Ebbw Vale (Low Level) railway station

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

Ebbw Vale (Low Level)
General information
Location	Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent Wales
Coordinates	51.7827°N 3.2063°W / 51.7827; -3.2063
Grid reference	SO168100
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
19 April 1852 (1852-04-19)	Opened as Ebbw Vale
19 July 1950	Renamed
30 April 1962	Closed to passenger traffic
1 December 1969	Closed to goods traffic

History

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

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

Notes

1. Conolly (2004), p. 8, section A4.
2. Page (1988), p. 167.
3. Byles (1982), p. 13.
4. Byles (1982), p. 32.
5. Quick (2009), p. 161.
6. Butt (1995), p. 88.
7. Byles (1982), pp. 32–34.
8. Mitchell & Smith (2006), Historical background.
9. Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. XXXIX.
10. Page (1988), p. 142.
11. Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. 114.
12. Hurst (1991), p. 15, note 0710.
13. 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. Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. 119.
19. Clinker (1988), p. 43.
20. Hurst (1991), p. 61, note 2706.
21. Hall (2009), p. 67.

Sources

• 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.