Cowbridge Railway Station

Cowbridge railway station served the town of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan between 1865 and 1965. It opened along with the line on 30 January 1865 after multiple delays, which the engineer of the line blamed on bad weather. It was the biggest station on the Llantrisant-Aberthaw line by quite a considerable margin. DescriptionUntil 1892, Cowbridge used a decidedly non-standard station layout. It comprised a short runaround loop from which a number of sidings ran off. The first went to the engine turntable. From here, sidings emerged at all angles to various parts of the site. Two more sidings ran back to the engine shed, with yet more serving facilities around the yard. The main siding, having crossed the turntable, branched into three freight sidings. Three short spurs ran from the loop, serving the carriage shed, the goods shed, the cattle pens and the end loading bay. The running line continued on to terminate at a single platform, which was initially without a shelter. The original building was of red bricks with limestone quoins. Later on, a roof was extended over the platform to form a shelter. Changes in DesignBy 1886, the growth of traffic on the line was being seriously impeded by the layout at the station. A source of great problems was the turntable. Because it was located at the entrance to the sidings, any shunting activities meant crossing and re-crossing the turntable, causing it to fall into a very dilapidated state. The Taff Vale Railway, which was leasing the line in perpetuity by this time, became very dissatisfied by what it saw as the inadequate quality of the work done by the original engineer of the Cowbridge Railway Company. The Taff Vale subsequently implemented changes to the facilities. The new layout dispensed with the turntable and heavily lengthened the goods sidings.

Cowbridge railway station served the town of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan between 1865 and 1965. It opened along with the line on 30 January 1865 after multiple delays, which the engineer of the line blamed on bad weather. It was the biggest station on the Llantrisant-Aberthaw line by quite a considerable margin. DescriptionUntil 1892, Cowbridge used a decidedly non-standard station layout. It comprised a short runaround loop from which a number of sidings ran off. The first went to the engine turntable. From here, sidings emerged at all angles to various parts of the site. Two more sidings ran back to the engine shed, with yet more serving facilities around the yard. The main siding, having crossed the turntable, branched into three freight sidings. Three short spurs ran from the loop, serving the carriage shed, the goods shed, the cattle pens and the end loading bay. The running line continued on to terminate at a single platform, which was initially without a shelter. The original building was of red bricks with limestone quoins. Later on, a roof was extended over the platform to form a shelter. Changes in DesignBy 1886, the growth of traffic on the line was being seriously impeded by the layout at the station. A source of great problems was the turntable. Because it was located at the entrance to the sidings, any shunting activities meant crossing and re-crossing the turntable, causing it to fall into a very dilapidated state. The Taff Vale Railway, which was leasing the line in perpetuity by this time, became very dissatisfied by what it saw as the inadequate quality of the work done by the original engineer of the Cowbridge Railway Company. The Taff Vale subsequently implemented changes to the facilities. The new layout dispensed with the turntable and heavily lengthened the goods sidings.