Teifi Valley Railway
Encyclopedia
The Teifi Valley Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Dyffryn Teifi) is a gauge railway operating between Llandysul
and Newcastle Emlyn along the River Teifi, South Wales
. It is a narrow-gauge
tourist railway built on the GWR
part of the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway
and currently operating on about two miles of track. A new platform has been constructed at Henllan, on the original GWR location, from where the service is planned to continue to Newcastle Emlyn
and, eventually, to Pentrecwrt. Trains currently run from Henllan
station to Llandyfriog Riverside.
line between Carmarthen
and Cardigan
. The line was opened temporarily in 1860, under the South Wales Railway
and was fully opened the following year. It was operated by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway
between Carmarthen
and Cynwyl Elfed
. In 1864, the line was extended to Pencader
and Llandysul
and, by 1872, had been converted to standard gauge
. By this time though, the line was bankrupt. Eventually the line was bought by the Great Western Railway
which extended the terminus to Newcastle Emlyn. Passenger trains ceased to operate in 1952 and, in 1973 when freight services discontinued, the line was closed and dismantled. All that was left were platforms, bridges and a tunnel.
Although attempts had been made in 1973 to preserve the railway at standard gauge, it was not until 1981 that any true restoration project got under way. A group of enthusiasts bought the trackbed and, in 1983, laid a gauge track. The line originally ran from Henllan to Pontprenshitw, where passengers were invited to take a short walk to see the waterfall under the railway bridge. In 1987, the line was extended as far as Llandyfriog and, since 2006, has been further extended to the current end of the line, known as Llandyfriog Riverside. During spring 2009, work proceeded to return the location of Henllan station to its original site. This platform was opened for use in July 2009.
The line between Henllan station and the old Llandyfriog station is built on the side of a valley, with a succession of bridges and the remainder to Llandyfriog Riverside on an embankment:
Carriages
Wagons
Llandysul
Llandysul is a small town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community of Pont Tyweli lies directly across the Teifi River in Carmarthenshire. It is in the valley of the River Teifi and is visited for its fishing and canoeing....
and Newcastle Emlyn along the River Teifi, South Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is a narrow-gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
tourist railway built on the GWR
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
part of the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway
Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway
The Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway was a broad gauge railway from Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, to Newcastle Emlyn, Wales. Part of the route is now used by the Teifi Valley Railway and the Gwili Railway.Despite the name, the line never reached Cardigan...
and currently operating on about two miles of track. A new platform has been constructed at Henllan, on the original GWR location, from where the service is planned to continue to Newcastle Emlyn
Newcastle Emlyn
Newcastle Emlyn is a town straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in west Wales and lying on the River Teifi.Adpar is the part of the town that lies on the Ceredigion side of the River Teifi...
and, eventually, to Pentrecwrt. Trains currently run from Henllan
Henllan, Ceredigion
Henllan is a village in the Welsh county of Ceredigion.Henllan is situated along minor roads off the A484 Cardigan to Carmarthen road, some miles east of Newcastle Emlyn and now merges as a result of infill development with the small settlement of Trebedw...
station to Llandyfriog Riverside.
History
The Teifi Valley Railway was originally conceived as a broad-gaugeBroad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
line between Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
and Cardigan
Cardigan, Ceredigion
Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...
. The line was opened temporarily in 1860, under the South Wales Railway
South Wales Railway
The South Wales Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway with Neyland in Wales.-History:The need for the railway was created by the need to ship coal from the South Wales Valleys to London, and secondly to complete Brunel's vision of linking London with...
and was fully opened the following year. It was operated by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway
Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway
The Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway was a broad gauge railway from Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, to Newcastle Emlyn, Wales. Part of the route is now used by the Teifi Valley Railway and the Gwili Railway.Despite the name, the line never reached Cardigan...
between Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
and Cynwyl Elfed
Cynwyl Elfed
Cynwyl Elfed is a village and community located in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. As a community it contains the villages of Cynwyl Elfed, Blaenycoed and Cwmduad. It is situated three miles from Abernant and had a population of 953 in 2001...
. In 1864, the line was extended to Pencader
Pencader, Carmarthenshire
Pencader is a small village in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, and is part of the Community and Parish of Llanfihangel-ar-Arth. It is located around 5 km south-east of Llandysul and 10 km south-west of Llanybydder....
and Llandysul
Llandysul
Llandysul is a small town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community of Pont Tyweli lies directly across the Teifi River in Carmarthenshire. It is in the valley of the River Teifi and is visited for its fishing and canoeing....
and, by 1872, had been converted to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
. By this time though, the line was bankrupt. Eventually the line was bought by the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
which extended the terminus to Newcastle Emlyn. Passenger trains ceased to operate in 1952 and, in 1973 when freight services discontinued, the line was closed and dismantled. All that was left were platforms, bridges and a tunnel.
Although attempts had been made in 1973 to preserve the railway at standard gauge, it was not until 1981 that any true restoration project got under way. A group of enthusiasts bought the trackbed and, in 1983, laid a gauge track. The line originally ran from Henllan to Pontprenshitw, where passengers were invited to take a short walk to see the waterfall under the railway bridge. In 1987, the line was extended as far as Llandyfriog and, since 2006, has been further extended to the current end of the line, known as Llandyfriog Riverside. During spring 2009, work proceeded to return the location of Henllan station to its original site. This platform was opened for use in July 2009.
The line
- Bridge 52, a road over bridge
- Bridge 53, a small access bridge
- Bridge 54, 'Pontprenshitw', a large single-arch bridge (built by Joseph Hamlet of West BromwichWest BromwichWest Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
in 1893) carrying the railway over the River Cynllo gorge and a historic Celtic leatLeatA leat is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond... - Bridge 55, 'Mini-Pont', a small access bridge
- Bridge 56, an access bridge to a farm and the River Teifi (Between the old Llandyfriog station and the new Riverside station, the railway is built on an embankment)
- Bridge 57, 'Admiral's Bridge', providing access to a house on the bank of the Teifi
- Bridge 58, an access bridge to a farm
- Bridge 59, 'Pont Goch', a large piered-beam bridge, part of which has collapsed into the Teifi. Due to heavy rainfall in the autumn of 1987, the Teifi became a torrent which submerged the section, which was later removed. The remaining half is sound and is used as a viewing point at Riverside station.
Rolling stock and locomotives
Locomotives:| Name | Builder | Works Number |
Type | Year built | Year arrived | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Murphy | Kerr Stuart Kerr Stuart Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner... |
3117 | Steam 0-6-2T | 1918 | 1998 | Haig Class, bought from Ffestiniog Railway Ffestiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.... |
| Fleur | Kerr Stuart | 2442 | Steam 0-6-0 0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels... T |
1915 | 1998 | Joffre Class. Dismantled, awaiting restoration |
| Alan George | Hunslet Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for... |
606 | Steam 0-4-0 0-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven... ST |
1894 | 1983 | Built for the Penryhn Quarries. |
| Sammy | Motor Rail Motor Rail Motor Rail was a British locomotive-building company, based in Bedford. Formed in 1911 as The Motor Rail & Tramcar Co Ltd, they built petrol and diesel engined locomotives, mainly narrow gauge. During World War I over 900 locos were supplied for use on temporary military supply railways... |
11111 | 4wDM | 1951 | 1987 | |
| Sholto | Hunslet | 2433 | 4wDM | 1941 | ||
| Henry | Diesel 0-4-0 |
Carriages
| Name | Type | Year built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annie | Bogied | 1983 | |
| Esme | Bogied | 1984 | |
| Jacqueline | Bogied | 1987 | |
| Lisa | 4 wheeled | 1990 | |
| Rhoysen | 4 wheeled | 1994 | Base flat bodied wagon no.254 |
| Emma | 4 wheeled | 2003 | |
| Nancy | Bogied | 1973 | Previously owned by the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog), known as the 'Cote coach' or Coach no.1 |
Wagons
| Number | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 101-106 | Side tipping wagons (Hudsons) | |
| 120-121 | End door box wagons | Built at Henllan in 1984 |
| 140-141 | Single bolster wagons | Built at Henllan using frames of two side-tipping wagons |
| 190-191,196 | Box wagons | |
| 374 | Flat bodied wagon | |
| ex-War Dept. vehicles x5 | Require re-gauging |