History of The Line
The line from Brynmawr to Blaenavon was originally built in 1866 by the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway and immediately leased to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) to transport coal to the Midlands via the Heads of the Valleys line. The line was completed in the late 1860s and the LNWR were operating passenger trains over the line by 1872. Eight years later it was extended to meet the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Abersychan & Talywain. Here the line carried on down the valley through Pontypool Crane Street Station to the coast at Newport. In 1922, the LNWR was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. In later years the line saw a variety of GWR locomotives operating from pit to port, however the railway retained its LNWR infrastructure up until the very last days before its closure.
Read more about this topic: Pontypool And Blaenavon Railway
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