Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
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The Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company (MR&CC) built and operated the Newport and Pontypool Railway. It was known as the "Rat & Cat's".
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[edit] Overview
The railway was proposed by the Monmouthshire Canal Company, whose existing canals were being threatened by competition from the new surge for railway lines. In 1845 they obtained an Act of Parliament[1] to build a railway from Newport to Pontnewynydd, under the name "Newport and Pontypool Railway".
By 1848 it was clear that the project would not succeed, and another Act[2] was passed to enable the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company to take on the work and the canal.
The line was opened between Newport and Pontypool on 30 June 1852. Engineering feats included a tunnel at Malpas, a seven-arch viaduct at Cwmynyscoy, and a 52-foot iron bridge over the canal at Pontymoile. Once completed, the line was soon doubled to cope with increasing traffic demands.
Meanwhile, building commenced on a northward extension to Pontnewynydd, laid in the bed of the drained canal so that the existing bridges could be reused with little modification.
Further linkages over existing tramways were completed to Blaenavon and beyond.
[edit] Stations
- Newport (Mill Street)
- Llantarnam
- Cwmbran
- Upper Pontnewydd
- Pontrydyryn
- Sebastopol
- Panteg & Griffithstown
- Blaendare Road
- Pontypool (Crane Street)
- Pontnewynydd
[edit] Closures
Passenger services ceased in 1941 north of Pontypool, and 1962 throughout.
The line from Newport to Cwmbran closed on 27 October 1963, with traffic being switched to the Pontypool, Caerleon and Newport Railway route.
On 3 May 1980 the Big Pit closed, and with it the remainder of the railway line. A section of the northern extension of the line is in preservation as the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway.
Sections of the line through Cwmbran have been used as the route for the A4051 road, known as Cwmbran Drive.
