Varteg railway station
Encyclopedia
Varteg railway station was a railway station which served the village of Varteg
, in the county of Monmouthshire
, on the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway. Built by the London and North Western Railway
(LNWR) as an expansion to meet the Great Western Railway
(GWR) at Abersychan and Talywain
. It was sometimes referred to on old Ordnance Survey
and British Railway Clearing House
(RCH) as 'Varteg Halt', despite it having an extensive station building.
which through the connection with the Heads of the Valleys Line
was able to take coal directly to destinations in the Midlands
. The station closed in 1941 in the same year when passenger trains operated by the Great Western Railway ceased due to the exigencies of the Second World War.
. The site today is occupied by the National Cycle Route 46
. Reopening the station to the public has become one of the long-term ambitions of the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
.
Varteg
- Location :It lies near Abersychan on the hills above the valley of the Afon Llwyd, between Pontypool and Blaenavon.- History & Amenities :Varteg has one of the two Welsh language medium primary school in Torfaen, namely Ysgol Bryn Onnen. The other is Ysgol Gymraeg Cwmbrân, in Cwmbrân.It also has...
, in the county of Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
, on the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway. Built by the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(LNWR) as an expansion to meet the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) at Abersychan and Talywain
Abersychan and Talywain railway station
Abersychan and Talywain railway station served the west of Abersychan village in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire. The station was the meeting point for two major pre-grouping railways as they competed for the South Wales coal traffic.-History:...
. It was sometimes referred to on old Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
and British Railway Clearing House
Railway Clearing House
The British Railway Clearing House was an organisation set up to manage the allocation of revenue collected by numerous pre-grouping railway companies...
(RCH) as 'Varteg Halt', despite it having an extensive station building.
History
Opened by the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway, it became part of the London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
which through the connection with the Heads of the Valleys Line
Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
The Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway was a railway company operating between 1860 and 1958 between the towns of Merthyr Tydfil, Tredegar and Abergavenny through the counties of Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire in south east Wales....
was able to take coal directly to destinations in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
. The station closed in 1941 in the same year when passenger trains operated by the Great Western Railway ceased due to the exigencies of the Second World War.
The site today
Although the line through the station site can still be traced on an OS map nearby Shop Road Bridge there is little left to show as the disused station building was later demolished by British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
. The site today is occupied by the National Cycle Route 46
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
. Reopening the station to the public has become one of the long-term ambitions of the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway in South Wales, running trains between a halt platform opposite the Whistle Stop public house southwards to the town of Blaenavon via a two-platform station at the site of former colliery furnace.The line is the highest...
.
External links
- Remains of the station (December 1989) http://www.flickr.com/photos/lodekka/2338750410/
- Remains of the station (March 2009) http://www.flickr.com/photos/llundain/3333079450/