Whitland and Cardigan Railway: Difference between revisions

The Whitland & Cardigan Railway was a fourteen and a half mile long Great Western Railway built branch railway line that ran between Whitland on the West Wales Line to Cardigan via nine intermediate stations.^[1]

History

|} Originally called the Whitland & Taf Vale Railway, the line was opened in stages from a junction 2 miles west of Whitland to Llanfyrnach on 24 March 1873, and on to Crymych Arms in October 1874. In 1877 the name was changed to the Whitland & Cardigan Railway and the extension to Cardigan opened on 1 September 1886. The Great Western Railway took over the working as of that date and three locomotives were added to stock although the complete undertaking was not purchased until 1890.

The line was noted for its rural nature, with the railway passing through small centres of population, with attractive scenery and over severe gradients. For many in the area, the line was the focus of the local community and its closure marked a change in a whole way of life and the end of an era.

The line was closed to passenger traffic on 8 September 1962, the last train being the 5.45pm Cardigan Mail. For a while the line remained open to freight traffic, but final closure took place on the 27th May 1963. The track was lifted completely by the end of 1964. Initially the stations at Crymych and Cardigan initially remained open as non-rail connected freight terminals, but this was also short lived.

The trackbed in the main is reasonably intact today, with most having been sold off although small scale development has taken place at some locations, such as at Llanfallteg and Cardigan station sites.

Today, a local Welsh language paper uses the nickname of the line- "The Cardi Bach"

References

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