Llanelli And Mynydd Mawr Railway

The Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway is a heritage railway which aims to re-instate as much as possible of the former Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway which closed in 1989. HistoryThe Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway, earlier known as the Carmarthenshire Tramroad was established in 1802 in Wales by an Act of Parliament. It began running trains in 1803, the initial line being a plateway, with motive power provided by a pair of horses. The Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway is claimed to be the Oldest Public Railway in Britain. Although the Surrey Iron Railway was the first to be incorporated, it is believed that the LMMR was the first to open to traffic. The Carmarthenshire Tramroad closed in 1844 but the railway reopened in 1883 operated by the newly formed Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway Co. That company disappeared in 1922 on being absorbed into the Great Western Railway, which itself was absorbed into British Railways in 1947. Throughout the twentieth century the line continued as a main artery for coal distribution from the Gwendraeth valley, until the closure of Cynheidre Colliery in 1989. Llanelli and District Railway SocietyFollowing a campaign lasting almost ten years from the Llanelli and District Railway Society to save the intact, but derelict line the hopes were dashed in the mid 1990s when the railway was sold by British Rail property board to the local authorities as part of a scheme to transform the track bed into a cycle way. This path is now labelled as the Swiss Valley Cycle Route, part of National Cycle Route 47, itself a part of the Celtic Trail.

The Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway is a heritage railway which aims to re-instate as much as possible of the former Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway which closed in 1989. HistoryThe Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway, earlier known as the Carmarthenshire Tramroad was established in 1802 in Wales by an Act of Parliament. It began running trains in 1803, the initial line being a plateway, with motive power provided by a pair of horses. The Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway is claimed to be the Oldest Public Railway in Britain. Although the Surrey Iron Railway was the first to be incorporated, it is believed that the LMMR was the first to open to traffic. The Carmarthenshire Tramroad closed in 1844 but the railway reopened in 1883 operated by the newly formed Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway Co. That company disappeared in 1922 on being absorbed into the Great Western Railway, which itself was absorbed into British Railways in 1947. Throughout the twentieth century the line continued as a main artery for coal distribution from the Gwendraeth valley, until the closure of Cynheidre Colliery in 1989. Llanelli and District Railway SocietyFollowing a campaign lasting almost ten years from the Llanelli and District Railway Society to save the intact, but derelict line the hopes were dashed in the mid 1990s when the railway was sold by British Rail property board to the local authorities as part of a scheme to transform the track bed into a cycle way. This path is now labelled as the Swiss Valley Cycle Route, part of National Cycle Route 47, itself a part of the Celtic Trail.