Barry Railway Company - Formation

Formation

David Davies of Ocean Collieries was one of the premier business men of the South Wales coal fields, but like many suffered from the capacity and monopoly issues created by two companies:

  • The Taff Vale Railway which provided the dominant rail infrastructure. Capacity issues were particularly dominant after Pontypridd, where down loaded trains and up return empty wagons were restricted to a single double track route, which could not be expanded due to the geographic challenges of the valley
  • Cardiff Docks, which having been developed by Lord Bute, were sufficient to serve his coal-exporting needs, but did not have sufficient capacity to cope with new mine developments

In light of the geographic restrictions of the valley south of Pontypridd, Davies proposed development of a secondary route which terminated at Barry, where a dock infrastructure could be developed without the mud flat or tidal restrictions which gave Cardiff's Tiger Bay its name. This would create a competitive edge to the development, and due to being later developed to a more easily accessible docks, a resultant efficiency advantge over Cardiff.

The Barry Dock and Railway Bill was introduced in the 1883 Parliamentary session but was defeated by opposition, particularly from the Bute Docks and Taff Vale Railway. The Bill was introduced again the following year and the Barry Dock and Railway Company Act was passed on 14 August 1884 for the construction of a dock at Barry Island. The name was changed to the Barry Railway Company by an Act of 5 August 1891.

Read more about this topic:  Barry Railway Company

Famous quotes containing the word formation:

    The formation of an oppositional world view is necessary for feminist struggle. This means that the world we have most intimately known, the world in which we feel “safe” ... must be radically changed. Perhaps it is the knowledge that everyone must change, not just those we label enemies or oppressors, that has so far served to check our revolutionary impulses.
    Bell (c. 1955)

    I want you to consider this distinction as you go forward in life. Being male is not enough; being a man is a right to be earned and an honor to be cherished. I cannot tell you how to earn that right or deserve that honor. . . but I can tell you that the formation of your manhood must be a conscious act governed by the highest vision of the man you want to be.
    Kent Nerburn (20th century)

    It is because the body is a machine that education is possible. Education is the formation of habits, a superinducing of an artificial organisation upon the natural organisation of the body.
    Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895)