Manchester and Milford Railway - Planning

Planning

In 1860, the M&MR received the Royal Assent for the section between Pencader and Llanidloes. This was just as the American Civil War (1860-1865) was starting, greatly reducing the opportunity for shipping passengers and goods to North America. The railway company decided to address the easier southern part of the route first, from Pencader to the southern edge of the Pumlumon mountains - its first strategic mistake.

By 1861 a route was proposed north mainly along the east side of the River Teifi valley from Pencader via: Llanybydder; Lampeter; Tregaron; Pontrhydfendigaid; Ysbyty Ystwyth; Pontrhydygroes; to Devil’s Bridge. There, a junction station would be constructed, with the main line proceeding to Llanidloes, and a branch line to Aberystwyth.

The attraction of a junction at Devil’s Bridge and branch to Aberystwyth was driven by freight traffic. This was through the combination of the shipment of wood from the large local forests to the port of Aberystwyth, and the extensive lead mining that had been carried out since Roman times along the River Rheidol valley.

Negotiations with land owners proved lengthy, and projected construction costs also resulted in an inevitable delay. In April 1864, the M&MR contracted David Davies of Llandinam and Fredrick Beeston for the construction of 27 miles (43 km) of track from Pencader to Pontrhydfendigaid. The route onwards to Llanidloes was excluded, as it required additional surveying to overcome engineering and resultant cost difficulties.

By late 1864, the proposed route had changed again, moving west from the original plan. This would result in both a shorter route to Llanidloes, and moving the junction station from Devil’s Bridge, now considered less important by the M&MR. North of Alltddu Halt, the line was to run across Cors Caron to a new junction station location near Ystrad Meurig. The main line would then climb up to Ysbytty Ystwyth and Cwmystwyth, and onwards to Llanidloes.

This change was for the cost advantage of the M&MR, and negotiated with Ernest Vaughan, 4th Earl of Lisburne of the Trawsgoed estate, who owned the lands north of Tregaron. From 1862 onwards he had been negotiating the route across his lands via his London-based solicitors. Lord Lisburne lobbied strongly for the junction station to be called Ystrad Meurig and not Strata Florida after the derelict Cistercian abbey 3 miles (4.8 km) away, an argument he lost.