Ebbw Vale (High Level) railway station

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Ebbw Vale (High Level)
LocationEbbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent
Wales
Coordinates51°46′49″N 3°12′27″W / 51.7804°N 3.2076°W / 51.7804; -3.2076Coordinates: 51°46′49″N 3°12′27″W / 51.7804°N 3.2076°W / 51.7804; -3.2076
Grid referenceSO167097
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyLondon and North Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
2 September 1867 (1867-09-02)Opened as Ebbw Vale
23 May 1949Renamed
5 February 1951 (1951-02-05)Closed to passengers
2 November 1959Closed to goods traffic

Ebbw Vale (High Level) railway station was a station on a short branch from the London and North Western Railway's Heads of the Valleys line which served the town of Ebbw Vale in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire.[1]

History[]

The first section of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway from Abergavenny to Brynmawr was opened on 29 September 1862.[2] The line was leased and operated by the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) which acquired the smaller railway company on 30 June 1866.[3][4] On 2 September 1867, a branch was opened to Ebbw Vale.[5][6] The branch service started at Brynmawr and, prior to 1925, there was a daily service of more than thirty trains each way.[7][8][9] Ebbw Vale was reached by the 93-yard (85 m) Beaufort Viaduct before reaching Ebbw Vale Junction and the 93-yard (85 m) Rhyd Viaduct.[10] Much of the branch descended towards Ebbw Vale on 1 in 42 gradient.[11][12] A connection ran north-eastwards to the Ebbw Vale Iron Works.[11] A substantial amount of freight was carried to and from the ironworks.[7]

The station was sandwiched between James Street and Market Street, with the main station building facing the latter.[11] St James Methodist Church was prominent behind the single platform which backed on to James Street.[13] A signal box was at the south end of the station before the point where the line crossed Market Street on the level.[11] The station was near the Great Western Railway's own Ebbw Vale station and there was considerable rivalry between this company and the L&NWR.[7] The L&NWR insisted that the signalman manning the signalbox descend to ring a handbell five minutes before the departure of a train and again once it had left.[14] The station booking office was closed two minutes before the departure of a train which resulted in late would-be passengers having to wait outside a locked gate until the train departed.[14] To distinguish the two Ebbw Vale stations, British Railways added the suffix "High Level" (the L&NWR station) and "Low Level" (the GWR station) on 23 May 1949.[5][6]

The High Level station suffered from the disadvantage that, although it was more centrally-located than the Low Level, services went to Brynmawr and not to Newport where most passengers wished to travel.[15] Passenger services, which at that time consisted of two each way on weekdays and five extra services on Saturdays,[16] were withdrawn from the branch on 5 February 1951,[5][6] although goods facilities were provided until 2 November 1959.[17] From 22 November 1954, goods services were routed via the Sirhowy Railway and Nantybwch.[18]


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Beaufort (LNWR)
Line and station closed 		  London and North Western Railway
Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
 		  Terminus

Present[]

The station site has been redeveloped as a shopping complex,[19] having previously been a multi-storey car park.[20] The angle of the building to the road follows the former railway alignment.[7] The Ebbw Vale leisure centre has been constructed on the trackbed about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of the former terminus.[20]

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ Conolly (2004), p. 8, section A4.
  2. ^ Tasker (1986), p. 18.
  3. ^ Awdry (1990), p. 93.
  4. ^ Hall (2009), p. 63.
  5. ^ a b c Quick (2009), p. 161.
  6. ^ a b c Butt (1995), p. 88.
  7. ^ a b c d Hall (2009), p. 65.
  8. ^ Edge (2002), fig. 72.
  9. ^ Tasker (1986), p. 125.
  10. ^ Edge (2002), fig. XV.
  11. ^ a b c d Edge (2002), fig. XVI.
  12. ^ Page (1988), p. 46.
  13. ^ Edge (2002), fig. 75.
  14. ^ a b Page (1989), p. 58.
  15. ^ Hall (2009), p. 66.
  16. ^ Edge (2002), fig. 79.
  17. ^ Clinker (1988), p. 43.
  18. ^ Edge (2002), fig. 78.
  19. ^ Edge (2002), fig. 80.
  20. ^ a b Page (1988), p. 157.

Sources[]

  • Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (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.
  • 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.
  • Edge, David (September 2002). Abergavenny to Merthyr including the Ebbw Vale Branch. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-901706-915.
  • Hall, Mike (2009). Lost Railways of South Wales. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-172-2.
  • Page, James (1988) [1979]. South Wales. Forgotten Railways. Vol. 8. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-44-5.
  • Page, James (1989). Rails in the Valleys. London: Guild Publishing. ISBN 978-0-71538-979-9.
  • 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.
  • Tasker, W.W. (1986). The Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway and branches. Poole: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-86093-339-7.
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