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Glyn Valley Tramway

Coordinates: 52°55′48″N 3°09′32″W / 52.9301°N 3.1589°W / 52.9301; -3.1589
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Glyn Valley Tramway
Route of the Glyn Valley Tramway
The original waiting room still stands at Pontfadog
Overview
HeadquartersChirk
LocaleWales
Dates of operation1873–1935
Successorabandoned
Technical
Track gauge2 ft 4+1⁄2 in (724 mm)
Length8+1⁄4 miles (13.28 km)

The Glyn Valley Tramway was a narrow-gauge railway that ran through the Ceiriog Valley in north-east Wales, connecting Chirk with Glyn Ceiriog in Denbighshire (now Wrexham County Borough). The gauge of the line was 2 feet 4+1⁄4 inches (718 mm) while it was horse-drawn,[1] which was unofficially increased to 2 ft 4+1⁄2 in (724 mm) when steam locomotives were introduced.[2] The total length of the line was 8+1⁄4 miles (13.3 km), 6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) of which were worked by passenger trains, the remainder serving a large granite quarry and several minor slate quarries.

History

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Construction

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Ellesmere and Glyn Valley Railway Act 1866
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation29 & 30 Vict. c. cccxxxv
Dates
Royal assent6 August 1866
Other legislation
Repealed byGlyn Valley Tramway Act 1870
Status: Repealed
Ellesmere and Glyn Valley Railway Act 1869
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation32 & 33 Vict. c. cli
Dates
Royal assent9 August 1869
Other legislation
Repealed byGlyn Valley Tramway Act 1870
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Glyn Valley Tramway Act 1870
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation33 & 34 Vict. c. clxvi
Dates
Royal assent10 August 1870
Text of statute as originally enacted
A train in Glyn Ceiriog station

The railway was built to connect the quarries at Glyn Ceriog with the Shropshire Union Canal at Chirk. A standard gauge "Ellesmere & Glyn Valley Railway" was authorised by the Ellesmere and Glyn Valley Railway Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. cccxxxv) of 6 August to run from the Cambrian Railway at Ellesmere to the GWR at Chirk and thence to follow the Glyn Ceiriog road to the quarries. No construction took place and by the Ellesmere and Glyn Valley Railway Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. cli), the Ellesmere to Chirk portion was abandoned. A further act of Parliament, the Glyn Valley Tramway Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. clxvi), obtained on 10 August 1870, allowed the original company to be dissolved, and the Glyn Valley Tramway to be incorporated to take over the rights, assets and goodwill of the previous company. The company believed it could not raise the £120,000 capital required to build the standard gauge line. Henry Dennis suggested a narrow gauge line instead, which would only require £25,000.[3] The line would run from the canal at Chirk Bank to the Cambrian Slate Quarries. This initial line, at 6.5 miles (10.5 km) long, was opened in 1873, and was worked by horse and gravity traction carrying passengers and freight.

The 1874 timetable shows three passenger journeys each way per day, originating at "New Inn, Glyn" at 8am, reaching "Pontvaen (Chirk)" at 8.45.[4] The return journey took an hour. The terminus at Pontfaen was on the South side of the bridge as an account of an accident in December 1874 stated that "near the Chirk terminus there is a sharp curve, almost at a right angle, to cross the River Ceriog by a wooden bridge". The tram reached this curve at too great a speed and the trucks were shot over the side throwing some of the passengers down the steep rocky bank into the river, fortunately without any fatalities.[5]

Expansion

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Glyn Valley Tramway Act 1885
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to confer further Powers on the Glyn Valley Tramway Company; and for other purposes.
Citation48 & 49 Vict. c. cxl
Dates
Royal assent31 July 1885
Text of statute as originally enacted

In 1885, additional parliamentary powers were obtained in the Glyn Valley Tramway Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. cxl) to abandon the Quinta Tramway section between Pontfaen and Chirk Bank, replacing it with a new line from Pontfaen to the Great Western Railway's Chirk station. Under the 1885 act access to canal wharfage was obtained by extending the tramway further North from Chirk Station to the redundant Black Park Collieries Dock Basin.[6] A two-mile extension was also authorized from Glyn to the quarries around Pandy. While the modified route was opened for mineral traffic promptly, there was a substantial delay in opening for passenger traffic arising from a dispute about the erection of a fence between the railway and the road on the new section into Chirk. The tramway eventually re-opened for passengers on Monday 16th March 1891.[7]

The re-opened passenger service had three intermediate stations, Castle Mill, Pontfadoc and Dolywern, with no provison for stopping between stations. The journey time was 50 minutes, with 5 up trains from Chirk and 4 return trains. There was a new 12 person passenger carriage at the opening made by the Midland Carriage Co. of Shrewsbury and there was no distinction between classes of seating. Tickets were bought from the van at the rear of the train, obviating the need for booking clerks and station masters. The locomotives used on this service were "Sir Theodore" and "Dennis".[8] The 1905 timetable shows Pontfaen introduced as a request stop, and journey times reduced to 40 minutes. There were 4 trains each way with extra trains on Wednesday and Saturday.[9]

Quarries

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Name Product Start year End year Notes
Hendre quarry Granite 1935 Internal railway system worked by a Lilleshall Company 0-4-0T locomotive
Upper Pandy quarry Granite 1900 1908
Cae-Deicws quarry Chinastone 1885 1905
Lower Pandy quarry Chinastone 1885 1905
Pen-y-Graig quarry Silica 1911 1920
Coed-y-Glyn mine Granite
Cambrian quarry Slate 1873 Internal quarry railway was laid to 2 ft (610 mm) gauge and used a W.G. Bagnall 0-4-0ST
Wynne quarry Slate 1884
Quinta colliery Coal

Decline and closure

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After the First World War costs started to rise significantly, while revenues did not. The railway's financial situation declined steadily during the 1920s. The railway needed to carry approximately 45,000 tons of traffic per year to break even. In 1929 it carried 64,857 tons, but by 1932 this had dropped to 21,400 tons. Increased use of road haulage and a change in the ownership of the remaining quarries was the cause of this downturn in traffic.

In 1932, a bus service was started in the valley, for the first time offering passengers a serious competition to travelling on the tramway. Passenger receipts declined steeply that year, and passenger services were abandoned at the beginning of 1933. Freight traffic continued to decline and the losses to mount on the railway and all services ceased in July 1935 as the company went into voluntary liquidation. In 1936 the track was removed and all the locomotives were scrapped.

Locomotives

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At the time of the expansion, Henry Dennis was a director and also the tramway's Engineer. He was also the Engineer for the Snailbeach District Railways, near Shrewsbury. When rebuilding of the line began in 1887, Dennis offered to loan the two steam locomotives from Snailbeach, as the carriage of lead ore on that railway had plummetted. They were of the slightly narrower gauge of 2 ft 4 in (711 mm), and the difference meant that they derailed very easily. The Act of Parliament did not allow the gauge to be changed as part of the rebuilding, but in practice, it was increased to 2 ft 4+1⁄2 in (724 mm).[10] Davies suggests that the two locomotives, Belmont and Fernhill, normally worked on relatively straight track, but the Glyn Valley Tramway followed the course of the road, with numerous sharp bends, where the wheel flanges may have distorted the track, opening out the gauge, and this is the most likely reason for the change of gauge.[11]

The new line was opened for freight traffic in 1888 and to passengers in 1891. Two locomotives, Sir Theodore and Dennis were in use when passenger services resumed, and were joined by a third Beyer Peacock tram locomotive Glyn in 1892. In 1921, an ex-War Department Light Railways Baldwin Class 10-12-D was purchased; it was regauged by Beyer Peacock from its original 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) gauge.

When the line closed in 1936, no buyers were found for the locomotives (the unusual gauge may have been a factor), and so they were all scrapped on site.

Number Name Builder Type Works Number Built Notes
1 Dennis Beyer, Peacock & Company 0-4-2T 2970 1888 Scrapped 1936
2 Sir Theodore Beyer, Peacock & Company 0-4-2T 2969 1888 Loaned to the Snailbeach District Railways around 1905. Scrapped 1936
3 Glyn Beyer, Peacock & Company 0-4-2T 3500 1892 Scrapped 1936
4 Baldwin 4-6-0T 45211 1917 Acquired by the GVT in 1921; mainly worked freight trains. Scrapped 1936

Preservation

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Glyn Valley carriage, now preserved on the Talyllyn Railway

Most of the railway's stock and track were scrapped in the 1930s. However, some carriage bodies were sold to local farmers. Two of these bodies survived long enough to be rescued by the Talyllyn Railway where they have been restored to working order and are now used in regular traffic. A quantity of Glyn Valley track also found its way to the Talyllyn.

The waiting rooms in Pontfadog and Dolywern survive in their original locations. In 1950 the council officer used Pontfadog waiting room to collect rates and the locals nicknamed it ‘Pontfadog Town Hall’.[citation needed] It was later bought by the public house[which?] and it was also used as a craft shop.

Glyn Valley Tramway Trust

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In October 2007, the Glyn Valley Tramway Trust was formed with the aim of restoring part of the tramway. They plan to recreate its appearance in the 1920s era and provide a visitor centre and workshops with educational facilities to display and interpret the history and development of the Tramway through artefacts and audio-visual media. The Glyn Valley Tramway Trust are to carry out a Design and Evaluation study of the entire route from Chirk to Glyn Ceiriog and beyond, and as a first phase intends to re-instate a 1-kilometre (0.6 mi) section as an operational steam heritage railway from the original Chirk GVT station to Baddy's Wood near Pontfaen.[12]

In 2019, the Glyn Valley Tramway Trust started to clear trees and spoil from the station site at Chirk, adjacent to the Network Rail station. In August 2022, the platform and trackbed had been cleared. The Trust intends to rebuild the platform, and lay track in the station area.[citation needed]

On 31 October 2022, the trust announced that they intend to rebuild the section of the tramway between Chirk and Pontfaen to a gauge of 2 ft 3 in (686 mm)—matching the Talyllyn Railway and Corris Railway—rather than the original Glyn Valley gauge of 2 ft 4+1⁄2 in (724 mm).[13] The first section of track was laid at Chirk station in December 2022.[14]

New Glyn Valley Tramway & Industrial Heritage Trust

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The New Glyn Valley Tramway & Industrial Heritage Trust, formed in 1985, has opened a Heritage and Interpretation Centre in Glyn Ceiriog. [15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Milner 2008, p. 37.
  2. ^ Boyd 1970, p. 142.
  3. ^ Boyd 1970, pp. 129–130.
  4. ^ "Railway Timetable & Diary - July 1874". Wrexham Advertiser. 4 July 1874. p. 9.
  5. ^ "Serious Tramway Accident". Liverpool Evening Express. 22 December 1874. p. 3.
  6. ^ Hughes, Stephen (25 May 2007). "Black Park Collieries Railway Bottom Wharf Dock". Coflein. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Flintshire Observer". Flintshire Observer. 19 March 1891. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Jottings". Railway News. 4 April 1891. p. 38.
  9. ^ "Glyn Valley Tramway". Shrewsbury Chronicle. 29 September 1905. p. 9.
  10. ^ Boyd 1970, pp. 141–142.
  11. ^ Davies 1966, pp. 19–20.
  12. ^ first rails arrive at chirk for glyn valley tramway rebuild Rail Advent April 2022
  13. ^ "GVT revival will be 2ft 3in gauge track". The Railway Magazine. December 2022. p. 70.
  14. ^ First track goes down in Glyn Valley Tramway revival Steam Railway issue 540 6 January 2023 page 21
  15. ^ "Home". www.glynvalleytramway.org.uk.

Bibliography

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  • Baughan, Peter E. (1991). Regional History of The Railways of Great Britain Vol XI (2nd ed.). David & Charles.
  • Boyd, James I.C. (1970). Narrow Gauge Railways in Mid-Wales. The Oakwood Press.
  • Davies, David Llewellyn (1966). The Glyn Valley Tramway. The Oakwood Press.
  • Household, H.G.W. (April 1926). "The Glyn Valley Tramroad" (PDF). The Railway Magazine. Vol. 58, no. 346. pp. 283–286.[permanent dead link‍]
  • Jones, Richard Bagnold (1958). British Narrow Gauge Railways. A & C Black.
  • Kidner, R.W. (1947). The Narrow Gauge Railways of Wales (3rd ed.). The Oakwood Press.
  • Milner, John (1984). The Glyn Valley Tramway. Oxford Publishing Co.
  • Milner, John (2008). Slates from Glyn Ceiriog. Ceiriog Press. ISBN 978-1-900622-11-0.
  • Milner, John; Williams, Beryl (2011). Rails to Glyn Ceiriog Part 1 of The Industrial History of the Ceiriog Valley. Ceiriog Press.
  • Milner, John; Williams, Beryl (2015). Rails to Glyn Ceiriog Part 2 of The Industrial History of the Ceiriog Valley. Ceiriog Press.
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52°55′48″N 3°09′32″W / 52.9301°N 3.1589°W / 52.9301; -3.1589

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