The Pembroke and Tenby Railway was a locally promoted railway in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was built by local supporters and opened in 1863. The line, now known as the Pembroke Dock branch line, remains in use at the present day.
In 1814 a Royal Navy Dockyard had been established at Pembroke Dock.M R C Price, The Pembroke and Tenby Railway, Oakwood Press, Headington, 1986, The South Wales Railway had been authorised to build a branch line to Pembroke, but had failed to do so. Their terminus in Neyland was a short ferry crossing from Pembroke Dock.
In 1866, the Pembroke and Tenby Railway was extended to Whitland; Whitland was on the South Wales Railway broad gauge main line but being on the narrow gaugelater known as standard gaugeit was not possible to run Pembroke and Tenby trains on the South Wales Railway lines to Carmarthen. The intention of the Pembroke and Tenby Railway was to make an alliance with other narrow gauge railways at Carmarthen, and the Great Western Railway (as successor to the South Wales Railway) did provide a narrow gauge link to Carmarthen. Experiencing financial difficulties, the company sold its line to the Great Western Railway in 1897.
South Wales Railway
The South Wales Railway was incorporated in 1845 to build from the Great Western Railway at Gloucester through to Cardiff, Swansea, Carmarthen and Fishguard. The authorised capital was £2.8 million. Fishguard Bay was the destination as the strategic intention was to secure the Royal Mail contract for Dublin mails; the Great Western Railway had a close association with railway promoters on the Irish side, who would build a line from Wexford to Dublin. The South Wales Railway itself was an affiliate of the Great Western Railway, and was to be built on the broad gauge, and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.Ernie Shepherd, Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company: An Illustrated History, Colourpoint Books, Newtownards, 2015, The South Wales Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. cxc) also authorised a branch line from Whitland to Pembroke, taking a direct course and not running near Tenby.
In 1845, the Great Famine of Ireland caused both mass starvation and commercial depression which deepened the following year. The Irish partners of the Great Western Railway declared that they could not continue with the proposed Dublin line. Also, Brunel was having misgivings about Fishguard due to its exposure to high winds and the decision was taken to make a port on the north shore of the Milford Haven Waterway at Neyland instead, and to extend the planned Haverfordwest branch. The South Wales Railway opened its line as far as Haverfordwest on 2 January 1854, and to Neyland on 15 April 1856. This station was named Milford Haven for some years. The name was later transferred to the station several miles west, that remains open at the present day.
When the South Wales Railway was authorised, the directors of the Saundersfoot Railway and Harbour Company decided to seek powers to build a line linking both Tenby and Saundersfoot to the SWR Pembroke branch at Reynalton. This was authorised by the (9 & 10 Vict. c. cclvi) as the Tenby, Saundersfoot and South Wales Railway and Pier Company, with authorised capital of £140,000. However, the South Wales Railway (SWR) did not attempt to build their Pembroke branch, so construction of the Tenby and Saundersfoot line was not started either. Local people were indignant that the SWR had obtained authority for the line but were failing to construct it, and, in 1852, a local landowner, Baron de Rutzen, applied in the High Court for a writ of mandamus, which if granted would compel the SWR to build the line.The so-called "Cardwell" clause was inserted into nearly all railway acts of Parliament at this time, providing for the suspension of dividends if authorised parts of the line were not built.E T MacDermot, History of the Great Western railway, volume I part 2, published by the Great Western Railway, London, 1927H A Vallance, The Pembroke and Tenby Railway, Railway Magazine, October 1959
At this, the SWR undertook to introduce a new bill for the line, and de Rutzen agreed to withdraw his writ. In 1853, the SWR sought an extension of time for construction of the branch and a change to the route, taking it closer to Tenby. When the South Wales Railway was first authorised, Pembroke was the most important centre in the area and the proposed branch was a natural asset. By now, Neyland had been adopted as the main line terminus, and it was a five-minute ferry crossing from Pembroke dockyard. Plainly, building a 27-mile railway from Whitland to Pembroke dock was unattractive, and in any case, the company had already stretched its finances too far.
As part of the stalling process, the SWR let a contract for construction, but the contractor did not start work. There were stated to be legal difficulties over land acquisition, and contractual problems with the contractor. Finally, the SWR dividend for the second half of 1857 was suspended; in the High Court; it pleaded that it had attempted in good faith to build it, but now had no money to do so.D S M Barrie, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, volume 12, South Wales, David St John Thomas Publisher, Nairn,1994,
There was considerable hostility locally, and in an extraordinary move, the SWR prepared two bills in 1857: one was simply for a time extension for the original line and the second was for a new line from Narberth Road (later Clynderwen and later still Clunderwen) on the Neyland main line, following the eastern bank of the River Cleddau; this route was very sinuous, and a little shorter. The bill for reviving the powers failed in the 1858 session; the bill for a new branch was passed in the Commons, but the Lords agreed with the company that the expense of the line was not justified. This was the last straw for the local people and they resolved to prepare their own bill for a line from Tenby to Pembroke Dockyard with a short branch to the pier at Hobbs Point for the ferry to Neyland.
The Pembroke and Tenby Railway authorised On 21 July 1859, the Pembroke and Tenby Railway Act 1859 (22 & 23 Vict. c. vi) was given royal assent, and the South Wales Pembroke and Tenby Junction Railway was authorised. It was to be in length, with authorised capital of £80,000. Significantly, it was to be built on the standard gauge,At the time, usually referred to as the "narrow gauge" as it had not yet been standardised. not the broad gauge of the South Wales Railway.
However it was one thing to be authorised to raise £80,000 and quite a different matter to persuade investors to commit the money. Interest in the company was low, and many shareholders’ meetings failed to achieve a quorum. By 1861, the company changed its name to the less cumbersome Pembroke and Tenby Railway.
It seemed likely that the company's plans were in vain, but the dynamic contracting partnership of David Davies and Ezra Roberts entered into discussions with the directors and on 4 July 1862 they committed to build the line and provide rolling stock for £106,000. They were to be given nearly the whole capital of the company in cash in hand and fully paid up shares. They were financing the construction themselves. They undertook to complete the work by 21 July 1864.
In fact the work progressed faster than that. The first locomotive was brought overland, dragged on the public road by 33 horses, possibly on 6 May 1863.Price says it was brought in by road, but says the date is uncertain; he provides a photograph that is "probably" of the event.
Opening A turntable was provided at Tenby and two more locomotives were brought in by sea. The customary Board of Trade inspection took place on 24 July 1863 and approval to open was given, and the line opened on 30 July 1863 between Pembroke and Tenby.C J Gammell, GWR Branch Lines, Oxford Publishing Co, Sparkford, 1995, There were three trains each way daily, increased to five from September, but the service was reduced to three again in December; the line was worked by Davies and Roberts. At first the line was not opened between Pembroke and Pembroke Dock, but this too was completed and opened on 8 August 1864.
During the construction process, the Directors had given consideration to extending the line to Whitland; the isolation from the national railway network was a limitation. At the same time the standard gauge Manchester and Milford Railway was under construction, and, despite difficulties it was experiencing, it was possible to conceive of the Pembroke and Tenby Railway linking with the M&MR and forming a long distance strategic standard gauge line by-passing the Great Western Railway and reaching the great manufacturing districts of the north-west of England.
The Great Western Railway had absorbed the South Wales Railway in 1862. The Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway had built a spur from Carmarthen Junction station, the station in Carmarthen on the through line from Swansea to Neyland, to their Town station north of the River Tywi.
Extending to Whitland and Carmarthen
The (27 & 28 Vict. c.clxxxiii) of 14 July 1864 authorised a standard gauge extension from Tenby to Whitland, and also a standard gauge west curve at Carmarthen, allowing through-running from Whitland into Carmarthen Town and to meet the Manchester and Milford Railway. It was assumed that the GWR would lay a third rail, making their tracks mixed gauge, to carry standard gauge trains as well, from Whitland to the west curve at Carmarthen. Capital for the Whitland extension was set at £200,000.
Davies and Roberts leased the Pembroke and Tenby Railway from 8 August 1864, paying shareholders (mostly themselves) 5% on capital, but the lease was considered to be ultra vires for the company which had no power to lease its line, so Davies and Roberts agreed to operate according to the terms of the lease, but as contractors and not lessees.
The Whitland extension was soon finished and the Board of Trade inspection was carried out by Captain Rich on 1 September 1866. Everything was satisfactory and the line opened to the public on 4 September 1866. The company had its own separate station at Whitland, alongside the Great Western Railway station. The Tenby station was relocated to allow for through-running.
The presumption that the Great Western Railway would acquiesce in mixing the gauge of the track from Whitland to Carmarthen proved to be naive; the GWR would not hasten to facilitate unwelcome competition in its own back yard. This difficulty came to light during the construction of the Whitland extension, and the Pembroke and Tenby directors decided on 12 October 1865 to survey an independent line from Whitland to Carmarthen. The line was to be 14 miles long, running generally south of the GWR line but crossing it at Sarnau.
The parliamentary bill for this was passed as the (29 & 30 Vict. c. cccxxx) on 6 August 1866; GWR opposition was in vain in view of its obstructive attitude; the act authorised an additional £115,000 capital. Seeing that its position was lost, the GWR now agreed to negotiate, and an agreement was reached on 18 July 1866. The line from Whitland to Carmarthen was double track, and instead of providing mixed gauge track, the GWR agreed to convert their up line to standard gauge between Whitland and Carmarthen.