In fact, it was unable to raise the necessary capital and was loss-making from the time of opening the first short section of its line in 1860, and it was in receivership for much of its life.

Meanwhile, another railway was built to Cardigan from Whitland, and the C&CR line did not extend beyond Newcastle Emlyn.

Passenger trains ceased operating on the Newcastle Emlyn branch in 1952 and on the rest of the line in 1965 apart from access to the creamery north of Pencader until 1973.

The GWR encouraged the formation of what was to become the South Wales Railway to build a line from near Gloucester through Cardiff and Swansea to Fishguard.

[1] The line opened progressively: from Swansea (Landore) to Carmarthen on 11 October 1852 and to Haverfordwest and Neyland on 2 January 1854.

[3] Connection to a railway hugely improved the economic prosperity of a town, enabling goods to be brought in and out cheaply.

In 1853 this scheme was widened to include a line to Kidwelly and Cross Hands, connecting the mining and quarrying on Mynydd Mawr.

Late in that year, it became plain that these ambitions were beyond the expected financial resources of the company, and a more modest scheme, to build from Carmarthen to Newcastle Emlyn, was formulated.

[4] Accordingly, a bill for the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway went to Parliament, but proposing a line only as far as Newcastle Emlyn, a distance of 26 miles, at this stage.

This was opposed by the South Wales Railway, which feared that it would encourage a connection with a rival with standard gauge lines.

Whatever the truth of that, the C&CR was not earning enough to pay the working expenses and the service was suspended after only four months' operation, on 31 December 1860.

[11] Evidently "obtaining the permission of the Board of Trade" proved difficult, and the line from Conwil to Pencader was opened to passenger traffic on 28 March 1864, with an intermediate station at Llanpumpsaint.

There were four trains each way daily, generally to and from the South Wales Railway station at Carmarthen Junction.

A bill was prepared: ... for authorizing the construction of the Carmarthen and Cardigan (Kidwelly branch) as a separate undertaking, and for that purpose to raise 100,000l [£100,000] of capital...

It also appears that 70,000l was [already] authorized to be raised by the Carmarthen and Cardiganshire [sic] Company's Kidwelly Branch Act of 1865, but the affairs of the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway being so involved, it was found impossible to construct the Kidwelly branch unless entirely separated from the general undertaking.

Interest payments on bank loans of three-quarters of a million pounds could not be sustained, and the company went into receivership in November 1864, continuing to trade under administration.

The following year a branch to Aberystwyth was proposed; these lines were to join the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway at Pencader.

However the Manchester and Milford Railway was a narrow (standard) gauge line, so through-running at Pencader would not be possible.

By then Parliament considered the broad gauge to be a "general irritant"[19] and the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway was to be obliged to lay a third rail (to enable narrow gauge trains to run) between Pencader Junction and Carmarthen, and to grant running powers to the M&MR.

Seeing this as an unfriendly incursion, the C&CR applied for running powers over the M&MR to Aberystwyth, but this was turned down by Parliament.

The mixed gauge track between Pencader Junction and Carmarthen was "ready" in August 1866 and M&MR goods trains started running through from 1 November 1866.

The P&TR built a west-to-north curve at Carmarthen, known as the P&T Loop, enabling direct running into the C&CR station.

[6][20] The C&CR was released from receivership in 1867, aided by the income from toll charges received from the vesting railways.

The C&CR was obliged to convert its remaining broad gauge section, the three miles from Pencader to Llandyssil, as well.

[6][7] In September 1869 a new company was formed, encouraged by the C&CR, to extend the line to Newcastle Emlyn and later to continue to Cardigan, but once again inadequate finance was forthcoming.

Changing its name to The Whitland and Cardigan Railway it completed the line in 1886, at which time the GWR worked the trains.

[note 5][1][10][24] The Town station was greatly extended and enhanced in 1930 - 1931, and the River Towy bridge, dating from 1858 was reconstructed.

[25] Although the Newcastle Emlyn branch (as it had become) was busy and popular in the 1930s, the thinly scattered population of the area served by the station and the low level of economic activity made the railway loss-making after World War II.

Although designated a main line, it was a long and difficult route connecting Carmarthen and Aberystwyth with relatively limited intermediate population centres.