Quakers Yard stations ,tracks and Viaducts

The network of lines leaving Treharris heading into Quakers Yard Low and High Level stations. Thanks to Lee Dare and Dilys Thorne for finding this one taken from the Quarry at Treharris Park.

Quakers’ Yard in the Taff Valley was the location of an extremely busy railway junction from the middle of the 19th century until the period after World War II. It is so called as it was the site of a Quaker burial ground.

The Taff Vale Railway ran down the eastern bank of the Taff until it crossed it on an impressive viaduct designed by Brunel and built in 1840, with six broad arches. This viaduct still carries the railway between Cardiff and Merthyr and is the focus of this entry. The track of the Merthyr Tramroad also passed beneath it and is still visible from it. (see OTH entry Merthyr Tydfil)

Quakers’ Yard was the point where the Taff Vale Extension (TVE) of the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway met the Taff Vale Railway. It also continued past the Taff Vale over a second viaduct and penetrated the hillside in the Cefn Glas tunnel to emerge in the Cynon Valley below Aberdare. It then continued all the way to Neath and Swansea. As an east-west railway, it had to cross the South Wales valleys over bridges and through tunnels.

Subsequently, the Rhymney Railway built a line from the TVE at Quaker’s Yard up the west bank of the Taff to Merthyr, which entailed the building of a third viaduct, parallel to the second but curving away northward from it.

Quaker’s Yard had two stations, one on the TVE, ‘Upper’, and another on the Taff Vale, ‘Lower’. This is the only station surviving as both the TVE and Rhymney lines have been closed and their viaducts demolished.

Quakers Yard High-Level Station

high_lev_QY

Date opened: 11.January.1858
Location: Just Below the Great Western hotel, Edwardsville:
Great Western Railway Date closed to passengers: 15.June.1964
Date closed completely: 15.June.1964
Company on closing: British Railways (Western Region)
Present state: Demolished

Now a housing development called Taff Vale estate 2009

The station is actually situated in the small village of Edwardsville and the large Western Hotel stands at the entrance to the former High level part of the two level stations.

This High Level station was built to compliment the low level station when the Pontypool to Neath route was finally completed. Trains would leave the station and travel across two viaducts that straddled the valley. One leading to the Cefn Glas tunnel the other leading to the Quakers Yard and & Merthyr joint line that travelled on the opposite side of the valley and connected to Merthyr via Aberfan.

In 1951 the Quakers Yard & Merthyr line closed and that hastened the closure of one of the viaducts. The remaining viaduct across the valley was also suffering from mining subsidence and that was reduced to a single track.

aqy_high

Train at the High level

qytre

oiuytr

April 1964

atrain_windsor_road

A Train approaching Quakers Yard station near Windsor road picture courtesy of Adrian Evans

qytr

qy_high (1)

A train Passing Through the High Level (A Evans)

last_train_at_high_level

The last ever train at the High Level

 Quakers Yard low level

quakers_yard_low_64

This is the original station and was built approximately 1841 on the main Taff Vale Cardiff to Merthyr line. Another viaduct was needed to reach this station from Abercynon and a great viaduct was built by Brunnel. Initially a single track led to a tunnel but later it was decided to build a second viaduct to take another track, and the tunnel was demolished and there was a cutting created to take the two tracks.This station is still in use today and the great viaduct is the last of the three Quakers yard viaducts to survive. It is a very small station now with no booking office and a small shelter. It is the only passenger station left in the Treharris district.

Great picture from 1965 a couple of years after they closed the line to the left of this picture, this is the Quakers Yard lower station and it still exists today but single track thesedays and no working platform to the right

a_edw_low

a_edwa

oiuytr

aedwards

above 4 Photos courtesy of Adrian Evans Edwardsville

edit 6tyu

quakersya

How it was in the 1960’s (picture by Graham Dale)

img7 (1)

A photo courtesy of Alun Williams

img8

Haulage train leaving station

quakers_yard_low_64

The low level station

486506_3457855647679_128080371_n

QuakersYard_LowLevel1_BrianWall

1991_steam

steam_in_qy_1991

Above are two photographs of a steam train passing through the station in 1991.

EGEDC0855

leaving from the station towards Merthyr or through tunnel to Cynon Valley

Below a train heading for Cefn Glas tunnel

Photo taken off the viaduct towards the gap

Artists impression of the viaduct

B-68-14

Taken approx 1970 and still a waiting room

Below a train approaching 2009

Brunel’s Viaduct near Quakers Yard

This single track viaduct led to a tunnel that allowed trains to travel between Quakers Yard and Abercynon, it was later decided to build a second viaduct to take another track, and the tunnel was demolished and there was a cutting created to take the two tracks.

Below are two photos of the construction and also a photograph of the completed single track Viaduct

qy_brunel

building_v

Below more views of the viaduct thanks to Graham Dale and Tony Evans

qy_viaduct

viaduct

$(KGrHqVHJDUE63ZSCfoVBPq6-I1HDw~~60_12

188998_1590986177109_2664887_n

Below we see the remains of one of the three great viaducts (A Evans)

GEDC0900

visit May 1973 by Nick Catford shows the remains of the station
These photographs were taken by Nick Catford and he kindly allowed permission for their use on this website, he has taken hundreds of fantastic photographs of by gone Railway stations, See his excellent work at www.subbrit.org.uk

quakers_yard_hl1

quakers_yard_hl2

quakers_yard_hl3

quakers_yard_hl4

New Picture

 1978 Above the station has it stood until the housing development

Below we see some photographs taken by Adrian Evans of what remains today of the area near Quakers Yard station

EQY_TODAY

Above is the station itself 2007

Quakers_Yard_railway_station_in_2008

2009 and a new shelter added, its very similar Today 2014 below

o2834-0000002

GEDC0930 GEDC0932

GEDC0933

old_sleepers_below_Edwardsville_on_Taff_Trail

Above we see some old sleeper beds below Quakers Yard station at Edwardsville (A Evans)

SDC13589

The cutting between Quakers Yard and Abercynon stations, now just one track, but extra crossing lines have been added further up the line to allow two trains per hour to arrive at the station.

Cefn Glas Tunnel GWR
Train coming out of tunnel thanks to L Smart
Cefn Glas Tunnel is located opposite the village of Edwardsville and goes under the mountain that can be seen from the village, its very distinctive due to the “Gap” that makes it quite unique.(see photographs below)
72119_178088685676743_1909662028_n

gap_newwe

The tunnel was built in 1851 and is 704 yards long, it is still possible, but not advisable to walk through the tunnel, and below we can see some photographs taken by Adrian Evans who took the chance during the summer of 2010.

The tunnel was constructed so that the Great Western railway line could progress between the Taff valley and the Cynon valley on the impressive Pontypool to Neath route..

The tunnel was a single line and was always filled with smoke when a train passed through, it also suffered drainage problems during its lifetime, it was finally closed in 1964 after 113 years of service.

????????????????????????????

CefnGl24

????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????? XGEDC0795 XGEDC0821

CefnGl23

CefnGl10

CefnGl11

CefnGl02

????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????? XGEDC0835

Adrian Evans emerging from the old tunnel