Cwmllynfell to G-C-G

[DavidLong]

Does anyone know when traffic ceased on the Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen to Cwmllynfell section of the Swansea Vale Railway? The recent book from Lightmoor states that the Brynamman to Gurnos section closed in September 1964 but it doesn't seem to have any information of when traffic on the G-C-G branch ended.

The track is still in place on the OS 1962 1:2500 map and a photograph in the book from Lens of Sutton looking north through the road bridge seems to show  the sidings (or at least the entry to the loop) and signals in place. The photo is, however, noted as 'circa 1965'.

I assume that traffic in later years was handled by 57xx panniers tanks as, after the removal of LMS motive power, they seem to be the predominant type. I wondered about the non-appearance of 56xx locomotives in that period. Would it be anything to do with the rather poor engineering standards on the SVR and thus a problem with axle-loads? The Midland seemed to spend as little as possible on the railway; so long as the coal reached the docks they seemed to be content with the situation.

Incidentally the 1962 map shows a simplified but nonetheless adequate layout at Cwmllynfell sidings whilst the pre-WW1 versions appear to show exotica in the form of a scissors crossover which gave access for every movement likely to be required:

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=51.8052&lon=-3.8319&layers=168&right=BingHyb

The 1962 1:2500 is only available on the old-maps website. As is often the way in more rural areas there was no 1:2500 issued between 1919 and 1962. Note on the side-by-side NLS map the huge hole in the ground of the G-C-G opencast workings.

 

David

[John-Miles]

As one of the authors of the book, I apologise for not including the information about this. We have a lot of information on private siding agreements which wasn't included, partly due to space constraints and partly because our market research told us that people prefer images to text. That said, it is not clear when the line to GCG closed. The private siding agreement was "deleted" in September 1964, the signal box was closed on 27/9/64.  John Smith, aka Lens of Sutton did his National Service in the area and photographed many of the stations. They mostly look very neglected. From memory the last Jinties were moved elsewhere in 1957 and I presume the 57s took over although towards the end 08s were used to move traffic from Yniscedwyn.

 

The bridge over the Twrch at Gurnos was in a bad condition. John Mann the former western region bridge engineer said there were plans to replace the timbers with prestressed concrete but this was never done. I suspect a 56 would have been too heavy. The track on the Swansea Vale was well maintained and so there would be no problem there. There was a railtour in the 1950s when a Jinty was clocked doing over 50 and it was reported that the riding quality was good.

 

If you want information on how the track layout changed over time, Cooke's books, available from Lightmoor are invaluable.

[DavidLong]

On 09/04/2019 at 19:22, John-Miles said:

As one of the authors of the book, I apologise for not including the information about this. We have a lot of information on private siding agreements which wasn't included, partly due to space constraints and partly because our market research told us that people prefer images to text. That said, it is not clear when the line to GCG closed. The private siding agreement was "deleted" in September 1964, the signal box was closed on 27/9/64.  John Smith, aka Lens of Sutton did his National Service in the area and photographed many of the stations. They mostly look very neglected. From memory the last Jinties were moved elsewhere in 1957 and I presume the 57s took over although towards the end 08s were used to move traffic from Yniscedwyn.

 

The bridge over the Twrch at Gurnos was in a bad condition. John Mann the former western region bridge engineer said there were plans to replace the timbers with prestressed concrete but this was never done. I suspect a 56 would have been too heavy. The track on the Swansea Vale was well maintained and so there would be no problem there. There was a railtour in the 1950s when a Jinty was clocked doing over 50 and it was reported that the riding quality was good.

 

If you want information on how the track layout changed over time, Cooke's books, available from Lightmoor are invaluable.

 

Many thanks for your reply, John. No apology is necessary as 'The Swansea Vale Railway' is a quite splendid publication. I was especially impressed that, in the signalling section, the order of pulling levers to initiate particular movements is given. For a signalling ignoramus such as myself this was most informative and not something that I have seen in other publications.

With that in mind, may I ask a couple of supplementary questions? In all the signalling diagrams prior to that for Brynamman, the designated directions seem to follow the usual South Wales principle of 'up' being away from the coast/towards the head of the valley. However, at Brynamman, from the various movement descriptions, it appears to have been reversed. Is this correct or have I misunderstood the descriptions?

Also at Brynamman there is mention of signal 10 which is under the control of the West (GWR) signaller. This would seem to be the GWR signal that is adjacent to the line to the West station and is facing the route from the Gurnos direction. However, in the movement descriptions it appears to be used for movements both in and out of the West station. This appears to be unusual; again, have I misunderstood the relevant movement notes?

 

David

[John-Miles]

Sorry I haven't been on RMWeb for a couple of days. I'll have a look at the diagram and get back to you.

 

 

[John-Miles]

Ok, I have now had a look at the diagram. The Up Down change I am not sure about. It may be because Brynamman Midland station (called East by BR) was from 1929 under the supervision of the station master at the GWR station. There again, it may be a mistake by Mike Christensen or the signalman from whom he copied the details. Lever 10 is spare in the Midland box but lever 10 in the GWR box works the catch points that are on the line between the GWR station and the Midland. So the Midland signalman has to phone the GWR station for lever 10 to be operated before there can be any exchange between the two stations.