45-569: Ffairfach is a village one-half mile (0.80 km) south of the market town of Llandeilo in the eastern part of Carmarthenshire , Wales. It is close to the confluence of the Afon Cennen and the River Towy . Population is 516 according to 2017 census. The Welsh name for the village is Ffair-fach signifying 'little fair'. In the early 17th century it was recorded as Ffair fach yn Llandilo . The 'large fair' took place in neighbouring Llandeilo. It
90-400: A poor reliability record, can carry few bicycles—which we desperately need to be carried on the line—little bulky luggage, and offer poor visibility, and this on a line that is supposedly promoted as scenic. The line has also been used for exceptional train movements, including: Although no regular scheduled freight services use this line, the route is maintained to W5 standard to accommodate
135-513: A total population of 2,971. The ward elects one county councillor. Llandeilo Town Council is based at the Shire Hall . Llandeilo has two main parks: Penlan Park and Parc Le Conquet. Penlan Park contains a bandstand and a woodland walk to the Dinefwr estate. Parc Le Conquet is home to the town’s bowls club. The town has several sports clubs. The local rugby union team is Llandeilo RFC , which
180-625: Is a town and community in Carmarthenshire , Wales , situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the Brecon Beacons National Park . The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line . In 2021, The Sunday Times called the town one of
225-576: Is categorised as a Welsh-medium school, with 37% of pupils coming from Welsh-speaking homes. Capel Tabernacl in Heol Cennen is an Independent chapel dating from 1860, designed by the architect Thomas Thomas . It replaced a earlier chapels on the site built in 1817 and 1840. The chapel is a Grade II listed building . Llandeilo 51°53′06″N 3°59′31″W / 51.885°N 3.992°W / 51.885; -3.992 Llandeilo ( Welsh pronunciation: [ɬanˈdeilɔ] )
270-517: The Heart of Wales Line which runs between Shrewsbury and Swansea . Ffairfach boasted two railway stations within 300 yards of each other, and a third station at Llandeilo was only a mile or so away. Passengers from the Amman Valley and Carmarthen usually alighted at the Ffairfach stations, as they would save 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 pence on the return fare, which meant a great deal in those days. Also
315-682: The Swansea District line ) and has been operated under a Light Railway Order since 1972. There are five passing loops , at Llandeilo , Llandovery , Llanwrtyd , Llandrindod and Knighton . Unless "Out of Course" working occurs the Llanwrtyd passing loop is used on two of the Monday – Saturday services and the Llandrindod passing loop is in use on the other two and also on the Sunday services. The signalling
360-475: The 05:27 train from Swansea to Shrewsbury plunged off the damaged Glanrhyd Bridge into the river. The Llandeilo community is bordered by the communities of: Manordeilo and Salem ; Dyffryn Cennen ; Llanfihangel Aberbythych ; and Llangathen , all being in Carmarthenshire. A county Llandeilo electoral ward exists, which stretches south from the confines of Llandeilo to include Dyffryn Cennen , with
405-523: The Amman valley to Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen diverges at the latter. North of Ammanford , it follows the valley of the River Tywi north to Llandeilo (formerly the junction for Carmarthen ) and then Llandovery , crossing the river at Glanrhyd by a replacement single-span bridge built & commissioned in 1988. North of Llandovery the character of the route changes, as it ascends into the Carmarthenshire hills towards
450-569: The Tywi are of engineering interest. The single-arched Llandeilo Bridge was completed in 1848 and is Grade II* listed . The railway bridge, opened in 1852, is a rare survival of an early lattice truss bridge . In the Great Storm of 1987 , the floods were so severe that the River Tywi (Towy) overwhelmed the railway bridge crossing the river near Llandeilo. Four people, one of them a boy, were drowned when
495-503: The autumn of 2022, but was delayed until later in the winter. Heart of Wales Line The Heart of Wales line ( Welsh : Llinell Calon Cymru ) is a railway line running from Craven Arms in Shropshire to Llanelli in southwest Wales . It serves a number of rural centres, including the nineteenth-century spa towns Llandrindod Wells , Llangammarch Wells and Llanwrtyd Wells . At Builth Road , two miles (3.3 km) from
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#1732851993636540-580: The chairman of the South Wales branch of Railfuture at the organisation's recent Annual General Meeting) but were unable to give a timescale for this to be carried out as design work on the new equipment was still ongoing. NR began the replacement works for the points after first installing the system on the line to Pembroke Dock, at the Tenby loop, on 7 December 2009 and then making minor alterations in Feb 2010. Llandeilo
585-452: The consequential changes to existing services substantially lengthened the working day for those travelling to Shrewsbury . Trains are one or two carriages each, with a small team of staff. A buffet trolley service runs occasionally. The Heart of Wales line runs from Llanelli to Craven Arms, however train services normally terminate at Shrewsbury and Swansea . Two northbound weekday trains travel onwards from Shrewsbury to Crewe , bringing
630-415: The distance from Llandeilo station to the church square was almost as far as it would be if they walked from Ffairfach. Three-quarters of the commerce of the town of Llandeilo at this time came from the south of the Tywi bridge; consequently Ffairfach became important, for rail and road passengers made use of the village as the first stopping place en route for Llandeilo. The first railway through Ffairfach
675-466: The early 12th century, Llandeilo came under the patronage of the Bishopric of St David's, an ecclesiastic borough that became responsible for the affairs of the town including its development as an important medieval market centre to an extensive agricultural hinterland. Until the middle of the 20th century, a fair called St. Teilo's Fair, which had been authorised initially by Edward I of England in 1291,
720-403: The end of the 9th century, the importance of Llandeilo as a spiritual centre had started to decline. Dinefwr Castle (anglicised as Dynevor) overlooks the River Tywi near the town. It lies on a ridge on the northern bank of the Tywi, with a steep drop of about 250 feet (76 m) to the river. Dinefwr was the chief seat of the kingdom of Deheubarth . The estate of Golden Grove lies near
765-594: The entire Central Wales line be closed but this was refused by the MoT except for the Pontarddulais to Swansea Victoria section. As a rural branch line, it survived the Beeching Axe since it carried freight traffic, serving the steelworks at Bynea and industrial areas such as Ammanford and Pontarddulais , linking them with the docks at Llanelli . It also passed through six marginal constituencies . During engineering work,
810-716: The event included EastEnders actor Matt Lapinskas, Former Blackburn & Scotland defender Colin Hendry, Big Brother runner-up Glyn Wise, former Wales rugby player Mark Taylor, and Everton & Wales legend Neville Southall. The event helped raise over £4,500 for the hospice. In 2008 Llandeilo hosted the World Sheepdog Trials . The amount of traffic coming into the town has caused considerable debate. In 2020, town mayor, Owen James, said “As it stands it’s simply dangerous for people to come into Llandeilo. I know of people who don’t want to come into Llandeilo for that reason. Stand on
855-522: The first of the line's two major summits at Sugar Loaf (820 feet (250 m) above sea level) on gradients as steep as 1 in 60. En route, it passes over the 283-yard (259 m) long Cynghordy viaduct across the Afon Bran valley before crossing the county boundary into Powys through the 1001-yd (915 m) summit tunnel beneath the Black Mountain range. A descent at 1 in 70-80 follows to Llanwrtyd Wells along
900-466: The gates of the fort and may have continued in use as the embryonic town after the Romans left in around AD120. Llandeilo is named after one of the better-known Celtic saints of the 6th century, Saint Teilo . The Welsh word llan signified a monastery or a church. Saint Teilo, who was a contemporary of Saint David , the patron saint of Wales , established a clas (a small monastic settlement) on
945-404: The line is still occasionally used as a diversionary freight route. The basic service over the line since the seventies has remained more or less constant, with four or five trains per day in each direction on weekdays and two or three on Sundays (although the latter ran in summer only until quite recently). The line is single track throughout (except for a few miles at the southern end shared with
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#1732851993636990-481: The loops (Llandrindod and Llanwrtyd) were operational as Network Rail were unable to source spare parts for the points mechanisms used at all five: the design used is now obsolete. Parts had to be taken from the three decommissioned loops to keep the other two operational. In 2009 NR stated their intention to install new conventional electric point machines at all five loops and restore the three out-of-service ones to full working order (after being heavily criticised by
1035-512: The main road – you know exactly why we need a bypass.” Work on a bypass road was scheduled to begin in 2019, directing traffic around the town. Commencement of construction work has been delayed. A freeze on construction of new roads in Wales did not include the bypass, which the Welsh Government has estimated to cost £50m. A final decision on how best to proceed with the bypass was scheduled for
1080-687: The need for freight services on this section. Trains now use the original LR main line to reach the West Wales lines at Llandeilo Junction and thence Llanelli and (after a reversal) Swansea . North of Llandovery , the route was opened in stages between 1861 and 1868 by a number of different companies (all backed by the LNWR ) – the Knighton Railway , the Central Wales Railway and Central Wales Extension Railway . The 1963 Beeching Report proposed
1125-481: The route at 980 feet (299 m) above sea level. There then follows a 4-mile (6.4 km) descent (again at mostly 1 in 60) to Knucklas , where the line is carried above the village on a 193-yd (176 m) viaduct with ornate castellated turrets at each end. It then heads to Knighton , where the station is in England but the town it serves is in Wales. The last portion of the route then runs through southwest Shropshire along
1170-521: The route is shared with the Swansea District line as far as Morlais Junction (the site of a serious oil train derailment in the summer of 2020) before passing beneath the M4 Motorway , and turning northwards towards Pontarddulais and Pantyfynnon. The short tunnel before the former station is the oldest surviving example still in use in Wales (dating from 1839), whilst the freight-only branch along
1215-617: The royalist general Sir Henry Vaughan. A royalist skirmish took place in the town in April 1648, defeating elements of the New Model Army . In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Llandeilo as having a population of 1,533. He observed that “the principal trade of the town is in corn and flour; the other industries include woollen cloth mills, timber and saw mills, and tanneries”. The road and railway bridges over
1260-571: The sea wall to Swansea Bay station , (near the former slip bridge) before finally reaching Swansea Victoria railway station . This section, originally built by the Llanelly Railway and Dock Company to compete with the Great Western Railway and break the monopoly they held on Swansea Dock, closed in 1964. Nationalisation of the railways had removed the need for competing routes, and the running down and closure of Swansea North Dock ended
1305-498: The seat of a Bishop-Abbot. The Church of St Teilo soon became a 'mother church' to the surrounding district, acquiring an extensive estate, and possessing one of Wales' most beautiful and finely illustrated manuscripts – the Gospel Book of Saint Teilo . The discovery of fragments of two large Celtic crosses from this period provides further testimony to Llandeilo's importance and indeed prestige as an early ecclesiastical centre. Towards
1350-563: The site of the present-day parish church. There is reasonable evidence to suggest, however, that Saint Teilo was buried in Llandeilo. The parish church of Llandeilo Fawr ("Great Llandeilo") is dedicated to Saint Teilo, and until 1880 its churchyard encompassed his baptistery . The early Christian settlement that developed around the Saint Teilo's Church prospered, and by the early 9th century it had attained considerable ecclesiastical status as
1395-461: The swollen River Towy , killing four people. For a while the future of the line was in doubt (the equally rural Carmarthen-Aberystwyth line had been closed in 1965 following serious flood damage as the cost of repairs was deemed unacceptable) but political forces of all sides rallied to ensure the line's survival. After leaving the West Wales Line at Llandeilo Junction (east of Llanelli ),
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1440-558: The top six places to live in Wales. The newspaper praised the town as a ‘sophisticated shopping destination and a great showcase for local arts and crafts’. Roman soldiers were active in the area around Llandeilo around AD74, as evidenced by the foundations of two castra discovered on the grounds of the Dinefwr estate. The fortifications measured 3.85 hectares and 1.54 hectares, respectively. Roman roads linked Llandeilo with Llandovery and Carmarthen. A small civil settlement developed outside
1485-792: The total journey length to 153.5 miles (247.03 kilometres), and one starts from Crewe southbound. Most stations are request stops . From December 2022 a fifth train through train each way has been introduced as well as a later Shrewsbury-Llandrindod round trip and a late Swansea - Llandovery out and return service on weekdays only. At Craven Arms, the line joins the Welsh Marches line to Church Stretton and Shrewsbury . Passenger services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail using Class 150 or Class 153 diesel multiple units , although Class 175s have been used on rare occasions. The continued use of Class 153 DMUs has received criticism, notably from Kirsty Williams AM , who says: The 153 units have
1530-531: The town of Builth Wells , the line crosses the former route of the earlier Mid Wales Railway , which closed in 1962. Historically, the line was known as the Central Wales line ( Welsh : Rheilffordd Canol Cymru ) and also included routes through Gowerton , where the railway crossed the West Wales lines and ran through Dunvant and Killay then down through the Clyne Valley to Blackpill , and then along
1575-469: The town was at the centre of the parish known as Llandeilo Fawr. It was in the Diocese of St Davids and part of the archdeaconry of Carmarthen . In 1560, the bishop of St Davids recorded the population of Llandeilo Fawr as 620 households (perhaps amounting to 2,790 people), many of whom would have lived in Llandeilo itself. In the middle of the seventeenth century, Llandeilo was in the area of influence of
1620-620: The town, and further away, the impressive Carreg Cennen Castle , another Welsh stronghold. The remains of Talley Abbey can be seen 6 miles (9.7 km) away to the north of the town. 10 miles (16 km) further north are the remains of the Roman Dolaucothi Gold Mines . In the centuries that followed the Norman conquest of England , the Bishop of Llandaff and Bishop of St David's both claimed Llandeilo for their respective diocese . By
1665-516: The valley of the River Irfon , from where it continues via Builth Road to Llandrindod Wells - the largest settlement on the line. From Llandrindod, the line climbs steadily once more, skirting the Radnor Forest as it heads for the remote station at Llanbister Road (some 5 miles (8 km) distant from the village it is named after) and another summit near Llangynllo Tunnel, the highest point on
1710-511: The valleys of the River Teme & River Clun to join the main Shrewsbury to Hereford line at Craven Arms . For many years there were four trains per day in each direction on weekdays and two on Sundays. From May 2015 an additional Monday to Friday train pair in each direction was introduced north of Llandrindod and south of Llandovery , ostensibly to improve commuting possibilities, although
1755-591: Was built by the Llanelli Dock Railway (Llanelli to Llandovery ) in 1856. The second was built by the London North Western in 1865 Carmarthen to Llandeilo through the beautiful vale of the Tywi . The name of the station was Llandeilo Bridge. The village primary school was built in 1858. According to the latest Estyn report, there are 106 pupils on roll, including 14 full-time nursery age pupils. The school
1800-496: Was excavated from a quarry near the signal box at the side of the railway and immediately below Rock Villa at Ffairfach, after satisfactory tests for quality. The British School was established in 1858 near the Torbay Inn. The first schoolmaster was Mr. David Morgan, who later wrote The Story of Carmarthenshire (1908). The council school was built about 1899. A gas works were erected about 1860. Ffairfach railway station lies on
1845-708: Was held annually in the churchyard. Some of the agricultural produce and other goods offered for sale are recorded to have been displayed on the tombstones. The town was put to the torch during Owain Glyndwr 's march through the Tywi Valley in July 1403. Nearby Carreg Cennen Castle was besieged by Yorkist forces in 1461 during the Wars of the Roses and partially demolished. At the Reformation,
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1890-461: Was modernised in 1986, when a system known as No Signalman Token Remote working was introduced. This is overseen by the signaller at Pantyffynnon , with the token instruments at the aforementioned five passing loops being operated by the train crew (the surviving signal boxes at each station having been closed as part of the modernisation scheme and the points converted to automatic operation by British Rail ). For more than two years only two of
1935-670: Was one of the founding clubs of the Welsh Rugby Union . The town is also home to Llandeilo Town AFC, an association football club currently playing in the Carmarthenshire League . Llandeilo Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1908/9. The club and course disappeared in the late 1960s. The town also has a thriving cricket club that fields a male, female and junior teams. The town hosted a celebrity football event that took place between 2015 and 2017 to help raise funds for Ty Hafan children's hospice. Celebrities who took part in
1980-412: Was reportedly formerly known as Abercennen. In the early 19th century Ffairfach was a fair sized village of about three dozen houses. It had a corn mill and a village inn, The Torbay Inn, which doubled as a blacksmiths . Two fairs were held each year, one on 5 May and a cattle fair on 22 November. The Union Poor House was built about 1839. The stone used to build the nearby Llandeilo Bridge (1848)
2025-600: Was the first on the line to be modernised, the rest followed. The £5 million project was completed in October 2010. In 2014 Network Rail added exit indicators at the trailing end of each loop to aid in the reversing of services: a decision taken so that all moves have an active indication of the status of the motor points. In 1987 tragedy struck the line near Llandeilo when the Glanrhyd Bridge collapsed following heavy flooding, and an early morning northbound train plunged into
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