L&NWR Brynmawr to Furnace Sidings & Blaenavon High Level

[Halton Boy]

Hello everyone

This is a follow up to an earlier post about Blaenavon.

I am looking for information on this L&NWR line:

Brynmawr – Waenavon – Whistle Inn Halt – Furnace Sidings – Big Pit Halt – Blaenavon High Level.

 

My main interest is in the original Furnace Sidings.

 

I cannot find information on Furnace Sidings prior to it being a preserved railway.

A track plan would be the ideal thing to have.

 

The line was opened in 1866 and closed to passenger traffic in 1941.

Blaenavon goods shed was closed in 1942.

All goods traffic ceased in 1954.

 

Thank you for your help.

Ken

[Halton Boy]

Hello everyone

I have had some help from Richard and now have a map from the National Library of Scotland's OS Map collection. It is the six inch 1888 - 1915 outline.

There is a great deal of track shown on the map.

This was a very busy area.

Ken 

[Innerhome]

Two sources which might help:

R A Cooke - Track Layout Diagrams - Section 41 - LNWR Dowlais & Sirhowy Lines - shows how layouts changed over time : Furnace Sidings would appear to be quite extensive. Unfortunately NLS Scotland don't appear to hold a 25 inch map of this area. Possibly one of the record offices in Wales would hold a set of OS maps.

There is brief mention - but no maps/photographs in The Merthyr Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway - Tasker - OPC.

Note - Cooke gives the closure date north of Furnace Sidings as 1954 - with the line south remaining open to 1980 (?)