Dolygaer railway station explained

Dolygaer
Status:Disused
Borough:Pontsticill Reservoir, Powys
Country:Wales
Coordinates:51.8209°N -3.3685°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Operator:Brecon Mountain Railway
Platforms:1
Original:Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Pregroup:Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Postgroup:Great Western Railway
Years:19 March 1863
Events:Opened
Years1:31 December 1962
Events1:Closed to passengers
Years2:4 May 1964
Events2:Closed for goods

Dolygaer railway station (alternatively, Dol-y-gaer railway station) was a station serving the hamlet of Dol-y-gaer and the area adjacent to Pen-twyn Reservoir (now incorporated into the Pontsticill Reservoir) in Powys, Wales.

History

The station was opened on 19 March 1863 when the Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway commenced operations between and . In 1866 the service through the station was 3 trains in each direction on weekdays only.[1]

The line through Dolygaer station was single track, without passing facilities, and there was one platform with a single storey building. The station was staffed until 1932.[2] [3]

The line and station was closed to passengers on 31 December 1962 and to goods on 4 May 1964.

Dolygaer became a temporary terminus on the Brecon Mountain Railway (BMR) when the re-opened line was extended in 1995 to a new site south of the original station, with permanent way subsequently extended (by 2000) through the original station site also. This arrangement ceased in 2014 when the BMR further extended passenger services to Torpantau.

Current use

The site of the station is today operated as the Plas Dolygaer Scout centre, with accommodation for Scout groups of up to 40 people.[4] The centre incorporates the station platform, although this is now out of use.

The line through the station site was re-opened in 1995 by the Brecon Mountain Railway, a tourist railway. A short platform has been constructed to narrow-gauge dimensions immediately beside the Plas Dolygaer Scout centre (on the original standard gauge dimension platform level), but the platform is unused, and the station remains closed to railway operations.

A short distance to the south of Dolygaer station, on the opposite side of the Nant Callan river, the railway company has installed the Dolygaer passing loop.[5]

Related attractions

The station has an adjacent cave, the Dolygaer Station Cave, or Ogof Dolygear,[6] popular with cavers.

Bibliography

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Brecon and Merthyr Railway:Brecon and Merthyr Section . Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser . 28 July 1866 . 1 . 19 September 2020 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  2. Web site: Dolygaer. alangeorge.co.uk. 7 March 2017.
  3. Web site: Dol-y-gaer Station on OS Six-inch map Brecknockshire XL.SW (includes: Llanddeti; Llanfeugan.) . National Library of Scotland . 19 September 2020.
  4. Web site: Plas Dolygaer: Where the adventure begins . Mid Glamorgan Area Scout Council . https://web.archive.org/web/20081119145933/http://www.dolygaer-scouts.co.uk/index.htm . 2008-11-19 . live . 3 July 2021 .
  5. Web site: History . The Brecon Mountain Railway . The Brecon Mountain Railway . 19 September 2020.
  6. Web site: Dolygaer Station Cave. Cambrian Caving Council. 7 March 2017.