 Route of the Glyn Valley Tramway | |
 The original waiting room still stands atPontfadog | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Chirk |
| Locale | Wales |
| Dates of operation | 1873–1935 |
| Successor | abandoned |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 2 ft 4+1⁄2 in (724 mm) |
| Length | 8+1⁄4 miles (13.28 km) |
TheGlyn Valley Tramway was anarrow-gauge railway that ran through theCeiriog Valley in north-eastWales, connectingChirk withGlyn Ceiriog inDenbighshire (nowWrexham County Borough). The gauge of the line was2 feet4+1⁄4 inches (718 mm) while it was horse-drawn,[1] which was unofficially increased to2 ft 4+1⁄2 in (724 mm) when steam locomotives were introduced.[2] The total length of the line was8+1⁄4 miles (13.3 km),6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) of which were worked by passenger trains, the remainder serving a large granite quarry and several minor slate quarries.
| Ellesmere and Glyn Valley Railway Act 1866 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Citation | 29 & 30 Vict. c. cccxxxv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 August 1866 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Glyn Valley Tramway Act 1870 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Ellesmere and Glyn Valley Railway Act 1869 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 32 & 33 Vict. c. cli |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 9 August 1869 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Glyn Valley Tramway Act 1870 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Glyn Valley Tramway Act 1870 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 33 & 34 Vict. c. clxvi |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 10 August 1870 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The railway was built to connect the quarries at Glyn Ceriog with theShropshire Union Canal at Chirk. A standard gauge "Ellesmere & Glyn Valley Railway" was authorised by theEllesmere and Glyn Valley Railway Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. cccxxxv) of 6 August to run from the Cambrian Railway at Ellesmere to the GWR at Chirk and thence to follow the Glyn Ceiriog road to the quarries. No construction took place and by theEllesmere and Glyn Valley Railway Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. cli), the Ellesmere to Chirk portion was abandoned. A further act of Parliament, theGlyn Valley Tramway Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. clxvi), obtained on 10 August 1870, allowed the original company to be dissolved, and the Glyn Valley Tramway to be incorporated to take over the rights, assets and goodwill of the previous company. The company believed it could not raise the £120,000 capital required to build the standard gauge line.Henry Dennis suggested a narrow gauge line instead, which would only require £25,000.[3] The line would run from the canal at Chirk Bank to theCambrian Slate Quarries. This initial line, at 6.5 miles (10.5 km) long, was opened in 1873, and was worked by horse and gravity traction carrying passengers and freight.
The 1874 timetable shows three passenger journeys each way per day, originating at "New Inn, Glyn" at 8am, reaching "Pontvaen (Chirk)" at 8.45.[4] The return journey took an hour. The terminus at Pontfaen was on the South side of the bridge as an account of an accident in December 1874 stated that "near the Chirk terminus there is a sharp curve, almost at a right angle, to cross the River Ceriog by a wooden bridge". The tram reached this curve at too great a speed and the trucks were shot over the side throwing some of the passengers down the steep rocky bank into the river, fortunately without any fatalities.[5]
| Glyn Valley Tramway Act 1885 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to confer further Powers on the Glyn Valley Tramway Company; and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 48 & 49 Vict. c. cxl |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 31 July 1885 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
In 1885, additional parliamentary powers were obtained in theGlyn Valley Tramway Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. cxl) to abandon theQuinta Tramway section between Pontfaen and Chirk Bank, replacing it with a new line from Pontfaen to theGreat Western Railway'sChirk station. Under the 1885 act access to canal wharfage was obtained by extending the tramway further North from Chirk Station to the redundant Black Park Collieries Dock Basin.[6] A two-mile extension was also authorized from Glyn to the quarries aroundPandy. While the modified route was opened for mineral traffic promptly, there was a substantial delay in opening for passenger traffic arising from a dispute about the erection of a fence between the railway and the road on the new section into Chirk. The tramway eventually re-opened for passengers on Monday 16 March 1891.[7]
The re-opened passenger service had three intermediate stations, Castle Mill, Pontfadoc and Dolywern, with no provision for stopping between stations. The journey time was 50 minutes, with 5 up trains from Chirk and 4 return trains. There was a new 12 person passenger carriage at the opening made by the Midland Carriage Co. of Shrewsbury and there was no distinction between classes of seating. Tickets were bought from the van at the rear of the train, obviating the need for booking clerks and station masters. The locomotives used on this service were "Sir Theodore" and "Dennis".[8] The 1905 timetable shows Pontfaen introduced as a request stop, and journey times reduced to 40 minutes. There were 4 trains each way with extra trains on Wednesday and Saturday.[9]
| Name | Product | Start year | End year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hendre quarry | Granite | 1935 | Internal railway system worked by aLilleshall Company0-4-0T locomotive | |
| Upper Pandy quarry | Granite | 1900 | 1908 | |
| Cae-Deicws quarry | Chinastone | 1885 | 1905 | |
| Lower Pandy quarry | Chinastone | 1885 | 1905 | |
| Pen-y-Graig quarry | Silica | 1911 | 1920 | |
| Coed-y-Glyn mine | Granite | |||
| Cambrian quarry | Slate | 1873 | Internal quarry railway was laid to2 ft (610 mm) gauge and used aW.G. Bagnall0-4-0ST | |
| Wynne quarry | Slate | 1884 | ||
| Quinta colliery | Coal |
After theFirst World War costs started to rise significantly, while revenues did not. The railway's financial situation declined steadily during the 1920s. The railway needed to carry approximately 45,000 tons of traffic per year to break even. In 1929 it carried 64,857 tons, but by 1932 this had dropped to 21,400 tons. Increased use of road haulage and a change in the ownership of the remaining quarries was the cause of this downturn in traffic.
In 1932, a bus service was started in the valley, for the first time offering passengers a serious competition to travelling on the tramway. Passenger receipts declined steeply that year, and passenger services were abandoned at the beginning of 1933. Freight traffic continued to decline and the losses to mount on the railway and all services ceased in July 1935 as the company went into voluntary liquidation. In 1936 the track was removed and all the locomotives were scrapped.
At the time of the expansion, Henry Dennis was a director and also the tramway's Engineer. He was also the Engineer for theSnailbeach District Railways, nearShrewsbury. When rebuilding of the line began in 1887, Dennis offered to loan the twosteam locomotives from Snailbeach, as the carriage of lead ore on that railway had plummeted. They were of the slightly narrower gauge of2 ft 4 in (711 mm), and the difference meant that they derailed very easily. The Act of Parliament did not allow the gauge to be changed as part of the rebuilding, but in practice, it was increased to2 ft 4+1⁄2 in (724 mm).[10] Davies suggests that the two locomotives,Belmont andFernhill, normally worked on relatively straight track, but the Glyn Valley Tramway followed the course of the road, with numerous sharp bends, where the wheel flanges may have distorted the track, opening out the gauge, and this is the most likely reason for the change of gauge.[11]
The new line was opened for freight traffic in 1888 and to passengers in 1891. Two locomotives,Sir Theodore andDennis were in use when passenger services resumed, and were joined by a third Beyer Peacocktram locomotiveGlyn in 1892. In 1921, an ex-War Department Light RailwaysBaldwin Class 10-12-D was purchased; it was regauged by Beyer Peacock from its original1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) gauge.
When the line closed in 1936, no buyers were found for the locomotives (the unusual gauge may have been a factor), and so they were all scrapped on site.
| Number | Name | Builder | Type | Works Number | Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dennis | Beyer, Peacock & Company | 0-4-2T | 2970 | 1888 | Scrapped 1936 |
| 2 | Sir Theodore | Beyer, Peacock & Company | 0-4-2T | 2969 | 1888 | Loaned to theSnailbeach District Railways around 1905. Scrapped 1936 |
| 3 | Glyn | Beyer, Peacock & Company | 0-4-2T | 3500 | 1892 |  Scrapped 1936 |
| 4 | Baldwin | 4-6-0PT | 45211 | 1917 | Acquired by the GVT in 1921; mainly worked freight trains. Scrapped 1936 |
Most of the railway's stock and track were scrapped in the 1930s. However, some carriage bodies were sold to local farmers. Two of these bodies survived long enough to be rescued by theTalyllyn Railway where they have been restored to working order and are now used in regular traffic. A quantity of Glyn Valley track also found its way to the Talyllyn.
The waiting rooms in Pontfadog and Dolywern survive in their original locations. In 1950 the council officer used Pontfadog waiting room to collect rates and the locals nicknamed it ‘Pontfadog Town Hall’.[citation needed] It was later bought by the public house[which?] and it was also used as a craft shop.
In October 2007, the Glyn Valley Tramway Trust was formed with the aim of restoring part of the tramway. They plan to recreate its appearance in the 1920s era and provide a visitor centre and workshops with educational facilities to display and interpret the history and development of the Tramway through artefacts and audio-visual media. The Glyn Valley Tramway Trust are to carry out a Design and Evaluation study of the entire route from Chirk to Glyn Ceiriog and beyond, and as a first phase intends to re-instate a 1-kilometre (0.6 mi) section as an operational steam heritage railway from the original Chirk GVT station to Baddy's Wood near Pontfaen.[12]
In 2019, the Glyn Valley Tramway Trust started to clear trees and spoil from the station site at Chirk, adjacent to theNetwork Rail station. In August 2022, the platform and trackbed had been cleared. The Trust intends to rebuild the platform, and lay track in the station area.[citation needed]
On 31 October 2022, the trust announced that they intend to rebuild the section of the tramway between Chirk and Pontfaen to a gauge of2 ft 3 in (686 mm)—matching theTalyllyn Railway and Corris Railway—rather than the original Glyn Valley gauge of2 ft 4+1⁄2 in (724 mm).[13] The first section of track was laid at Chirk station in December 2022.[14]
The New Glyn Valley Tramway & Industrial Heritage Trust, formed in 1985, has opened a Heritage and Interpretation Centre in Glyn Ceiriog.[15]
| Blaenau Ffestiniog,Croesor, andCwm Penmachno areas | |
|---|---|
| Dinas Mawddwy and Aberangell areas | |
| Dulas Valley area | |
| Bethesda area | |
| Llanberis area | |
| Lledr andConwy valleys areas | |
| Nantlle Valley area | |
| Vale ofLlangollen area | |
| Arthog area | |
| Llangolman Area | |
| Outliers | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
52°55′48″N3°09′32″W / 52.9301°N 3.1589°W /52.9301; -3.1589
