Oldest Public Railway Claim
It is claimed that the Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway is the oldest public railway in Britain. A quote from an Oakwood Press publication written by the Reverend Martin Connop Price entitled 'The Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway' seems to back this claim up:
'Construction proceeded apace, and in May 1803, the line was open for traffic from the ironworks at Cwmddyche down to the sea, a distance of one and a half miles. This short length of line thereby can claim to be the first public railway in use in Britain, because the better known Surrey Iron Railway, engineered by William Jessop, was not ready for traffic until July 1803. By that month Barnes (James Barnes, report author) was able to report that the first five miles of the Carmarthenshire, together with certain branches, were already in use.'
Read more about this topic: Llanelly And Mynydd Mawr Railway
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