South Wales Valleys in the 70s/80s

[TomJ]

Stuck indoors at work on a lovely sunday has had an unexpected silver lining! A bit googling in my lunch break has led to the discovery of loads of photos of South Wales industrials in the late 70s and early 80s. I had no idea there were still steam locos working right till the end of the 70s. There is something very atmospheric about the pictures.

 

Its got me pondering a future project perhaps based on a BR/NCB exchange siding. I love the idea of modern(ish) BR diesels handing over to elderly, virtually decrepit steam locos. But a couple of questions to see how feasible the idea is.

 

Lots of the industrials seem to be pulling only a few wagons but all the mainline photos seem to show huge long rakes of 16tn or hopper wagons. Were there any examples of shortish rakes of coal trains on the BR lines?

 

Was there any freight other than coal in the Valleys in the 70/80s, particularly wagonload, Speedlink type? For a bit of variety

 

MrsJ lived in Cardiff in the late 90s and from her flat I could often see a 37 pulling 4 coaches on the Rhymney line. Were there any loco-hauled passenger trains in my earlier period?

 

We got to know the Valleys area quite well walking and cycling but its a very different place to the photos I saw. When we were there you'd have been hard pressed to know it had been a major mining area..... 

 

Thanks

[Rivercider]

Hopefully someone with better local knowledge will be along soon, but I made a few trips up the valleys back then.

Nearly all of my photos are of DMUs or coal traffic. ( they are in my Flickr album '1980s W.R. Cardiff Valleys')

 

There was BR ballast traffic in dogfish hoppers from Hirwaun/Penderyn but I never photographed it.

I think there was some brick traffic from Aberdare that passed on Speedlink in the early 1980s, and also traffic to/from Dowlais iron works.

The Speedlink Coal Network later handled traffic in HBA and HEAs from Abercwmboi. 

 

Regarding train lengths, I would imagine many colliery railway systems were often steeply graded or constricted hence short trains were the norm.

For BR short trains would not make money so I think the train plan was arranged to collect traffic once a full load had been made up in exchange sidings.

 

I do remember seeing some shorter coal trains I think moving coal between colliery and washery or for blending, and also coal for the phurnacite plant at Abercwmboi.

Here are a couple of photos

A former BR class 08(?) hauls some loaded 21t hoppers and 16t or 21t minerals from Merthyr Vale up towards the BR connection at Black Lion loop, 14/4/83

 

At the marvellously named Stormstown 37239 restarts a train northwards up the valley with coal for Abercwmboi, it had arrived from the north and run round in the loop here, 24/5/83

 

cheers

 

 

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Hi Tom,

 

Have a look at the Ebbw Vale route to the steelworks...plenty of variety there.

 

Dave

[br2975]

"Rivercider's" photo of a Cl.37 at Stormstown, would most likely be a Black Lion (Merthyr Vale Colliery) - Abercwmboi working which would run around at Stormstown in order to head up the Cynon Valley.

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In the 70s and early 80s there were several such inter-valley workings e.g. from Mardy Colliery - Abercwmboi, and from Black Lion - Abercwmboi, with coal for the Phurnacite ( 'smokeless fuel' ) Plant located twixt Mountain Ash and Aberdare.

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A more involved arrangement took place at Llantrisant (alongside the South Wales main line), where in the 70s/80s two branches led to (a) Cwm Colliery and coke ovens via Common Branch Jct. and ( B) Coed Ely coke ovens.

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Cwm & Coed Ely pits were joined underground, and from 1965 all coal was raised at Cwm, with some being fed to the coke ovens there, and the remainder being railed to Coed Ely (with a run around at Llantrisant) for coking there, using 16ton & 21ton mineral wagons..

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The 'foundry coke' so produced was taken by rail to Margam and  Cardiff East Moors steel works, and also to Kingswinford for distribution by Lunt,Comley & Pitt from their Pensnett depot, initially using 20ton coke hoppers, but later also 21ton and 24.5 ton hoppers.

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FRom Common Branch Jct. a further branch led to Creigiau Quarry which produced limestone & lime for flux in the steel making process at Cardiff East Moors and was served a couple of times a day; again with the trains being worked to Llantrisant, and once/twice a day one of the two oustationed Cl.37s would take the limestone hoppers to Cardiff.

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Llantrisant had one further branch, to Llanharry and the Glamorgan Haemetite Mine - and a few times a day the Llantrisant pilot (Cl.08) would shuttle back and forth with iron ore hoppers, which would also be taken along the mainline to Cardiff East Moors.

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Until the late 60s a further branch off the LLantrisant - Common Branch section of the  Cwm Colliery line served Brofiscin Quarry, where caves were used as explosives stores - served by a pannier, and later Cl.08 with a gunpowder van or two, and a little earlier a few 'pools' for a coal merchant located near Cross Inn.

 

Steel production ceased at East Moors in early 1978, resulting in the end of the iron ore traffic and the eventual demise of rail traffic from Creigiau Quarry..

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There was also a foundry alongside Llantrisant yard which provided occasional business for the railway. 

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Generally, the further up the 'valleys' you went, the BR motive power became more limited to Cl.37s.

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However, Cl.47s worked MGR trains from pits to Aberthaw Power Station for many years after their inception.

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Hymeks could, and did reach places like Stormstown.

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Peaks worked to the upper reaches of the Rhymney Valley via the 'Big Hill' from Walnut Tree Jct to Aber Jct. on inter-regional coal workings.

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In the late 70s Cl.40s worked occasionally to the NCB (Thomas Ness) Tar Plant at Caerphilly via Radyr, the 'Big Hill' and a reversal at Aber Jct.

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Westerns worked up to Ebbw Vale on both iron ore and steel trains, and occasionally so did a Warship - working from Severn Tunnel Jct.

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Pilots (08 shunters) were based at Aberdare in the 70s, Merthyr lost its pilot in the late 60s.

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The hub of the Cardiff Valleys network (i.e. Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Rhymney and Taff Valleys) was Radyr, where you could find up to half a dozen 08s and a dozen 37s in the early 70s................. not to mention (regular) visiting locos of Classes 08, 14, 22-rare, 25, 31, 35, 37, 42/43, 45, 46, 47, 52.

 

As for the length of NCB trains - just search the t'internet (especially Flickr) there is no rhyme or reason to the lenghts and make up of some NCB trains, from a single 'pool' (16 tonner) to a raft of MGR hoppers - anything went.

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And, don't forget, the NCB were regulars when it came to hiring in BR Cl.08 shunters in the 70s and 80s - so a TOPS numbered BR blue 08 alongside a Hunslet 18" 0-6-0ST would not be out of place.

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Hence my next project is set locally, in South Wales circa 1971.

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Brian R

[TomJ]

Thanks everyone - its all very useful. One of the things I have enjoyed it discovering a totally new area and era to research. My current layout is Cornwall china clay in the 80s so I already have 37s, and a 25, a 08 and a 47. I also have a ex-GWR pannier tank from an earlier project.

 

Its not something I've seen modelled much but the contrast between the post-steam era BR and the steam worked NCB era is what grabbed my attention

[Andy Kirkham]

Here are some of my own pictures from that era

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/sets/72157636831169995/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/sets/72157636831266016/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/sets/72157636831415256/

 

But these are far surpassed by the wealth of pictures in Ernie Brack's remarkable archive:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/sets/72157626918178539/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/sets/72157626824244790/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/sets/72157626693523501/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/sets/72157626693205137/

[John_Miles]

I had an office overlooking the line just north of Queen Street in the late 1980s, early 1990s and saw some interesting events. Just about every type of diesel locomotive that ran on the railway at that time,with the exception of class 20s and 45/46s passed at some time or other.Sometimes there would be lengthy passenger trains (9 or 10 carriages) with for instance a 47.Occasionally a coal train would work up the valley taking the Taff Vale line, often hauled by a 56. The Rhymney 37s and carriages were peak hours only, otherwise it was lots of DMUs. My favourite though was the regular fare of two class 37s on MGR trains.