The Hay Railway (HR) was an early Welsh narrow gauge horse tramway
that connected Eardisley (10 miles northeast of) Hay-on-Wye with Watton Wharf on the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal.
Parliamentary authorisation, construction and opening
The railway received parliamentary authorisation on 25 May 1811. Construction of its winding 24-mile long route took nearly five years and the line was opened on 7 May 1816.[1] The tramway was built to a gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm). The railway adopted the use of cast iron 'L'-shaped tramroad plates in its construction. The vertical portions of the two plates were positioned inside the wheels of the tramway wagons and the plates were spiked to stone blocks for stability. The size of the stones, and their spacing, was such that the horses could operate unimpeded.[2]
Operation of the railway
From 1 May 1820, the Hay Railway was joined at its Eardisley terminus, in an end on junction, by the Kington Tramway. Together, the two lines totalled 36 miles in length, comprising the longest continuous plateway to be completed in the United Kingdom.[3]
The Hay railway operated through rural areas on the borders of England and Wales and was built to transport goods and freight. Passengers were not carried on any official basis.
The Hay Railway was absorbed into the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway in 1860 and the line was converted to standard gauge[4] for operation by steam locomotives.
References
- Notes
- ↑ Awdry 1990, p. 80
- ↑ Simmons 1997, pp. 134–135
- ↑ Simmons 1997, p. 134
- ↑ Baughan 1980, page 205
- Bibliography
- Awdry, Christopher (1990), Encyclopedia of British Railway Companies, Patrick Stephens Ltd, ISBN 1-85260-508-1
-
- Baughan, Peter E. (1980). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales (1st ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-7850-3. OCLC 6823219.
- Baughan, Peter E. (1991). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales (2nd ed.). Nairn: David St John Thomas. ISBN 0-9465-3759-3. OCLC 26361284.
- Simmons, Jack, ed. (1997), British Railway History, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-211697-5
Historic Welsh railway companies |
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| Great Western Railway |
- Aberdare Railway
- Aberdare Valley Railway
- Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway
- Alexandra Docks and Railway
- Bala and Dolgelly Railway
- Bala and Festiniog Railway
- Barry Dock and Railway
- Barry Railway
- Blaenavon Tramroad
- Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction
- Brecon and Merthyr Railway
- Bridgend
- Bristol and South Wales Union Railway
- Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway
- Cambrian Railways
- Cardiff Railway
- Cardiff and Ogmore
- Carmarthen and Cardigan
- Carmarthenshire Railway
- Clarbeston Road and Letterston Railway
- Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway
- Corris Railway
- Corwen and Bala Railway
- Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen Railway
- Ely and Clydach Valleys Railway
- Ely Valley Railway
- Ely Valley Extension Railway
- Gwendraeth Valleys Railway
- Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway
- Kington Tramway
- Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway
- Llancaiach Branch
- Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway
- Llanidloes and Newtown Railway
- Llangollen and Corwen Railway
- Llangurig branch
- Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway
- Llynvi and Ogmore Railway
- Maerdy Branch
- Manchester and Milford Railway
- Mawddwy Railway
- Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
- Mid-Wales Railway
- Monmouth and Hereford Railway
- Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
- Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway
- Neath and Brecon Railway
- Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway
- Newtown and Machynlleth Railway
- North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway
- North Wales Mineral Railway
- Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway
- Oswestry and Newtown Railway
- Pembroke and Tenby Railway
- Pontypool, Caerleon and Newport Railway
- Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway
- Port Talbot Railway
- Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway
- Rhymney Railway
- Rumney Railway
- Ross and Monmouth Railway
- Shrewsbury and Chester Railway
- Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Chester Junction Railway
- South Wales Railway
- Taff Vale Railway
- Tanat Valley Light Railway
- Vale of Glamorgan Railway
- Vale of Llangollen Railway
- Vale of Neath Railway
- Vale of Rheidol Railway
- Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
- West Midland Railway
- Whitland and Cardigan Railway
- Wye Valley Railway
- Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway
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