Penpergwm railway station explained

Penpergwm
Status:	Disused
Borough:	Penpergwm, Monmouthshire
Country:	Wales
Coordinates:	51.7846°N -2.9793°W
Grid Name:	Grid reference
Platforms:	2
Original:	Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway
Pregroup:	Great Western Railway
Postgroup:	Great Western Railway
Years:	2 January 1854
Events:	Opened
Years2:	9 June 1958
Events2:	Closed

Penpergwm railway station was a former station which served the Monmouthshire, Wales, village of Penpergwm, although the community adjacent to the station was very small^[1] and it could equally be said to have served the larger village of Llangattock Nigh Usk (Llangatwg Dyffryn Wysg in Welsh) which lay less than half a mile away to the east. It was located on the Welsh Marches Line between Pontypool (formerly Pontypool Road) and Abergavenny.

The former station house is now a private residence.^[2]

The station closed in 1958.^{[3] [4]} The double line remains in use and carries a regular service of trains between Cardiff, Newport and Hereford.

Accidents

The station appears to have been the scene of a surprising number of accidents recorded in local newspapers:

• 4 April 1865. Thomas Morley, a platelayer, while avoiding the path of one train was hit by a pilot engine on the other.^[5]
• 1871 attempted derailment ^[6]
• December 1890. 'A pick-up goods train was being shunted from the up line across the down line into the yard to bring out some laden trucks, when another goods train, coming from Abergavenny and bound for Newport, dashed into it and cut it in two. The accident was due to the steep gradient and' the inability of the driver of the through goods train to pull up in time to avert the mischief.'^[7]
• 7 January 1895. 'As Mr George Hughes, of Penpergwm Farm, was crossing the line at Penpergwm Station on Monday evening, about half-past five, he was knocked down by the northern express train and cut to pieces.'^[8]
• August 1898. Wm. E. Price was crossing the line, thinking the approaching train was stopping, and was hit and killed by a northbound express train.^[9]
• May 1917. Farmer cut to pieces by express train travelling at 50 mph.^[10]

Further reading

• Book: Hereford to Newport. Vic. Mitchell. Keith. Smith. figs. 37-44. Middleton Press. West Sussex. 2005. 978-1-904474-54-8. 318952259.

Notes and References

1. Web site: OS Plan 1967-1971 1:2,500. old-maps.co.uk. Ordnance Survey. 13 December 2018.
2. Web site: Road to Station House, Penpergwm. geograph.org.uk. Geograph Britain and Ireland. 22 November 2014.
3. Web site: Rogers. Mick. 70013 at Penpergwm. railwayherald.com. Railway Herald. 22 November 2014.
4. Book: Barrie. D.S.M.. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: South Wales. 31 March 1994. Atlantic Transport Publishers. Cornwall. 978-0-946537-69-3. 82. 2nd.
5. News: Penpergwm . The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald . 1865-04-15 . 10107/3081515 . free . Welsh Newspapers.
6. News: Penpergwm . The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald . 1865-04-15 . 10107/3081515 . free . Welsh Newspapers.
7. News: Railway Accident Near Abergavenny . South Wales Echo . 1890-12-12 . 10107/4232789 . free . Welsh Newspapers.
8. News: Railway Fatality Near Abergavenny . South Wales Daily News . 1895-01-09 . 10107/3733466 . free . Welsh Newspapers.
9. News: Fatal Accident at Penpergwm Station . South Wales Daily News . 1898-09-05 . 10107/3740928 . free . Welsh Newspapers.
10. News: Penpergwm Tragedy . Abergavenny Chronicle . 1917-05-04 . 10107/4122203 . free . Welsh Newspapers.