[1] Joseph Bailey sold his share in Cyfarthfa, and together with Matthew Wayne later of Gadlys, Aberdare, he bought Nantyglo Ironworks from the Blaenavon Iron Company.

In contrast to most of his fellow iron masters, Bailey recognised the potential for the future development of the coal industry in South Wales, and far-sightedly bought up large areas of coal-rich land, at their agricultural value too, in the Rhondda Valleys, at Mountain Ash and Aberaman and was prepared to sit on these assets for nearly nine years before developing them as some of the richest coal and iron ore deposits in the world.

In 1845 he was instrumental in setting up the Aberdare Railway, along with Sir John Josiah Guest to capitalise on further assets in the form of sinking new collieries and building new blast furnaces.

[1] He disposed of the entire Aberaman estate including its collieries, ironworks, brickworks and private railway, to the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Co. by indenture dated 2 February 1867 for the sum of £123,500.

From the moment he joined his uncle at Cyfarthfa, a boy of twelve, till he died the other day at Llanfoist House, an aged man of 84, he never left the iron country, nor lost sight once of its steam and smoke.

No manors, or parks, or aldermanic honours, or castles, or sea side palaces, ever drew him away from the grime and the soot of the smoky "Welsh Hills.

(and so on—many, many verses in different versions)[6] [7] Crawshay Bailey is also mentioned by name in the song "Ironmasters" on The Men They Couldn't Hang album Night of a Thousand Candles.