Brecon Mountain Railway

The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog) is a 1 ft 11 ³⁄₄ in (603 mm) narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons. It climbs northwards from Pant along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also called 'Taf Fechan' reservoir by Welsh Water) and continues past the adjoining Pentwyn Reservoir to Torpantau railway station. The railway's starting point at Pant is located two miles (3 km) north of the town centre of Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, South-East Wales.

Brecon Mountain Railway Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog
1908-built German 0-6-2WTT Graf Schwerin-Löwitz and American-style carriages.
Locale	Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Terminus	Pant
Commercial operations
Name	Brecon Mountain Railway
Built by	Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Original gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Owned by	Brecon Mountain Railway Ltd
Operated by	Brecon Mountain Railway Ltd
Stations	4
Length	5 miles (8.0 km) [1]
Preserved gauge	1 ft 11 ^3⁄4 in (603 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1980
Website
http://www.bmr.wales/

The American feel of the line is apparent from this photo of 1930 US-built Baldwin pacific No. 2 on 11 April 2004.

Brecon & Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Neath and Brecon Railway to Neath Brecon (Watton) Brecon Free Street Groesffordd Halt Taff Vale Railway to Cardiff Central Talyllyn Tunnel 674 yd 616 m Merthyr High Street Talyllyn Junction Maerdy Junction Hereford, Hay & Brecon Rly to Hereford Brandy Junction & Mid Wales Rly to Builth Wells Ynysfach Junction Talybont-on-Usk Ynysfach Ironworks Rhydycar Junction Pentir Rhiw Cyfarthfa Junction Cwm Colliery Great Western Railway/ Taff Vale Railway Llwyngelyn Junction to Quakers Yard and Merthyr Railway Heolgerrig Halt Great Western Railway to Aberdare Cyfarthfa Steelworks Cefn Viaduct Cefn Coed Torpantau Tunnel 667 yd 610 m Pontsarn Halt Torpantau Pontsarn Viaduct Dolygaer Morlais Junction Pontsticill Junction Dowlais Central Brecon Mountain Railway Morlais Tunnel 1040 yd 951 m Pontsticill Junction Pantysgallog Halt (High Level) Pant Junction Pant Brecon & Merthyr Rly Brecon Mountain Rly Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Rly Dowlais Top (LNWR)   Dowlais Top Junction MT&AR (LNWR) to Abergavenny Rhymney Railway to Dowlais Cae Harris Pantywaun Halt Fochriw Colliery Fochriw Junction Fochriw Rhymney Railway to Rhymney Ogilvie Village Halt Rhymney Lower & Pontlottyn Ogilvie Colliery Abertysswg McLaren Colliery Halt Darran and Deri New Tredegar Colliery Platform New Tredegar Groes-Faen Colliery Elliot Pit Halt Groesfaen Colliery Platform Cwmtysswg Colliery Cwmsyfiog Halt Bargoed North Junction Cwmsyfiog & Brithdir Bargoed Aber Bargoed Bargoed South Junction Bargoed Colliery Halt Aberbargoed Junction Rhymney Railway to Caerphilly Pengam   Newport, Abergavenny Fleur de Lis platform and Hereford Railway to Aberdare Maesycwmmer Junction Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway to Caerphilly to Pontypool   Gwernydomen Halt Maesycwmmer Barry Railway to Barry Junction Fountain Bridge Halt Llanbradach Colliery Halt Waterloo Halt Bedwas White Hart Halt Trethomas Machen Machen Quarry Church Road Rhiwderin Bassaleg Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway to Alexandra Docks

Route of the BMR

The line runs along part of the trackbed of the northern section of the former 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Brecon and Merthyr Railway from Pant to a new station at Torpantau, via Pontsticill and Dolygaer, a total of about 4.5 miles (7 km).

This takes the BMR just short of the southern entrance to the 667 yd (610 m) long Torpantau tunnel, the highest railway tunnel in Great Britain,[2] which carried the original line through the hills along the side of Glyn Collwn to Brecon or to Moat Lane or Hereford via junctions at Talyllyn and Three Cocks.

One of the benefits of the line, and a condition of the planning permission, is that tourists can access and experience part of the Brecon Beacons National Park without driving their cars through it.[3] Car parking for railway passengers is only available at Pant Station, outside the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The Brecon Mountain Railway is a member of the Great Little Trains of Wales.

History

The Brecon Mountain Railway was founded in the mid-1970s, by Tony Hills. Hills was a long time railway enthusiast who by 1970, had established a base at Gilfach Ddu on the Llanberis Lake Railway where he stored the locomotives he purchased. In 1977, he purchased five miles of trackbed of the abandoned Brecon & Merthyr Railway at Pant and moved his collection there.[4] Construction of the BMR started in 1978, with the grant of a Light Railway Order in 1980.[5] Track was laid between Pant and Pontsticill in 1979–80. At Pontsticill the station house was renovated, the old waiting room was converted into a small workshop and a storage shed was built. Seven bridges were repaired or replaced. The railway opened to passengers in June 1980 using the engine Sybil and one carriage.

Between 1982 and 1996 a large station and workshop were built at Pant. These provide passenger facilities including toilets, cafe, shop and booking office as well as the extensive workshop used to build and maintain the railway locomotives, carriages and wagons.

A 1 ¹⁄₂ miles (2.4 km) extension from Pontsticill to Dol-y-Gaer opened in 1995. The railway was further extended to Torpantau, just short of the southern entrance of the Torpantau Tunnel, with passenger services commencing 1 April 2014.

By 2016, the original waiting room building at Pontsticill, which had served as a workshop for a period, was converted to a steam museum housing various stationary steam engines and three of the smaller locomotives. All of the stationary units were connected up to a steam distribution header and boiler which in 2017 was still awaiting commissioning.

Stations of the BMR

• Pant – southern terminus of the BMR.
• Pontsticill – at the southern end of the Pontsticill reservoir.
• Dolygaer – station closed, but passing loop in use.
• Torpantau – current northern terminus of the BMR.

Locomotives

Full list of locomotives at the site:[6]

Builder	Works No.	Date	Type	Name or Number	Status
Baldwin	15511	1897	2-6-2	1	Operational. Acquired 2002. Restored to full working order in 2019.[7]
Baldwin	61269	1930	4-6-2	2	Operational. Originally built for the Eastern Province Cement Company in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Acquired by the Brecon Mountain Railway around 1990, and restored to full working order in 1997.[8]
Baldwin	40733	1913	2-6-2	3	Original locomotives rostered on Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, Franklin County, Maine, USA, carrying road numbers 23 and 10 respectively. Scrapped in 1936. Replicas are being constructed in the workshops from the original drawings.[9][10]
Baldwin	42231	1916	2-4-4 T	4
Brecon Mountain Railway	001	1987	0-6-0DH		Operational.
De Winton		1894	0-4-0 VB	Pendyffryn	On display but is in working order.
Hunslet Engine Co.	827	1903	0-4-0 ST	Sybil	On display but is in working order.
Jung	1261	1908	0-6-2 WTT	Graf Schwerin-Löwitz 99-3553	Operational.
Redstone		1905	0-4-0 VBT		On display but is in working order.
Wickham	10943	1976	2w-2PMR		Operational.
Kambarka	TU7-1698	1981	4w-4wDH		The loco came from a Peat Railway at Seda, in Latvia.[11]
Kambarka	706.951[12]	1985	4w-4wDH		The loco came from the Tatra Electric Railway, in Slovakia.[13]

See also

• British narrow gauge railways
• List of British heritage and private railways
• List of closed railway lines in Great Britain

References

1. Jacobs (Ed.), Gerald (2005). Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western. Trackmaps, Bradford upon Avon. ISBN 0-9549866-1-X.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
2. www.british-heritage-railways.co.uk Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 18 December 2012
3. www.narrow-gauge-pleasure.co.uk Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine accessed 18 December 2012.
4. Johnson, Peter (9 November 2015). "Tony Hills obituary". The Guardian.
5. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/47821/page/5222/data.pdf Notice of Light Railway Order application, 1979
6. UK Locos – Preserved, Private, Hired & Industrial Locos
7. "No. 1 Santa Teresa Locomotive". Retrieved 22 July 2019.
8. "No. 2 Baldwin Locomotive". Retrieved 22 July 2019.
9. "No. 3 Sandy River Locomotive". Retrieved 22 July 2019.
10. "No. 4 Forney Type Locomotive". Retrieved 22 July 2019.
11. http://www.philt.org.uk/Narrow-Gauge-Railways/Welsh-Narrow-Gauge/i-3tXQwNZ/
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. http://www.zeleznicny.net/modules/xcgal/displayimage.php?pid=25932&album=162

External links

• Official website
• BMR listing
• Picture of New Torpantau station (before opening)