Miscellaneous Railway Records relating to Monmouthshire

Records of railway companies relating to Monmouthshire, 1845-1958, including the Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway Co., 1857-1958; Merthyr, Abergavenny & Tredegar Railway Company, 1857-1859; Sirhowy Tramroad Company, 1852-1859; Brynmawr & Western Valleys Railway, 1899; Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway Company, 1855-1859; Newport & Pontypool Railway Co., 1845; Sweetmeat Automatic Delivery Company correspondence and agreements with the Brecon & Merthyr and London & North Western Joint Railway, 1887-1910; miscellaneous records, 1857-1902.

The Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway Company opened a line between Little Mill Junction, Pontypool and Usk in 1856 and extended to Monmouth the following year. The Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway was leased by the West Midlands Railway in 1861. The Coleford branch was opened in 1873. Merthyr, Abergavenny & Tredegar Railway was formed to build a line from Abergavenny to Merthyr in 1859. By 1861, construction had reached from Abergavenny to Brynmawr when the line was bought by the London and North Western Railway who extended into Merthyr in 1879. Sirhowy Tramroad was constructed between 1802 and c.1805 and connected Newport, Monmouthshire and Tredegar, Monmouthshire. The first passenger service began in 1822. The tramway was converted into a railway in 1863 and the Sirhowy Tramroad Company became the Sirhowy Railway Company. Brynmawr & Western Valleys Railway was completed in 1905 and connected Brynmawr, Breconshire, with Nantyglo, Monmouthshire. The line was closed to passengers in 1962. The Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway was linked to the Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway at Abergavenny and the line opened in 1853. In 1845 a railway between Newport and Pontypool was proposed by the Newport and Pontypool Railway Company.

Arranged into the following: Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway Company; Benjamin Watkins & Son Ltd., Newport; Newport Dock Company; Sweetmeat Automatic Delivery Company Limited; Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks & Railway Company; Merthyr, Abergavenny & Tredegar Railway Company; Sirhowy Tramroad Company; River Severn Harbour and Dock Company; Bristol, South Wales & Southampton; Union Railway Company; Abergavenny Turnpike Trust; Brynmawr & Western Valleys Railway; Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway Company; Newport & Pontypool Railway Company.

No restrictions

Source not recorded

Compiled by Richard Burman for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Gwent Record Office, Catalogue of miscellaneous railway records relating to Monmouthshire, 1845-191; including Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway Co.; Merthyr, Abergavenny & Tredegar Railway Co.; Brynmawr & Western Valleys Railway; Sirhowy Tramroad Co.; Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway Co., and Newport and Pontypool Railway Co.; RAILSCOT homepage (http://www.railscot.co.uk/index.htm) viewed 10 May 2004; Tasker, W. W., The Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway and branches (Poole, 1986).

Hard copies of the catalogue are available in Gwent Record Office and the National Library of Wales.

Usual copyright regulations apply.

All records deposited at Gwent Record Office have been retained.

Accruals are not expected

Further material relating to the railway companies is Gwent Record Office, D3145.