The Llantrisant–Aberthaw line was a railway line built in two parts.
The Cowbridge Railway was a locally promoted railway line in South Wales, intended to connect the town to the nearby mainline network at Llantrisant. The company was desperately short of money to construct the line, and a subscription of £10,000 from the Taff Vale Railway towards the construction costs ensured alignment to that company's system, so that Pontypridd, and not Cardiff, was the destination of through passenger trains. The line opened in 1865 and operated as a through line from Pontypridd in association with the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway. The company was always impoverished and from 1876 leased its line to the Taff Vale Railway. The TVR absorbed the Cowbridge Railway Company in 1889.
High quality limestone workings at Aberthaw encouraged thoughts of a Cowbridge and Aberthaw Railway. This opened in 1892, and was absorbed by the Taff Vale Railway in 1895. The Cowbridge and the Aberthaw sections were operated as a single entity.
The Taff Vale Railway introduced railmotors, which it called "motor cars", on the lines in 1905 and although they were successful, the lines remained loss-making. The passenger service from Cowbridge to Aberthaw was discontinued in 1932; that from Llantrisant to Cowbridge in 1951. A mine working with a private siding remained in operation until 1975, but when that closed, the line ceased to have any railway activity.
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway was planned to bring the iron production of works at Merthyr and Dowlais, as well as coal from certain collieries, to the docks at Cardiff for onward shipment to market.
It opened its main line in two stages, in 1840 and 1841; it was built on the standard gauge. It was immediately successful, and at the same time coal mining enjoyed a massive increase in volume in the area, so that coal became the principal traffic. This encouraged numerous further branch lines and colliery connections, and at the same time the railway encouraged the opening of new mines.D S M Barrie, The Taff Vale Railway, Oakwood Press, Tisbury, second edition 1950 reprinted 1982
South Wales Railway
The South Wales Railway was promoted in 1843, to connect the Great Western Railway network at Gloucester to Milford Haven; it was to be a broad gauge line. Its route was the matter of considerable discussion, and at one stage it was assumed it would pass through Cowbridge. However the route as finally determined ran near Llantrisant, about five miles north of Cowbridge; the South Wales Railway opened in several stages but this section was opened on 18 June 1850.E T MacDermot, History of the Great Western Railway: volume I: 1833 - 1863, part 1, published by the Great Western Railway, London, 1927 The mail road coach service through Cowbridge was almost immediately withdrawn, and the importance of Cowbridge was much diminished.Stewart Williams (editor), South Glamorgan: a County History, published by Stewart Williams, Barry, 1975, 978 0900807190
There is controversy as to whether the people of Cowbridge wanted the South Wales Railway to pass through their town, or resisted it,Herbert Williams, Railways in Wales, Christopher Davies (Publishers) Ltd, Swansea, 1981, ISBN though it seems likely that engineering considerations took the line further north.Richard Griffiths, The Entrepreneurial Society of the Rhondda Valleys, 1840-1920: Power and Influence in the Porth - Pontypridd Region, University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 2010, As soon as the South Wales Railway opened there was a widespread feeling that the town must have a branch line if it could not be on the main line. A number of schemes were put forward, many of them remarkably ambitious and expensive, and for some time the proposals came to nothing.Colin Chapman, The Cowbridge Railway, Oxford Publishing Company, Poole, 1984,
Ely Valley Railway
The Ely Valley Railway opened its first line in 1860; it was a broad gauge line worked by the Great Western Railway. It had been built to serve iron and coal pits to the north of the South Wales Railway main line. It was not financially successful and it was dependent on its larger sponsor in 1861.
Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway
There were iron and coal pits in the area between Treforest and Llantrisant, and after a false start, the Llantrissant and Taff Vale Railway was incorporated by the Llantrissant and Taff Vale Junction Railway Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. li) on 7 June 1861.Colin Chapman, The Llantrisant Branches of the Taff Vale Railway, Oakwood Press, Headington, 1996,
It was to reach Llantrisant station on the South Wales Railway main line, but the final mile was over the Ely Valley Railway. As it was being financed by the Taff Vale Railway, the L&TVJR was on the narrow (standard) gauge, and the Ely Valley Railway was a broad gauge line.
The L&TVJR was to build from the Taff Vale Railway main line, about a mile below Treforest Station, to the Mwyndy branch of the Ely Valley Railway at Maesaraul, where there were important mineral deposits. Running powers were not granted from Maesaraul Junction to Llantrisant Station, which was about two miles south west of the village of that name. It opened the majority of its line in 1863, but the Ely Valley Railway stalled on the provision of mixed gauge track on its line, on which the L&TVJR was dependent.
A railway for Cowbridge The promotion of the L&TVJR spurred the people of Cowbridge to move forward with their own scheme, and on 1 July 1861 a prospectus for the Cowbridge Railway was published. It was to run from Cowbridge to connect with the L&TVJR at Maesaraul, north of Llantrisant, crossing the South Wales Railway main line a little east of Llantrisant station, with a spur there to an interchange siding. The capital was to be £30,000, as it was claimed that the cost of construction would be far below the average cost of railway construction locally. The benefits would enable local farmers to get their produce to market cheaply as well as reducing the cost of bringing in coal, and also moving iron ore extracted at Llanharry to be transported away.
In November 1861 the Taff Vale Railway agreed to subscribe up to £5,000 towards the scheme, but subscriptions towards the cost of the railway were otherwise very difficult to secure. Indeed the Parliamentary deposit required to proceed with the Bill had to be loaned by the Taff Vale company.
At the committee stages of the Cowbridge Railway Bill, the South Wales Railway once again put forward the proposal that the branch should be built on the broad gauge, which would bring it into the "associated companies" of the broad gauge group. However this last-minute idea was not taken forward.
The (25 & 26 Vict. c. clxxix) was accordingly passed on 29 July 1862; it had authorised capital of £35,000.D S M Barrie, revised Peter Baughan, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 12: South Wales, David St John Thomas, Nairn, 1994,
Securing subscriptions continued to be a serious difficulty, and the directors decided to approach the South Wales Railway for assistance; they met them on 4 November 1862.Chapman is ambiguous about whether it was the South Wales Railway or the Great Western Railway with whom the Cowbridge company negotiated. They asked the South Wales Railway to permit their company to reach the L&TVJR over the Ely Valley Railway, between Llantrisant and Maesaraul Junction. This would enable them to omit the construction of the northward part of their line above Llantrisant. The broad gauge interest had already shown itself to be hostile to such an incursion, but now the Great Western Railway offered to permit this, and to lay a third rail, forming "mixed gauge", to enable the running of standard gauge trains, for an annual rental of £400.
The Cowbridge directors thought this exceeded the interest on the capital outlay if they built the connecting line, so they decided not to proceed with the request at first, but after further consideration agreed that it was worth pursuing. In fact the GWR agreed to reduce the rental charge to £200, and on that basis the Cowbridge directors concluded an agreement in June 1863. The Board of Trade sanctioned the deviation of the authorised route by which the Cowbridge Railway entered Llantrisant station rather than crossing the South Wales Railway main line.
Construction The first sod was cut on 9 June 1863. Work seemed to be progressing well and in June 1864 the company informed the Board of Trade of the intention to open for passenger traffic shortly; however this was soon realised to be premature, and was withdrawn. Subscriptions for shares continued to fall short, and in August 1864 it was announced that contractors had been paid with Lloyds Bonds, that is, promissory notes payable in two or three years.
Colonel Yolland, for the Board of Trade, visited the line on 17 December 1864. The third rail on the Ely Valley Railway was not yet ready so no rolling stock had reached the line. Yolland noted that the line was 5 miles 60 chains in length, and that gradients were steep, with a maximum of 1 in 45 near Ystradowen. The down platform of the South Wales Railway (by this time amalgamated into the Great Western Railway) had been altered so as to have a platform face on its south side for the Cowbridge trains, and there was a run-round loop. A standard gauge line owned by the GWR left the Cowbridge line at the west end, and crossed the main line to lead northwards to the Ely Valley line.
Yolland was not satisfied with the signalling arrangements at Llantrisant junction, which did not bring all the points and signals to a central interlocking. The waiting room at Llantrisant was so close to the platform edge as to risk accidents to passengers. Ystradowen station was on a very steep gradient, which could have simply been eased, and as it was a passing place, another platform was necessary on the loop line. Accordingly Yolland declined to pass the line for passenger operation. Moreover the L&TVJR had not provided signalling at Maesaraul Junction, intending to leave it until after the inspection. Inevitably therefore the inspection there failed and the opening of both the Cowbridge Railway and the L&TVJR section was refused also.
On 16 January 1865, the TVR brought an engine over Maesaraul Junction and the mixed gauge section of the Ely Valley Railway, on to the Cowbridge Railway. This engine then worked on the line as a trial. While this was satisfactory, the Taff Vale Railway Engineer, George Fisher, declared himself extremely unhappy with the Cowbridge Railway track. Fisher reported that the works on the line were exceptionally light, and had been executed in the cheapest possible manner. This would result, he thought, in costly maintenance and excessive wear and tear. Considerable alterations would be required before TVR engines could work safely over the railway, and the line would require constant attention and repair during its first year of operation.
Notwithstanding the deferral of passenger operation, an opening ceremony took place on 30 January 1865. An ordinary goods service was started on 8 February 1865, and it was decided that two trains a day would suffice. Messrs Griffiths and Thomas would maintain the line for twelve months, for £500 in cash.
Work on the alterations required by the Board of Trade was complete (except for Ystradowen station, temporarily deferred) and Captain Rich inspected the railway on 22 March 1865. He was satisfied and approved the opening for passengers. However he also inspected the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway; he was dissatisfied with the signalling at Maesaraul Junction, and refused that opening. The third rail over the Ely Valley Railway was also incomplete, so the Cowbridge directors decided not to attempt to operate a passenger service on their own branch line until trains could run through to Pontypridd.