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Pontsticill railway station

Coordinates: 51°47′59″N 3°21′39″W / 51.7998°N 3.3607°W / 51.7998; -3.3607
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pontsticill railway station
A down train waiting in the platform at Pontsticill
General information
LocationPontsticill, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
Wales
Coordinates51°47′59″N 3°21′39″W / 51.7998°N 3.3607°W / 51.7998; -3.3607
Grid referenceSO06281210
Operated byBrecon Mountain Railway
Platforms1 (historically 3)
Other information
StatusOperational
History
Original companyBrecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Pre-groupingBrecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
19 March 1863Station opens
31 December 1962Station closes to passengers and goods
8 June 1980Station reopens (BMR)
Brecon Mountain Railway
Torpantau
Dolygaer
Road bridge
Bridge over Nant Callan
Dolygaer loop
Road bridge
Road bridge
Pontsticill
Pontsticill railway museum
Pontsticill sheds
Pant depot and engineering works
Pant

Pontsticill railway station (historically Pontsticill Junction railway station) is an intermediate station on the Brecon Mountain Railway at Pontsticill, in the historic Welsh county of Brecknockshire, now Merthyr Tydfil County Borough.

The station was previously the junction at which the Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Railway line from Torpantau in the North split to serve the Brecon & Merthyr Railway main line and the Merthyr Tydfil branch. Today it is no longer a junction.

The station opened in 1863. It was closed for 17 years from January 1963 to June 1980.

History

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Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway

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Railway lines around Dowlais in 1905

The Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway obtained an Act of Parliament on 1 August 1859 to construct a line between Talybont and Pant. Train services between Brecon and Pant officially began on 23 April 1863 but two trains per day ran from 19 March 1863. This line, running south from Pontsticill to Pant, is the route still operated by the Brecon Mountain Railway.

Pontsticill became a junction in 1868, with the opening of a second southerly line, running down a steep gradient to Morlais, where it connected with the London and North Western Railway line between Dowlais and Merthyr Tydfil, as part of a line sharing arrangement.[1] The line from Pontsticill to Morlais Junction is disused, and the track lifted.

Great Western Railway

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Newport to Brecon train entering Pontsticill Junction in 1949

The B&MR became part of the Great Western Railway during the Grouping of 1923.[2] The GWR became the operator of Pontsticill Junction, maintaining services on all lines. The station passed into British Railways ownership with the nationalisation of the railways. The station closed on 31 December 1962.[2] Freight services continued through the station until 1964.[1]

Brecon Mountain Railway

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Planning for the proposed Brecon Mountain Railway had commenced less than ten years after the closure of Pontsticill Junction, and construction work started in 1978, followed by the grant of a Light Railway Order in 1980. Track laying between Pant and Pontsticill took place from 1979 to 1980.

At Pontsticill the signal box was derelict, and the station house had been in temporary use as a sheep shelter.[3] Both buildings were renovated. The original waiting room was converted into an engineers' workshop, and a rolling stock storage shed was built.[3] Seven bridges were repaired or replaced between Pant and Pontsticill.[3]

Pontsticill station re-opened to passengers in June 1980. Pontsticill was the terminus of the re-opened line from 1980 to 1994;[2][1] from 1995 the line was further re-opened northwards.[3]

The station today

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One platform is in use for passenger trains, with passenger facilities including a cafeteria and toilets. The original signal box and station house are on the eastern side of the station site.

The original stone waiting room, used as a temporary workshop for several years from 1980, has since been converted and extended to form a small steam museum with a collection of stationary steam engines, displays, artefacts, and 3 small working steam locomotives.[2]

The stock storage sheds remain in place, south of the station. Although these sheds and the temporary workshop, were all vital in the early years of restoration, the BMR today has more extensive sheds, together with new workshops, at Pant station.[3]

Preceding station Heritage Railways  Heritage railways Following station
Torpantau   Brecon Mountain Railway   Pant
Disused railways
Dolygaer
Line and station closed
  Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Northern section
  Pant
Line and station closed
  Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Merthyr branch
  Pontsarn Halt
Line and station closed

References

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  1. ^ a b c "The Brecon and Merthyr Railway". Merthyr: The Melting Pot. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Pontsticill railway station". History Points. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "History: Find out more about the history of Brecon Mountain Railway". Brecon Mountain Railway. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

Further reading

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