Abernant railway station

Abernant railway station served the village of Abernant in Wales. Served by the Vale of Neath railway, the station lay at the other end of the 2497 yard Abernant Tunnel from Merthyr Tydfil.

Abernant
Location
PlaceAbernant
AreaRhondda Cynon Taf
Operations
Original companyVale of Neath Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Platforms?
History
November 1854Station opens
31 December 1962Station closes
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

History

The station was opened by the Vale of Neath Railway in November 1854. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a single Broad Gauge line with a third rail added later to allow mixed gauge traffic It became part of the Great Western Railway in 1865.

By the late 19th Century, the line was described as the ‘most antiquated line’ of the GWR. It was quite a distance from ‘Aberdare’ that either required a long steep climb or hiring a cab. It was described as picturesque and convenient, it was unloved. The chairman of the local Board of Health said that due to the lack of facilities, it was a disgrace. He noted that over 300,000 passengers a year used it but there was no accommodation or toilets. Further pressure was added in June 1896 when a local newspaper suggested it be moved to the Cardiff Exhibition. As a result, facilities were improved in 1897.

The line then passed on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The station was then closed by the British Railways Board in 1962.[1]

The site today

The platform remains on the now overgrown site.[2]

The British Railways Western Region station sign is now on display at the Cynon Valley Museum, Aberdare.[3]

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References
  1. http://cynonvalleymuseum.wales/2020/05/04/the-abernant-station-sign/
  2. "Some views of the site of the former railway at Abernant, 2003". Aberdare Boys Grammar School. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  3. http://cynonvalleymuseum.wales/2020/05/04/the-abernant-station-sign/
  • Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
  • Jowett, A. (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas. Atlantic Publishing. ISBN 0-906899-99-0.
  • Abernant station in 1962
  • Abernant station on navigable O. S. map
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Llwydcoed   Great Western Railway
Vale of Neath Railway		   Merthyr Tydfil


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