Trevil Halt railway station was a station on the London and North Western Railway's Heads of the Valleys line serving the village of Trefil in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire.[1]

History

The first section of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway from Abergavenny to Brynmawr was opened on 29 September 1862.[2] The line was leased and operated by the London and North Western Railway which acquired the smaller railway company on 30 June 1866.[3][4] On 1 March 1864, the line was extended from Brynmawr to Nantybwch.[5]

Trevil opened with the extension of the line on 1 March 1864.[6][7] The village had a long association with tramroads, the Trevil Rail Road having been established in May 1793 and operating from 1797.[8] The Sirhowy Tramroad ran southwards to Sirhowy Ironworks.[9] The Rassa Railroad ran from Trevil limestone quarries to the north-east, under the Merthyr and Abergavenny line, and to the Beaufort Ironworks.[9] Originally, constructed to 3 ft 4 in (1,016 mm), it was converted to 4 ft 2 in (1,270 mm) gauge to link with the Sirhowy Tramroad.[9][10] The works and five collieries comprising 57.5 miles (92.5 km) of private mineral lines were purchased by Richard Thomas & Co. in 1935.[8]

Trevil station was in an isolated location, situated just to the south of the Castle Inn.[9][10] It had two platforms, the main brick-built station building and house being situated on the Down platform.[11] No goods yard was provided but parcels were handled and private sidings were provided in connection with the Beaufort Ironworks which ran parallel with the Sirhowy Tramway.[12][13] These sidings lasted until May 1938.[11] At the same time, the station's signal box was replaced by a frame in the bay window of the station house in order to maintain the block post.[14][15] A few years earlier, in c. 1932–33, the station had been downgraded to a railway halt.[6]

As a result of decline in the local industry and the costs of working the line between Abergavenny and Merthyr,[16] passenger services ended on 4 January 1958.[17] The last public service over the line was an SLS railtour on 5 January 1958 hauled by LNWR 0-8-0 49121 and LNWR 0-6-2 tank 58926.[17][18] Official closure came on 6 January.[6][19][7]

Present

The site of the station has been lost under the A465 road.[20]

References

Notes

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Clinker, C.R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.

• Conolly, W. Philip (2004) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0.
• Edge, David (September 2002). Abergavenny to Merthyr including the Ebbw Vale Branch. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-901706-915.
• Hall, Mike (2009). Lost Railways of South Wales. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-172-2.
• Page, James (1988) [1979]. South Wales. Forgotten Railways. Vol. 8. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-44-5.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
• Tasker, W.W. (1986). The Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway and branches. Poole: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-86093-339-7.