The Tanat Valley Light Railway

[rogerfarnworth]

In August 2019 my wife and I belatedly celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary by having a few days away. We chose to stay West of Llanymynech in the Welsh Borders.

While we were there we travelled the length of the Tanat Valley, following as closely as we could the route of the old Light Railway.

Much of the time on the journey we were looking across a couple of fields and noting a slight rise in the land along the line of the old railway!

We started the journey down the valley from Pennant Melangell and it's picturesque church. Intriguingly, there was a small museum in the church tower which included a number of things relating to the old Light Railway.

Sadly, we timed this excursion badly and were unable to visit the visitor centre at Nantmwr. It was closed in the days that we were in the area.

This post gives a great deal of background information about the line and the Tanat Valley. I hope, in the next post to follow the route of the line as best as possible.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/09/18/the-tanat-valley-light-railway-and-the-nantmawr-branch-part-1

The Tanat Valley Light Railway (TVLR) was a 15-mile (24 km) long standard gauge light railway. It ran westwards from Llanyblodwel in Shropshire, about 5 miles (8 kilometres) south-west of Oswestry. It crossed the Wales–England border and continued up the Tanat valley, terminating at Llangynog in Powys. It opened in 1904, providing access to a fairly remote area, and transport facilities for slate production and agriculture. Its promoters were unable to raise the capital to construct the line, but a number of government grants and generosity by the Cambrian Railways company enabled the building of the line....

You will note that one of the reference documents used is a GCE project report about Llangynog and the railway which I came across in St. Melangell's Church.

 

[Calthrop]

Thanks, Roger: fascinating stuff about what must have been a delectable line. Splendidly and rather dottily complex railway geography in the one-time complete "circle" of lines west of Llynclys and Llanymynech, with our old friend the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire, in a previous incarnation, getting in on the act.

The line's 1938 timetable cited, is wonderfully scanty / convoluted. Calls to mind Bryan Morgan's French light-railway timetable extract from the 1950s, claimed by him as fairly typical (embellished a bit by me):

"Runs on Mondays and non-holiday Saturdays, "feast days" (except those on specific dates ---, ---, and ---), and market days at Sainte-Merdre-dans-la-Gidouille (usually Thursdays, or Wednesdays instead, if last day of month is a Wednesday). In addition, runs on the following Sundays: specific dates ---, ---, ---, ---, ---, and ---. Also on the days (usually Tuesday) of the biannual pig fair at Connerie-sur-Egout. All workings are liable to cancellation without notice."

You write, "in the short time the line served the Tanat Valley"; I wonder whether there, you "sell it a bit short" (no pun intended). 1904 to 1951 with passenger service: 47 years. Freight continuing as far as Llanrhaiadr till 1960: 56 years. Some of Britain's greatly beloved light railways -- narrow-gauge especially -- had life-spans which were ephemeral in comparison. Half a century, "give or take" -- not bad going, for a very definitely minor line.

For most of my life, I've known of the Tanat Valley line as a very delightful railway which I wish I'd been born early enough to know at first-hand. As I've mentioned elsewhere: heard it told of as a pleasant thing by my mother, who spent much of World War II working in a civilian capacity, in the army camps on the S & M line -- living at the time in lodgings in Oswestry. I envisage her -- once or twice on a day off -- enjoying a run up the TV line and back, on the branch train. Despite this, I've tended to some vagueness about it: very little time ever spent in the area. I had the fuzzy notion that the branch ran a pretty huge distance into the "outback"; was initially surprised at your figure of "only" fifteen miles. But sure enough, from the atlas -- a "beeline" from Llynclys to Llangynog is a little bit under fifteen miles. On reflection, Wales isn't really all that big; and fifteen miles covers quite a chunk of territory. A few years ago, I actually travelled out that way for the first time, by car on a day's "circular" run -- was surprised how far up into "real" mountains, the Tanat Valley branch's route gets. Had naively imagined the whole area's scenery as, by Welsh standards, fairly gentle stuff -- as on the Welshpool & Llanfair a bit to the south.

 

[Dr_Paul]

A fascinating article. Having driven along the B4391 from Bala into the Tanat Valley, I was amazed to read that there were plans to tunnel westwards through the hills from the valley; that would have made the tunnel at Blaenau Ffestiniog seem fairly short in comparison.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Thank you for both responses, Calthrop and Dr_Paul. I guess you are right about the use of the word 'short', Calthrop. Although, having arrived in my 60th year and looking back - 60 years seems quite short!☺️

 

[rogerfarnworth]

This second post about the Tanat Valley Light Railway covers the length of the whole line and the Nantmawr Branch.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/17/the-tanat-valley…wr-branch-part-2

Our journey along the Tanat Valley Light Railway (TVLR) commences the western end at Llangynog Railway Station. .... The railway station was situated on the north side of the river. The centre of the small village of Llangynog was on the South side of the river. ... Wilfred J. Wren provides hand drawn maps in his book about the Tanat Valley which was published in 1968. ..... The station itself took up a significant area of land on the North side of the Afon Eiarth. At the West end of the site a level crossing allowed access across the village road to two exchange sidings. A tramroad ran from the Granite Quarries further West to the exchange sidings. At a later date the Granite Wharf was moved to very close to the station Goods Shed on the South side of the Slate Wharf.

 

[Altfish]

Many thanks Roger, excellent article again