Torpantau Railway Station

Torpantau railway station was a station in the Welsh county of Brecknockshire (now in Powys). It was served by trains on the line from Merthyr to Brecon. It was the highest station on the Brecon and Merthyr Railway. Torpantau is a remote location, though a few passengers may have worked on the local dams, or fished there for leisure. The location was most significant in operational terms for watering engines and tying down brakes before a descent. It is near the (now) Northern Terminus of the narrow gauge Brecon Mountain Railway. HistoryOpened by the Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Railway. In 1916 a train passed a signal at danger near the station causing a collision that killed two people. It became part of the Great Western Railway during the grouping of 1923. Torpantau closed to passengers in December 1962 but the line was retained for freight workings to Brecon until 4 May 1964. Torpantau TunnelTo the north of the station lies Torpantau Tunnel, through the Beacons pass. Torpantau Tunnel is 666 yards long, and the south-west portal, , was reached after a three-mile ascent from the Merthyr side. Exiting from the tunnel to the south-east, the line descended for 6¾ miles along the side of Glyn Collwyn and on to the former Talybont-on-Usk station and River Usk at Talybont. Thence it climbed to Pennorth and Talyllyn junction and on to Brecon.

Torpantau railway station was a station in the Welsh county of Brecknockshire (now in Powys). It was served by trains on the line from Merthyr to Brecon. It was the highest station on the Brecon and Merthyr Railway. Torpantau is a remote location, though a few passengers may have worked on the local dams, or fished there for leisure. The location was most significant in operational terms for watering engines and tying down brakes before a descent. It is near the (now) Northern Terminus of the narrow gauge Brecon Mountain Railway. HistoryOpened by the Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Railway. In 1916 a train passed a signal at danger near the station causing a collision that killed two people. It became part of the Great Western Railway during the grouping of 1923. Torpantau closed to passengers in December 1962 but the line was retained for freight workings to Brecon until 4 May 1964. Torpantau TunnelTo the north of the station lies Torpantau Tunnel, through the Beacons pass. Torpantau Tunnel is 666 yards long, and the south-west portal, , was reached after a three-mile ascent from the Merthyr side. Exiting from the tunnel to the south-east, the line descended for 6¾ miles along the side of Glyn Collwyn and on to the former Talybont-on-Usk station and River Usk at Talybont. Thence it climbed to Pennorth and Talyllyn junction and on to Brecon.