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Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway |
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Location: 51 46N 3 06W; UK National Grid Ref: SO 237 092 Council
Offices, 101 High Street, BLAENAVON, Email: info@pbrly.co.uk Scroll down the page to read the entire article, or select subject heading to move directly to topics. Search WalesRails .......... Message Board History.......The
railway today............... Locos and Stock |
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The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway Company (PBRC) is located high on bleak mountain moorland in the county of Torfaen, but despite its remote location, it is well worth a visit not only for its setting - and the steepest gradients on a preserved railway in Great Britain - but also for the wide variety of stock located there. Last year, the two-mile extension to Blaenavon High Level opened, and the branch to Big Pit is in operation this season.
The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway operates over a section of line opened in 1869 by
the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway Company, supported by the London and North Western
Railway.
Over the next few years the line was extended down the valley to join the Great Western
Railway at Abersychan and Talywain, passing over the impressive Garndiffaith viaduct which
still stands in noble isolation near Talywain.
Meanwhile, the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company was developing a railway between
Newport and Pontypool, eventually linked to the LNWR line from Talywain, and it is part of
this route which the PBRC is developing as a preserved railway.
At present, the P&BR operates from Blaenavon (High
Level), via Furnace Sidings, to
Garn-yr-erw, adjacent to the Whistle Inn - celebrated in Alexander Cordell's novel Rape
of the Fair Country - and home to an extensive collection of miners' lamps.
The PBRC is pressing ahead with an extension south, initially to construct a halt to serve
The P&BR is home to over 80 locos and pieces of rolling stock, so the complete list is
far to big to enumerate here (though perhaps at a later date).
Also at Blaenavon is rolling stock stored for other preserved railway societies, not
fortunate enough to have the necessary space to accommodate their acquisitions.
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April |
6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th |
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May |
5th, 6th, 7th, 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th |
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June |
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th and 30th |
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July |
1st, 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th |
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August |
4th, 5th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 22nd, 25th, 26th, 27th and 29th |
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September |
1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 22nd and 23rd |
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October |
13th, 14th, 27th, 28th and 31st |
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November |
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December |
1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 22nd and 23rd |
Match the colours of the dates above with the timetables below.
| Steam Off-Peak | Steam Super Off-Peak | Steam Events | |||||||||||||||||||||
| bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb | Diesel Off-Peak | Diesel Super Off-Peak | Diesel Events | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Whistle Inn dep | 11:55 | 13:10 | 14:25 | 15:40 | 16:55 | 11:30 | 12:15 | 13:00 | 13:45 | 14:30 | 15:15 | 16:00 | 11:40 | 12:40 | 13:40 | 14:40 | 15:40 | 16:40 | |||||
| Furnace Sidings arr | 10:45 | 11:59 | 13:14 | 14:29 | 15:44 | 16:59 | 10:45 | 11:35 | 12:20 | 13:05 | 13:50 | 14:35 | 15:20 | 16:05 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 | ||
| Furnace Sidings dep | 11:00 | 12:15 | 13:30 | 14:45 | 16:00 | 17:05 | 11:00 | 11:45 | 12:30 | 13:15 | 14:00 | 14:45 | 15:30 | 16:15 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 16:55 | ||
| Big Pit Halt arr | 11:03 | 12:18 | 13:33 | 14:48 | 16:03 | 17:08 | 11:05 | 11:50 | 12:35 | 13:20 | 14:05 | 14:50 | 15:35 | 16:20 | 11:10 | 12:10 | 13:10 | 14:10 | 15:10 | 16:10 | |||
| Big Pit Halt dep | 11:08 | 12:23 | 13:38 | 14:53 | 16:08 | 17:10 | 11:10 | 11:55 | 12:40 | 13:25 | 14:10 | 14:55 | 15:40 | 16:25 | 11:15 | 12:15 | 13:15 | 14:15 | 15:15 | 16:16 | |||
| Furnace Sidings arr | 11:12 | 12:27 | 13:42 | 14:57 | 16:12 | 17:14 | |||||||||||||||||
| Furnace Sidings dep | 11:15 | 12:30 | 13:45 | 15:00 | 16:15 | 17:20 | |||||||||||||||||
| Blaenavon (HL) arr | 11:25 | 12:40 | 13:55 | 15:10 | 16:25 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Blaenavon (HL) dep | 11:30 | 12:45 | 14:00 | 15:15 | 16:30 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Furnace Sidings arr | 11:40 | 12:55 | 14:10 | 15:25 | 16:40 | 11:15 | 12:00 | 12:45 | 13:30 | 14:15 | 15:00 | 15:45 | 16:30 | 11:25 | 12:25 | 13:25 | 14:25 | 15:25 | 16:25 | ||||
| Furnace Sdngs dep | 11:45 | 13:00 | 14:15 | 15:30 | 16:45 | 11:20 | 12:05 | 12:50 | 13:35 | 14:20 | 15:05 | 15:50 | 16:40 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | ||||
| Whistle Inn arr | 11:49 | 13:04 | 14:19 | 15:34 | 16:49 | 11:25 | 12:10 | 12:55 | 13:40 | 14:25 | 15:10 | 15:55 | 11:35 | 12:35 | 13:35 | 14:35 | 15:35 | 16:35 | |||||
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Steam Events dates |
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| Furnace Sidings d | 10:40 | 11:10 | 11:40 | 12:10 | 12:40 | 13:10 | 13:40 | 14:10 | 14:40 | 15:10 | 15:40 | 16:10 | 16:40 |
| Big pit Halt a | 10:45 | 11:15 | 11:45 | 12:15 | 12:45 | 13:15 | 13:45 | 14:15 | 14:45 | 15:15 | 15:45 | 16:15 | 16:45 |
| Big Pit Halt d | 10:50 | 11:20 | 11:50 | 12:20 | 12:50 | 13:20 | 13:50 | 14:20 | 14:50 | 15:20 | 15:50 | 16:20 | 17:00 |
| Furnace Sidings a | 10:55 | 11:25 | 11:55 | 12:25 | 12:55 | 13:25 | 13:55 | 14:25 | 14:55 | 15:25 | 15:55 | 16:25 | 17:05 |
A Special timetable applies for the Ghost Trains on October 27th, 28th and 31st
Santa Specials run between Furnace Sidings and Whistle Inn only
Your return ticket is valid all
day for as many trips as you wish, except on Special Event days
Special Events * |
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April 6th - 9th Easter Bunnies |
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June 2nd -
4th Family Fun Weekend |
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July 7th and 8th Wartime Weekend |
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July 21st and 22nd Model Railway Show |
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August 11th and 12th Family Fun Weekend |
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August 26th and 27th Tenth Grand Transport Rally |
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September 14th - 16th Steam Gala |
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September 24th Photo Charter |
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October 13th and 14th Autumn Diesel Gala |
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October 27th, 28th and 31st Ghost Train |
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Santa Specials |
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| Saturdays and Sundays | December 1st and 2nd | December 8th and 9th | December 15th and 16th | December 22nd and 23rd |
| * Special Fares and Timetable apply on Event Days | ||||
Fares
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2012 |
Single | Return | |||||
| Adult | Child | Family | Adult | Child | Family | ||
| All Stations | £4.00 | £2.50 | £10.50 | £6.00 | £3.50 | £15.00 | |
| Furnace Sidings - Whistle Inn | £2.00 | £1.50 | £5.50 | £3.00 | £2.00 | £8.00 | |
| Furnace Sidings - Blaenavon HL | £2.50 | £1.50 | £6.50 | £4.00 | £2.50 | £10.50 | |
| Whistle Inn - Blaenavon HL | £3.00 | £2.00 | £8.00 | £5.00 | £3.00 | £13.00 | |
| Whistle Inn - Big Pit Halt | £2.50 | £1.50 | £6.50 | £4.00 | £2.50 | £10.50 | |
| Furnace Sidings - Big Pit Halt | £2.00 | £1.50 | £5.50 | £3.00 | £2.00 | £8.00 | |
| Big Pit - Blaenavon HL | £3.00 | £2.50 | £8.00 | £5.00 | £3.00 | £13.00 | |
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Special Fares and Timetables apply to Special Events |
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Nearby attractionsBig Pit is a major tourist attraction based on the former Big Pit colliery which
closed in 1980 after 100 years of operation. Coal from the mine was brought to the Washery
at Furnace Sidings, a few hundred yards away.
A visit to Big Pit begins with a ride in the pit cage to a coal face 300ft below the
surface, where former miners help recreate the atmosphere of a working pit in the heyday
of coalmining.
Across the Valley is the site of the former Blaenavon Iron Works, also a museum to past
'glories'.
In Blaenavon itself, the Workmen's Hall - paid for by miners through weekly deductions from their pay - has been refurbished to become one of the major cultural and arts venues in the Gwent valleys.
Garn Lakes result from a land reclamation scheme, and are ideal for walking or a picnic after a ride on the railway.
At Clydach, three miles away, another ironworks has been restored, and is another example of the area's pre-eminence in the industrial revolution.
The Heritage Centre at Pontypool details the history of the area, and includes a photographic display showing some aspects of the former railway network around Blaenavon.
How to get thereThe P&BR can be accessed by road from the A465 Heads of the Valleys trunk road, by
joining the A4063 road at Brynmawr. The A4063 also links the railway with Pontypool.
Blaenavon is served by buses from Abergavenny, Pontypool, Cwmbran and Newport, all of
which are on the national railway network.
Select link to go to Pontypool and Blaenavon's official Website
Copyright © 1996/7/8/9/2000/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12 by
Deryck Lewis.
All rights reserved.
Page created July 22 1996; Redesigned March 29 1999; Updated January 22 2012
If you have any suggestions, comments, or glitches to report, please contact the author at
WalesRails