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Ebbw Vale (Low Level) railway station

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Coordinates: 51°46′58″N 3°12′23″W / 51.7827°N 3.2063°W / 51.7827; -3.2063
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Ebbw Vale (Low Level)
General information
LocationEbbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent
Wales
Coordinates51°46′58″N 3°12′23″W / 51.7827°N 3.2063°W / 51.7827; -3.2063
Grid referenceSO168100
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyMonmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
19 April 1852 (1852-04-19)Opened as Ebbw Vale
19 July 1950Renamed
30 April 1962Closed to passenger traffic
1 December 1969Closed to goods traffic

Ebbw Vale (Low Level) railway station was a station which served Ebbw Vale, in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire.[1]

History

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The origins of the railway in Ebbw Vale can be traced to the Beaufort Ironworks Tramway which opened in 1798 between the ironworks as far as Crumlin.[2] The tramway was converted from 3 ft 4 in (1,016 mm) to 4 ft 4 in (1,321 mm) gauge in 1806.[3] On 23 December 1850, the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company introduced a regular passenger service between Newport Courtybella and Blaina.[4] Services were extended to Ebbw Vale on 19 April 1852 after improvement works had been carried out to the 9.5 miles (15.3 km) section between Aberbeeg and Ebbw Vale.[4][5][6] The initial passenger service consisted of three trains either way at 7.00am, 12.00pm and 4.45pm from Newport, and at 9.00am, 2.15pm and 6.45pm in the other direction.[7] The tramway was relaid as a standard gauge line in 1855.[8]

A single platform station was provided with a brick station building facing the road.[9][10] Situated in a slight cutting,[11] it was conveniently located to the town centre.[9] It was also convenient for the Ebbw Vale Steelworks at Pont-y-Gof which were connected to the line by the Rassa Railroad.[9] This connection was in use until 2 November 1959.[12] Adjacent to the station building was a 46-lever signal box.[13] The line continued north to a remotely situated goods yard and an untimetabled stop for miners at Beaufort.[14] To the south, a road overbridge crossed the line.[11] The single platform was subsequently doubled in size and the platform buildings rebuilt.[15] The station boasted a staff of 44 in 1923 and 62 in 1937.[16]

A second station was opened in Ebbw Vale by the London and North Western Railway on 2 September 1867.[5][6] To distinguish the two Ebbw Vale stations, British Railways added the suffix "High Level" (the L&NWR station) on 23 May 1949 and "Low Level" (the GWR station) on 19 July 1950.[5][6]

The rundown of the line began in 1939 when the Beaufort Ironworks line fell out of use.[10] Next came dieselisation in 1958 and then closure to passengers on 30 April 1962.[5][6][17] The line was then singled in 1964[18] and the signal box was taken out of use on 17 August in the same year.[13] Closure to goods traffic came on 1 December 1969.[19][20]


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Beaufort (GWR)   Great Western Railway
Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
 		  Tyllwyn Halt
Line partly open, station closed

Present

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The station site was cleared after closure and only the station house and a short section of the retaining wall which supported the cutting side remains.[21][18] A road occupies part of the trackbed.[21] The current Ebbw Vale Railway Station is a little way to the south of the original site.

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Conolly (2004), p. 8, section A4.
  2. ^ Page (1988), p. 167.
  3. ^ Byles (1982), p. 13.
  4. ^ a b Byles (1982), p. 32.
  5. ^ a b c d Quick (2009), p. 161.
  6. ^ a b c d Butt (1995), p. 88.
  7. ^ Byles (1982), pp. 32–34.
  8. ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), Historical background.
  9. ^ a b c Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. XXXIX.
  10. ^ a b Page (1988), p. 142.
  11. ^ a b Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. 114.
  12. ^ Hurst (1991), p. 15, note 0710.
  13. ^ a b Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. 120.
  14. ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), figs. XXXIX and XI.
  15. ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. 116.
  16. ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. 115.
  17. ^ Hurst (1991), p. 19, note 0936.
  18. ^ a b Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. 119.
  19. ^ Clinker (1988), p. 43.
  20. ^ Hurst (1991), p. 61, note 2706.
  21. ^ a b Hall (2009), p. 67.

Sources

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  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • Byles, Aubrey (1982). The History of the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company. Cwmbran: Village Publishing. ISBN 0-946043-00-0.
  • Clinker, C. R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.
  • Conolly, W. Philip (2004) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0.
  • Hall, Mike (2009). Lost Railways of South Wales. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-172-2.
  • Hurst, Geoffrey (1991). Register of Closed Railways 1948–1991. Milepost Publications. ISBN 0-947796-18-5.
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (August 2006). Abertillery and Ebbw Vale Lines. Welsh Valleys. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-9044-7484-5.
  • Page, James (1988) [1979]. South Wales. Forgotten Railways. Vol. 8. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-44-5.
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
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