Teifi Valley Railway

The Teifi Valley Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Dyffryn Teifi) is a 2 ft  (610 mm) gauge railway operating between Llandysul and Newcastle Emlyn along the River Teifi, South Wales. It is a narrow-gauge tourist railway built on the GWR part of the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway and currently operating on about two miles of track. A new platform has been constructed at Henllan, on the original GWR location, from where the service is planned to continue to Newcastle Emlyn and, eventually, to Pentrecwrt. Trains currently run from Henllan station to Llandyfriog Riverside.

History

The Teifi Valley Railway was originally conceived as a 7 ft 0 ¹⁄₄ in (2,140 mm) broad-gauge line between Carmarthen and Cardigan. The line was opened temporarily in 1860, under the South Wales Railway and was fully opened the following year. It was operated by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway between Carmarthen and Cynwyl Elfed. In 1864, the line was extended to Pencader and Llandysul and, by 1872, had been converted to standard gauge (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm)). By this time though, the line was bankrupt. Eventually the line was bought by the Great Western Railway which extended the terminus to Newcastle Emlyn. Passenger trains ceased to operate in 1952 and, in 1973 when freight services discontinued, the line was closed and dismantled.^[1] All that was left were platforms, bridges and a tunnel.

Although attempts had been made in 1973 to preserve the railway at standard gauge, it was not until 1981 that any true restoration project got under way. A group of enthusiasts bought the trackbed and, in 1983, laid a 2 ft  (610 mm) gauge track. The line originally ran from Henllan to Pontprenshitw, where passengers were invited to take a short walk to see the waterfall under the railway bridge. In 1987, the line was extended as far as Llandyfriog and, since 2006, has been further extended to the current end of the line, known as Llandyfriog Riverside. During spring 2009, work proceeded to return the location of Henllan station to its original site. This platform was opened for use in July 2009.^[1]

The line

The line between Henllan station and the old Llandyfriog station is built on the side of a valley, with a succession of bridges and the remainder to Llandyfriog Riverside on an embankment:

• Bridge 52, a road over bridge
• Bridge 53, a small access bridge
• Bridge 54, 'Pontprenshitw', a large single-arch bridge (built by Joseph Hamlet of West Bromwich in 1893) carrying the railway over the River Cynllo gorge and a historic Celtic leat
• Bridge 55, 'Mini-Pont', a small access bridge
• Bridge 56, an access bridge to a farm and the River Teifi (Between the old Llandyfriog station and the new Riverside station, the railway is built on an embankment)
• Bridge 57, 'Admiral's Bridge', providing access to a house on the bank of the Teifi
• Bridge 58, an access bridge to a farm
• Bridge 59, 'Pont Goch', a large piered-beam bridge, part of which has collapsed into the Teifi. Due to heavy rainfall in the autumn of 1987, the Teifi became a torrent which submerged the section, which was later removed. The remaining half is sound and is used as a viewing point at Riverside station.

Rolling stock and locomotives

Locomotives^[2]

Carriages

Wagons

See also

• British narrow gauge railways
• Heritage railway

External links

• Official Site

References