Trevil Halt railway station

Trevil Halt
General information
Location	Trefil, Blaenau Gwent Wales
Coordinates	51.7962°N 3.2377°W / 51.7962; -3.2377
Grid reference	SO147115
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 March 1864 (1864-03-01)	Opened
c. 1932/3	Becomes a halt
6 January 1958 (1958-01-06)	Closed

Trevil Halt railway station was a station on the London and North Western Railway's Heads of the Valleys line serving the village of Trefil in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire.[1]

History

The first section of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway from Abergavenny to Brynmawr was opened on 29 September 1862.[2] The line was leased and operated by the London and North Western Railway which acquired the smaller railway company on 30 June 1866.[3][4] On 1 March 1864, the line was extended from Brynmawr to Nantybwch.[5]

Trevil opened with the extension of the line on 1 March 1864.[6][7] The village had a long association with tramroads, the Trevil Rail Road having been established in May 1793 and operating from 1797.[8] The Sirhowy Tramroad ran southwards to Sirhowy Ironworks.[9] The Rassa Railroad ran from Trevil limestone quarries to the north-east, under the Merthyr and Abergavenny line, and to the Beaufort Ironworks.[9] Originally, constructed to 3 ft 4 in (1,016 mm), it was converted to 4 ft 2 in (1,270 mm) gauge to link with the Sirhowy Tramroad.[9][10] The works and five collieries comprising 57.5 miles (92.5 km) of private mineral lines were purchased by Richard Thomas & Co. in 1935.[8]

Trevil station was in an isolated location, situated just to the south of the Castle Inn.[9][10] It had two platforms, the main brick-built station building and house being situated on the Down platform.[11] No goods yard was provided but parcels were handled and private sidings were provided in connection with the Beaufort Ironworks which ran parallel with the Sirhowy Tramway.[12][13] These sidings lasted until May 1938.[11] At the same time, the station's signal box was replaced by a frame in the bay window of the station house in order to maintain the block post.[14][15] A few years earlier, in c. 1932–33, the station had been downgraded to a railway halt.[6]

As a result of decline in the local industry and the costs of working the line between Abergavenny and Merthyr,[16] passenger services ended on 4 January 1958.[17] The last public service over the line was an SLS railtour on 5 January 1958 hauled by LNWR 0-8-0 49121 and LNWR 0-6-2 tank 58926.[17][18] Official closure came on 6 January.[6][19][7]

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Nantybwch Line and station closed		London and North Western Railway Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway		Beaufort Line and station closed

Present

The site of the station has been lost under the A465 road.[20]

References

Notes

1. Conolly (2004), p. 8, section A4.
2. Tasker (1986), p. 18.
3. Awdry (1990), p. 93.
4. Hall (2009), p. 63.
5. Tasker (1986), p. 21.
6. Quick (2009), p. 386.
7. Butt (1995), p. 234.
8. Edge (2002), fig. XVIII.
9. Edge (2002), fig. XVII.
10. Hall (2009), p. 65.
11. Edge (2002), fig. 81.
12. Edge (2002), figs. XVII and 81.
13. Clinker (1988), p. 175, note 3500.
14. Edge (2002), fig. 82.
15. Tasker (1986), p. 128.
16. Hall (2009), p. 68.
17. Tasker (1986), p. 139.
18. Edge (2002), fig. 65.
19. Clinker (1988), p. 137.
20. Page (1988), p. 155.

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Clinker, C. R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.
• Conolly, W. Philip (2004) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0.
• Edge, David (September 2002). Abergavenny to Merthyr including the Ebbw Vale Branch. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-901706-915.
• Hall, Mike (2009). Lost Railways of South Wales. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-172-2.
• Page, James (1988) [1979]. South Wales. Forgotten Railways. Vol. 8. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-44-5.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
• Tasker, W.W. (1986). The Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway and branches. Poole: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-86093-339-7.