Re-shaping Rail in South Wales

The railways of Briton Ferry and district - past, present and future

by Philip Adams & Martin Davies

LIST OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction; the precursors of the railway.

Chapter 2: The railways that came together as the GWR.

Chapter 3: Stations. The origins of the area’s stations’

Chapter 4: Passengers. The public’s views and expectations of the services, some unusual passengers and atypical train services.

Chapter 5: Industrial Railways. The railways that were created during the age of steam power to service the steam-powered metallurgical industries. 

Chapter 6: Goods and Freight Trains. Today’s mainline and trainload freight, the obligation to act as a ‘common carrier’. 

Chapter 7: Locomotives and Sheds. The origins and the role of the locomotive depots in the railway system of west Wales, particularly Cwrt Sart. Its location, construction and layout, and its functions over its lifetime. 

Chapter 8: Staffing. The shed’s purpose and its operations and how staff were managed to fulfil its purpose. 

Chapter 9: A Rail Enthusiast's Tale. How rail enthusiasts’ activities became more sophisticated, to result in the creation of local railway preservation societies. 

Chapter 10: Scrapping and Preservation. Huge changes that took place in the 1960s on the railways of west Wales. The ending of local passenger and goods services, line and station closures, and the scrapping of locos. 

Chapter 11: The Townspeople. The opinions that the people had on the town’s public and industrial railways.

Chapter 12: Accidents, Incidents and Preventions. 

Chapter 13: Ownership. Privatisation, rationalisation and nationalisation.

Chapter 14: The Future. What place in meeting the area’s economic and social goals and what future policies and projects can be expected.

Appendices:

Abbreviations and definitions - Timeline 

Ownership of the railways in the UK 

Transport interchanges - Rail workers in 1911

Intermodal container trains 

Locomotives based at Cwrt Sart depot and scrapped at Briton Ferry 

Bibliography

Reviews

Aberavon Seaside