Llantrisant–Aberthaw line

The Taff Vale Railway was planned to bring the iron production of works at Merthyr and Dowlais, as well as coal from certain collieries, to the docks at Cardiff for onward shipment to market.

[3] There is controversy as to whether the people of Cowbridge wanted the South Wales Railway to pass through their town, or resisted it,[4] though it seems likely that engineering considerations took the line further north.

It had been built to serve iron and coal pits to the north of the South Wales Railway main line.

There were iron and coal pits in the area between Treforest and Llantrisant, and after a false start, the Llantrissant and Taff Vale Railway was incorporated by Act of Parliament on 7 June 1861.

The benefits would enable local farmers to get their produce to market cheaply as well as reducing the cost of bringing in coal, and also moving iron ore extracted at Llanharry to be transported away.

[6][8] Securing subscriptions continued to be a serious difficulty, and the directors decided to approach the South Wales Railway for assistance; they met them on 4 November 1862.

The Cowbridge directors thought this exceeded the interest on the capital outlay if they built the connecting line, so they decided not to proceed with the request at first, but after further consideration agreed that it was worth pursuing.

In fact the GWR agreed to reduce the rental charge to £200, and on that basis the Cowbridge directors concluded an agreement in June 1863.

Work seemed to be progressing well and in June 1864 the company informed the Board of Trade of the intention to open for passenger traffic shortly; however this was soon realised to be premature, and was withdrawn.

Subscriptions for shares continued to fall short, and in August 1864 it was announced that contractors had been paid with Lloyds Bonds, that is, promissory notes payable in two or three years.

Work on the alterations required by the Board of Trade was complete (except for Ystradowen station, temporarily deferred) and Captain Rich inspected the railway on 22 March 1865.

The third rail over the Ely Valley Railway was also incomplete, so the Cowbridge directors decided not to attempt to operate a passenger service on their own branch line until trains could run through to Pontypridd.

Faced with serious financial difficulties, the Cowbridge company was anxious to lease its line to the Taff Vale Railway, and proposals were submitted to the TVR in August 1866.

Receipts of £1,436 against working expenses of £973 were declared, but this did not include the £200 paid to the GWR for the use of the Ely Valley line, nor for any maintenance of the permanent way which, in the first year alone had cost £500.

The poor standard of maintenance, compounding the inferior standard of construction, concerned the Taff Vale Railway, and in January 1869 the TVR Directors resolved that "notice be given to the Cowbridge Railway Company that if their line is not placed in good working condition previously to the 1st of March next, this company will feel obliged to withdraw its rolling stock and plant."

The deadline passed but the pressure from the TVR continued, and the Cowbridge company gave notice that it would work the line itself from 5 April 1870.

In 1889 the TVR wished to tidy up the arrangement by which it was leasing independently built lines, and the Cowbridge Railway was absorbed by Act of 26 August 1889.

At this time further railway developments in the general area were under consideration, and in November 1888 proposals were published for the Vale of Glamorgan line, which would connect Barry and Bridgend via Aberthaw.

[6] In 1903 the Taff Vale Railway experimented with what it called "motor cars": in fact railmotors, that is, single passenger coaches with an integrated small steam engine.

The intention was to enable a service to remote and lightly trafficked areas by the provision of low-cost stopping places: in practice these were platforms 40 feet in length, at first with no shelter or other facilities.

Nine round trips per day were arranged using two motor cars; a conventional service and a mixed train also operated on the line.

The motor cars had heating in the passenger saloons, a considerable benefit compared with the four-wheel coaches on conventional trains.

From May 1908 all the passenger trains were operated by motor cars or auto-trains calling at all the stopping places but the railmotor service was withdrawn on 12th July 1920.

[10] In 1909 a significant development of iron ore extraction near Llanharry took place, with a long tramway being provided to make the connection.

At that location, track to Aberthaw Low Level was lifted from June 1934 and the line further curtailed at Beggars Bush buffer stop at Cowbridge station, in 1947.

A long standing complaint had been the poor connections with the GWR at Llantrisant, so that the dominant flow from Cowbridge to Cardiff was inconvenient by train: it was much better served by the new bus service.

Passenger receipts from all three stations on the branch amounted to £60 for the whole of 1928, and the GWR announced its intention to withdraw the service between Cowbridge and Aberthaw from 5 May 1930.

The last goods train was handled at Beaupre Quarry siding in 1947, after which the remaining 1 mile 3 chains of line south of Cowbridge was lifted.

The goods service from Llantrisant to Cowbridge was withdrawn on 1 February 1965, and the branch was closed to all traffic south of Llanharry Iron Ore Mine.

The end of steel making at East Moors removed the market for the iron ore, with the result that the Llanharry mine ceased production on 25 July 1975, and with it the branch closed.