Closure and Demolition
As a result of the Beeching Axe, the last scheduled passenger train ran over the bridge on Saturday 13 June 1964, the 21:10 from Pontypool to Treherbert.
Preservation of the historic viaduct was discussed, and the structure was scheduled as being of architectural and historical interest by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. But while the stone Hengoed Viaduct survived, a structural survey of the cast iron Crumlin Viaduct showed its poor state, and resultant need for high investment to secure its future, let alone ongoing maintenance costs. The decision was therefore made to dismantle it, as by now housing was extending into the lower valley area.
In the period between closure of the NA&HR and dismantling operations beginning, scenes for the Universal Pictures film Arabesque which starred Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck were shot both on and around the bridge. Demolition of the Viaduct was carried out by Bird's of Swansea from June 1966, taking nine months with the help of a Bailey bridge.
The iron parts of the bridge had been completed dismantled by the end of 1967, and now only the stone and cast concrete abutments remain visible on the valley sides.
The abutments are visible at: 51°40′51.19″N 3°08′14.55″W / 51.6808861°N 3.1373750°W / 51.6808861; -3.1373750, 51°40′47.48″N 3°08′30.07″W / 51.6798556°N 3.1416861°W / 51.6798556; -3.1416861 & 51°40′44.16″N 3°08′36.79″W / 51.6789333°N 3.1435528°W / 51.6789333; -3.1435528
Read more about this topic: Crumlin Viaduct