; nearly 1,000 tons of tramplates were ordered from the Coalbrook Vale and Nant-y-glo Ironworks. Mr Prothero of Newport ordered a locomotive from Price and Co. of Neath Abbey, to convey coal from his collieries at Blancyffin Isha to Pillgwenlly. The engine
Cwmavon - Misplaced Pages Continue
2856-403: The locomotives in addition. The company reverted to horse traction, and the intended passenger service was abandoned. To ease the situation, Crawshay Bailey of Nantyglo offered them 2,000 tons of urgently needed rails, valued at £10,000, in exchange for an equivalent value of shares in the company. The new rails were of a completely different design to Barber's combination rail, and similar to
2924-707: The mile of route through his land; this lucrative arrangement became known as "the Park Mile" or "the Golden Mile". The Monmouthshire Canal Navigation Company was by now authorised to raise a total capital of £275,330. The whole of the Monmouthshire Canal section was double track, and there was a large viaduct of 32 arches at Risca; the whole Monmouthshire Canal Navigation Company line cost £32,000. The wagons were conveyed in trains of 15 or so drawn by five or six horses. The Monmouthshire Canal Navigation Act 1802 allowed
2992-589: The most modern description, both scientifically and practically." With its polychromatic tower it was one of Adlam's more flamboyant designs. The site also includes a substantial two storey house with five bays for the manager. By 1907 the brewery had a chain of public houses and in 1911 took over the Castle Brewery in Pontypool. The A4043 road passes through Cwmavon. An hourly bus service (operated by Phil Anslow Coaches) runs Monday to Saturday in daytime between Blaenavon, Pontypool and Cwmbran . There are stops at
3060-420: The new Company Engineer worked quickly, applying himself fully to the whole of the Western Valley section. Tenders were invited for booking offices and waiting rooms at Crumlin, Aberbeeg, Cwmtillery, Blaina and Ebbw Vale. Additional tenders were also invited for extra wagons suitable for carrying hay, straw, pitwood and coke. Towards the end of 1850 the whole of the line had been re-laid on wooden sleepers, and at
3128-402: The railway fenced, and level crossing gates and signalling to be provided. All the wagons in use were unsuitable for a passenger carrying railway, and they had to be replaced with those of an approved type, with wrought iron wheels, springs and buffers. A similar report had been received by the canal company in 1847, so that it was impossible to claim lack of knowledge of the recommendations, and
3196-529: The reservoir in two separate incidents. In 1900 a new brewery for Westlake's of Blaenavon was built in Cwmavon. The site was chosen as the geology of the Afon Lwyd changes nearby to limestone with springs feeding the river, ensuring a good supply of clean water. The design of the five-storey building, by George Adlam & Sons , was acclaimed at the time by the Brewers Journal saying "the plant will be of
3264-475: The reservoir, bridge, and community centre. The National Cycle Network route 492 passes to the west of Cwmavon. The traffic-free route (part of the Torfaen Leisure Route) is open to walkers, and also horse-riders (Pontypool to Garn Lakes, Blaenavon only). The village population is very low, but there is a public house close to the village. The other of Cwmavon's pubs, The Westlakes, named after
3332-483: The sharp curves the new type of rail was laid, and the curves eased. Captain Laffan inspected the line on 15 October 1850, and at last the opening for passenger operation was approved. The work in the Western Valley had cost £136,000, and the line opened for passenger traffic on 23 December 1850. Initially there were two passenger trains a day in each direction. In fact at the half-yearly shareholders' meeting on 15 May 1850 it
3400-409: The single line tramroads: empty wagons were manhandled off the track to allow loaded wagons to pass them. A supplementary act of Parliament was secured on 30 May 1798 to allow for loading facilities at the ship berths in Newport. In April 1799 the whole project was said to be complete, and nearly 44,000 tons of material were conveyed in 1798 alone. The project was hugely successful, and there
3468-485: The town council to street running. An application was made in 1852 within a parliamentary bill to stop up the canal from the Mill Pond to Potter Street lock near the dock, and to seek more capital. A total of £200,000 was required to complete the conversion in the Western Valley, to provide a depot for carriages, locomotives and other stock, together with all the necessary buildings, workshops and essential machinery. The bill
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#17330851112313536-399: The tramroads was 3 ft 4in, and it was constructed of edge rails of a plain cross-section 2 inches wide at the head and 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches wide at the base, and three inches deep. The wagon wheels were double flanged, straddling the rail. Cast iron sleepers maintained the gauge, and these were supported on square wooden blocks laid on stone chippings. There were no passing places on
3604-530: The two onward routes. On 4 August 1852 Dock Street station at Newport was brought into use, and the temporary terminus at Court-y-Bella was closed. The operation of the tramroad gave an enormous boost to the efficiency of the coal and iron industries, but of course only in the areas of the Western Valley that it served. Important works and pits in the Eastern Valley were at a competitive disadvantage. The ironmasters of Eastern Monmouthshire were frustrated with
3672-424: The weight of any locomotive previously seen on the Western Valley lines. With the company absolved from the supply of mineral wagons, it now published a specification for the carriers' wagons so that they could operate together in trains, as few of the existing wagons were compatible with each other. The carriers had 4,000 wagons between them and there was a protest at the cost of converting them. Captain Simmons of
3740-540: The western side of the valley, in areas such as Varteg and Garndiffaith, included coal mines and ironworks. In 1793 the Blaenavon Railroad (a horse drawn tramroad ) was completed to link Blaenavon Ironworks with the Monmouthshire Canal . The engineer for both the tramroad and canal was Thomas Dadford, Jr for the Monmouthshire Canal Company. The connection between the canal and tramroad at Pontnewynydd
3808-536: Was a canal and railway company that operated a canal and a network of railways in the Western Valley and Eastern Valley of Newport, Monmouthshire . It started as the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation and opened canals from Newport to Pontypool and to Crumlin from 1796. Numerous tramroads connected nearby pits and ironworks with the canal. After 1802 the company built a tramway from Nine Mile Point, west of Risca , to Newport, and an associated company,
3876-521: Was announced that "as regards the western valleys the whole of the goods and mineral traffic is now conveyed by means of locomotive power". With the passenger service to Blaina opened, improvements to the Beaufort branch from Aberbeeg Junction to Ebbw Vale were started, and sixteen months later, on 19 April 1852, a passenger service from Court-y-Bella to Ebbw Vale began. There were now three passenger trains daily from Newport, dividing at Aberbeeg Junction for
3944-435: Was approved, allowing the money to be raised by the issuing of £150,000 of new share stock. The railway link between Mill St and Dock Street stations was authorised; the section of canal there was to be closed, and any carrier had the right to demand free carriage from the new canal terminus to the dock by the company in compensation for the loss of the canal section. All the existing tramroads had to be converted to edge rail and
4012-462: Was completed in 1875 and the canal opened in February 1876 for shipping of goods from the ironworks to the port of Newport . A branch was built to connect the nearby Varteg Ironworks (founded in 1802) to the railroad at Cwmavon. In 1806 a forge was built near the Afon Lwyd to serve the ironworks. At about the same time a row of twelve cottages ( Forge Row, Cwmavon ) were built for the workers of
4080-425: Was delivered on 16 July 1830 and on 25 July made a demonstration run conveying a payload of 52 + 1 ⁄ 2 tons a distance of 15 miles. Two other coalowners followed his example. The Newport to Risca (and Nine Mile Point) tramroad was extended from Risca to Crumlin in 1829, directly paralleling the canal. It became known as the Western Valley Line. Most of the traffic was still horse-drawn. The Rumney Tramroad
4148-710: Was held [on 11 September 1846]... After congratulating the proprietors on obtaining the Act of Parliament, which received the Royal Assent on 13 August last, [the Managing Committee report] referred to the present state and future prospects of the Company. One of the objects which they had started was the purchase of Monmouthshire Canal Company, which beside its own course, had a connexion with some 50 or 60 miles of tramway travelling throughout its district. This canal had been purchased by
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#17330851112314216-508: Was immediate demand for connecting other mineral sites, in particular at Tredegar and in the Sirhowy Valley. Extension of the canal was a possibility, although difficulties had already been experienced with shortage of water, and with ice blockage of the canal in winter. The engineer Benjamin Outram was called in to advise. He proposed a new line of plateway from Tredegar to Risca Church, joining
4284-455: Was not completed, and the powers lapsed. The ironmasters who had agitated for the Eastern Valley section of railway were displeased at the delay: work on the Pontypool to Newport line had been abandoned in the panic of 1847, while they had spent considerable sums on their pits and works in anticipation. The so-called Cardwell Clause in all Railway Acts enabled them to demand the completion of lines for which parliamentary powers had been given, and
4352-406: Was reported that "The extent of the railway is 8 miles of single track; the rails are 'Double T', weight 70 lbs. to the yard, on transverse sleepers 9 ft. long × 5ins. deep and 10ins. wide." There were six stations, the additional ones being Llantarnam and the temporary terminus at Marshes Turnpike Gate, Newport. Initially there were three passenger trains run each way. On the same day that
4420-445: Was to be 4 ft 2in. The canal company accepted his recommendations, and this was formalised on 18 December 1800. The work was authorised by act of Parliament, the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation Act 1802 ( 42 Geo. 3 . c. cxv), of 26 June 1802, although by that time a modification had been decided upon. Instead of the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation Company building the whole of the new plateway, it would concentrate on conversion of
4488-541: Was to be prohibited when passenger operation started. In 1846 a new entity, the Monmouthshire Railway Company , obtained an act of Parliament, the Monmouthshire Railway Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. ccclxxi) giving them the authority to purchase the entire works of the Monmouthshire Canal system, including all the railways; The First General Meeting of the Monmouthshire Railway Company
4556-594: Was under construction, running on the eastern side of the Rhymney Valley it joined the Monmouthshire Tramway at Tydu (later named Bassaleg ), and ran along the Park Mile. It was completed in 1836, and a further five carriers started to use the line, which was becoming seriously congested. New locomotives had to be ordered for the Western Valley Line; the first was received from Grylls of Llanelly during December 1848. It weighed nearly 20 tons, more than double
4624-574: Was £119,000. The act required it to make the new railway to standard gauge and to convert the whole of the Western Valley system to that gauge as well, except the Rassa, Blaendare and Cwmffrwd Tramroads, and to provide all the rolling stock for mineral traffic. To retain income during the conversion, the canal company had to find some way of allowing existing services to run while the work was being done. The company owned some 30 miles of tramroad, but there were just as many miles under private ownership, as well as
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