Barry Railway Company

In the early years of the nineteenth century, it was becoming increasingly pressing to find an efficient and cheap method of bringing coal and iron from the heads of the South Wales Valleys to the ports and wharves of the Bristol Channel. The construction of the Glamorganshire Canal, and further east the Monmouthshire Canal responded to the need, but it was the Taff Vale Railway that brought railway technology (as opposed to plateways) to the fore. The Taff Vale Railway working with the Cardiff Docks, and later the Rhymney Railway, also to Cardiff Docks, proved immensely successful. However, volumes of traffic, most especially coal for export, increased hugely as more collieries, and more efficient methods of winning coal, were operative. Cardiff Docks were seen as a near-monopoly, and as such were thought to be unresponsive to customers' wishes. Coal ships intending to load at Cardiff were often obliged to stand off for days waiting for a berth, and loaded coal trains heading for the docks frequently were obliged to wait in loops and on goods lines on the approach, waiting for clearance to enter. In fact extensions to the docks took place, and in 1865 a new harbour at Penarth was opened together with a new access railway from what is now Radyr. ==First attempts==

In 1865 a Barry Railway was incorporated by act of Parliament, the '''''' (28 & 29 Vict. c. ccxxxiv). It was to make a branch railway from Peterston on the broad-gauge South Wales Railway to Barry, with powers to lay a third rail for mixed-gauge operation on the SWR main line between Llantrisant and Newport. The Barry Harbour Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. liii) was obtained to make a harbour at Barry. Both of these proposals foundered, chiefly because the Taff Vale Railway practically monopolised the transport of coal from the Taff and Rhondda Valleys to Cardiff, and was hostile to diversion of that traffic from its new harbour at Penarth. In addition, the financial crisis following the failure of the banking firm of Overend, Gurney and Company meant that for a while finance was impossible to get. ==The Barry Dock and Railway==

Dissatisfaction with the available railway and dock facilities was however unabated, and there was a considerable desire for an alternative to break the monopoly. In 1882 promoters allied to the Taff Vale Railway and the Bute Trustees (who controlled the Cardiff Docks) proposed new docks at Roath, east of the city, and a new approach railway from the Taff Vale line. It was made public that mineral haulage rates would be increased by one penny per ton to pay for this line, both on traffic to Roath and to the existing Bute Docks. This deepened the hostility and further inflamed the feelings of the coal owners. to build from Barry northward to a junction with the Taff Vale Railway at Trehafod, in the Rhondda; there was to be a south-to-west junction with the GWR main line (former South Wales Railway main line) at Peterston and an east to north connection nearby, and a spur to join the Taff Vale main line at Treforest. The dock was to be in extent, the largest enclosed dock area in the country; in fact the area between Barry Island and the mainland was to be made non-tidal, an area extending to . ==Taff Vale counter-attack==

The Taff Vale Railway, and to some extent the Rhymney Railway, felt keenly the effect of the Barry developments. They did not control the Cardiff Docks and were largely subject to the wishes of the owner, the Bute Trustees, who could set rates and choose whether to install plant independently of the railway companies. Conversely the integrated nature of the Barry Dock and Railway's plans would give it considerable commercial advantage. The Taff Vale set about obtaining parliamentary authorisation in 1885 to acquire the Bute Docks, but this was refused by the Lords committee when the Taff Vale would not agree to running powers requested by the Barry Railway northward from the Trehafod and Treforest connections. The Taff Vale also supported a nominally independent Cardiff, Penarth and Barry Junction Railway which would be a spoiler to the Barry company's development plans at Barry itself, but this was refused, the Barry being granted a corresponding railway from Barry to a junction at Cogan with the Taff Vale's Penarth lines, by the Taff Vale Railway Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. clvii) of 31 July 1885. The Taff Vale was granted a circuitous coastal route from Penarth to Cadoxton. Although this was a victory for the Barry company, it left open the possibility that the Taff Vale Railway would bring Rhondda coal to Barry via Cardiff and this coastal line, rather than hand it over to the Barry Railway at Trehafod. In 1888 the Barry once again applied to Parliament for running powers north of Trehafod; this was refused but a complex non-discrimination requirement was imposed, giving some protection. ==First openings==

On 20 December 1888 the line between Barry Dock and Cogan was opened to traffic, although this was only a light local passenger service. On the same day the Taff Vale opened its coastal service of passenger trains (only, at first) from Cardiff to Cadoxton which was extended back to Barry station from 8 February 1889. The Barry Railway main line required more effort in construction, but on 22 November 1888 an inspection trip had traversed the full length of the main line. From 13 May 1889 the line from Barry to the junctions with the GWR at Peterston were opened to goods and mineral traffic; the Cogan line started to carry such trains on the same day. The dock too, was beginning to be ready, and water was admitted to it on 29 June 1889, followed by a formal and ceremonial opening on 18 July 1889. On that day the main line railway from Trehafod and Treforest was also opened to mineral trains. ==Commercial success==

The inauguration was an instant success, and considerable volumes of coal and other merchandise were passed over the railway and through the dock system. Much of this was abstracted from the Taff Vale Railway, which lost volume and income, and the Bute Trustees too suffered. They reduced their rates in an effort to remain competitive, and this started a rate war. Railway mineral rates were heavily regulated, and the non-discrimination requirements in the Barry's authorising legislation became very important. The Taff Vale nevertheless attempted a series of legal challenges, which mostly failed to gain support. ==Change of company name==

The company had been incorporated under the name of Barry Dock and Railway Company. It transpired that the precedence of the word "dock" placed the shares in a different category that was disadvantageous, and it was decided to change the company name to The Barry Railway Company. This was approved by section 38 of the '''''' (54 & 55 Vict. c. clxxxiv) of 5 August 1891. ==Extending the network==

At an early date the Barry directors were considering a further extension to their network, to capture traffic in the Rhymney Valley. A proposal reached the 1888 session of Parliament to build from near St Fagans to Llanishen on the Rhymney Railway, but was turned down in the Lords Committee. A second attempt was made in 1889 for an independent line from near Cogan to Cardiff, and also a junction with the Rhymney Railway north of Caerphilly. This too was withdrawn by the Barry Railway, but significant concessions were obtained. These were that the Taff Vale Railway would agree running powers (except for passenger trains) between Cogan and Walnut Tree Junction over the Penarth and Radyr lines. At Walnut Tree the Rhymney Railway had a junction with the Taff Vale Railway, in fact giving access to the Rhymney's original main line there. Moreover, running powers would be granted for all classes of train from Cogan to Penarth Curve South Junction, where connection was made with the Great Western Railway main line. From this point the GWR had its Riverside Branch, opened in 1884, running down the east side of the River Taff into an important industrial area; both the Barry and the Taff Vale were given running powers over this line, which was to be made suitable by the GWR for passenger operation. This was duly done, and the Barry Railway was able to operate a passenger service between Barry and Cardiff Riverside GWR station, close to the GWR main station (now Cardiff Central) from 14 August 1893. The Taff Vale had already conceded through ticketing, as its former practice of insisting on rebooking of passengers at Cogan was demonstrably unreasonable and had attracted public criticism. The Barry therefore had a viable residential passenger operation. The passenger service was extended down the bank of the River Taff to Cardiff Clarence Road from 2 April 1894, with seventeen trains each way on weekdays. ==Extensions at Barry==

It was apparent from the outset that Barry Docks would need to be enlarged, and already the '''''' (56 & 57 Vict. c. ccvi) for a No. 2 Dock, of , was obtained. The massive trade at the Docks placed on the company the obligations of a Dock Authority, and since 1889 the company had been responsible for pilotage and the control of alcohol and other public order issues within the docks, as well as the more obvious conservancy issues. The Barry Railway Act 1893 also paved the way for an extension railway to Barry Island, as Barry was increasingly becoming a seaside leisure destination. At first this was to be a gauge tramway on reserved tracks, horse or steam powered, but not electrically powered. The tramway concept was abandoned in the following year, when a conventional railway branch was substituted. At long, it was quickly built, and opened on 3 August 1896. ==Extensions at the north end==

The Barry Company made further attempts to get access to the Rhymney Railway network in the years 1893 – 1895, but these were refused. In addition, running powers west of Trehafod on the Taff Vale Rhondda lines were sought and refused, but during the 1894 session it was suggested that the Barry Railway be allowed to operate passenger trains over the Taff Vale from Porth to Barry. Seeing this as a small concession to make, the Taff Vale agreed and from 16 March 1896 the Barry Railway operated such a service. Of course its own main line had not previously operated passenger trains, so new stations were required; in most cases these were made with platform loops to avoid conflict with the heavy mineral trains service. In the from Cadoxton, the first stations were at Wenvoe, Creigiau, Efail Isaf, Treforest and Pontypridd. The Pontypridd station became known as Pontypridd (Graig) from 1924. Barry was not a prime travel destination for the residents of the Taff and Rhondda except on holiday days, and the Barry Railway went about providing a train service to Cardiff, over the GWR main line from St.Fagans. Such a service was not covered by the Taff Vale's running power concession, so the trains only ran southwards from the Barry station (Graig) at Pontypridd. It started operating on 7 June 1897. There was growing congestion between Cogan Junction and Penarth Curve South Junction, which was carrying all the Taff Vale traffic to Penarth Docks as well as The Taff Vale's own passenger traffic and the Barry traffic to Cardiff. The Taff Vale agreed to quadruple the line to ease the matter. ==Vale of Glamorgan==

Coal owners in the Llynvi, Garw and Ogmore Valleys were agitating for better access to dock facilities in the 1880s. They were using Porthcawl, which had very limited shipping capacity. They promoted a railway from Coity Junction, just north of Bridgend, to Barry along a route near the coast, joining the Barry Railway west of the Barry Dock. The result was the Vale of Glamorgan Railway Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. clxxxviii) of 26 August 1889. Nominally independent, it was supported in Parliament by the Barry Railway, and when constructed it was equipped and operated by the Barry Railway. ==A new line from Swansea to London ==

Dissatisfaction with the Great Western Railway continued to be a factor. The Severn Tunnel had been opened in 1886, but the GWR route to London was still via Bristol and Bath. A South Wales Direct Line had been proposed for some years, but the GWR was reluctant to build it. Promoters, chiefly coal owners and those associated with the Vale of Glamorgan Railway and the Barry Railway, put together a scheme for a London and South Wales Railway in November 1895. At in length, it was to run from Cogan via Cardiff and skirting Newport on the north side, crossing the River Severn at Beachley by a new bridge, then via Thornbury, Malmesbury and Lechlade, to make a junction with the Metropolitan Railway near Great Missenden. Junctions would be made with every railway intersected, except the Great Western; the scheme was costed at £5,688,252. At the same time, the Vale of Glamorgan Railway promoted a bill for a new line westward from Ewenny via Porthcawl and Port Talbot to join the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway at Aberavon. Barrie says: The Great Western Railway agreed to build its own South Wales Direct Line, from Wootton Bassett to Patchway via Badminton, and it was opened by the GWR in 1903. ==Barry Pier and pleasure steamers==

In an interview in 1906, the General Manager of the Barry Railway said, A passenger pontoon was constructed within the breakwaters, at which passenger steamers land or take in passengers. The pontoon is served by railway lines made from Barry through Barry Island, and it is now possible for passengers from Cardiff, and the districts containing the teeming population of South Wales, to travel by train to the pontoon, and embark for the various watering-places and towns in the Bristol Channel. The Barry Island branch was extended to Barry Pier. The extension was authorised by the '''''' (59 & 60 Vict. c. cxciii), and it opened on 27 June 1899. The line descended to Barry Pier through a tunnel at 1 in 80. The Pier station never had an ordinary train service, but was limited to trains connecting with pleasure steamers, generally in the summer. The steamer service was provided by the firm of P & A Campbell from July 1899. They were the principal steamer operator on the Bristol Channel at the time, but the commercial relationship between them and the Barry Railway was strained. ==Dock facilities==

The Barry Docks were constructed on a lavish scale with the most modern equipment, designed to enable rapid loading and discharge of vessels. Hydraulic power was provided for the operation of cranes and other plant, and the lock gates, and electric lighting was installed, as 24-hour working was in force. After 1898, the Barry Docks consisted of a basin and two docks of respectively. In 1901 the company stated that there were 21 high-level and nine low-level coal hoists with a further eight movable (using traversers) two of which were placed on No. 1 dock. Nos. 1 to 11 on No. 1 dock and 22 to 31 on No. 2 dock, were served by high-level rail tiers and short viaducts and with generally two lines for the laden wagons to a single line weighbridge and two lines from the single line empties weighbridge returns. Low-level hoists on No. 1 dock were numbered 12, then 13 to 18 on the Mole and thence 19 on the Barry Island side of No. 1 dock. Following 1915, the Barry Railway Company established low-level fixed hoists Nos. 32, 33, 34 and Nos. 4 and 5 movable, on the Barry Island side of No. 1 dock. Two earlier low-level hoists, Nos. 20 and 21 were fed from Graving Dock Junction and Caisson sidings area. In 1893 these were numbered 2 and 3 but were removed prior to 1927 and one early map shows No. 18 on the Mole, renumbered 20, 18 being substituted for one on the Barry Island side of No. 1 dock quay where three low-level hoists, Nos. 1, 2 and 3 movable (with traversers) existed either side of No. 19. Most of the 1st-generation high-level coal hoists on both docks were replaced by Armstrong–Whitworth structures capable of more rapid discharge of coal wagons. There had been three high-level movable hoists at the north end of No. 2 dock and close to Nos. 30 and 31 hoists and on one docks plan, these too were referenced "No. 3 Movable" and "No. 4 Movable." Besides other dedicated plots, that area had been used by the US Army towards the end of World War II. None of the hoists remain, and only pictorial records of their format survive. The Barry Railway General Manager, Edward Lake, told The Railway Magazine: Other provisions for dealing with merchandise traffic have not been lost sight of. Along the south side of dock No. 2 has been erected a commodious transit shed with cellarage and ground and upper floors, and bonded stores, of 500 ft. long and 156 ft. wide. In connection therewith, cranes and other appliances have been provided to enable traffic to be received into the sheds either from ships or trucks or to be loaded from the warehouse into trucks or vessels with the utmost despatch. Close to this building a huge flour mill has erected by Messrs. Joseph Rank, Ltd. Every provision has been made thereat fur dealing with an extensive trade in the most complete manner, and no doubt this will add considerably to 'the future prosperity of the Barry Railway. A modern dock like Barry would not be complete without a cold store. and one has been constructed adjacent to the dock quays, in which frozen meat and other goods requiring cold storage are stored, and the arrangements are such that the Traffic may be discharged direct from the ship’s hold into trucks and despatched to the consuming centres or stored in the cold store with the least possible despatch and exposure. At present the store is capable of accommodating 80,000 carcasses of sheep and other goods, and is capable of being largely extended. ==Connecting to the Rhymney Railway==

The Barry Railway had been able to access the Rhymney Railway since 1891, using the running powers on the Taff Vale Railway from Cogan to Taffs Well. As volumes of traffic increased, crossing the busy Taff Vale main line at Walnut Tree Junction became increasingly difficult and subject to delays. If the Barry Railway could make a more direct connection, it could also connect with the Sirhowy Valley line of the London and North Western Railway, and a huge new route would be opened up, enabling a general merchandise traffic between Cardiff and the West Midlands and North West of England as well as bringing down the mineral resources of the upper valleys. The Barry Railway deposited proposals for the 1896 parliamentary session to build a new line from Tynycaeau Junction (near St Fagans) to join the Rhymney Railway near Caerphilly (at Penrhos Junction), and to get running powers on that railway's system north from the new junction. The Taff Bargoed line, joint between the Rhymney and the Great Western Railway, led to the important mineral centre of Dowlais, and running powers were sought on that line too. The Barry Railway Act 1896 was passed on 7 August 1896 for the line, in length, but the running powers were refused. Descending from Penrhos Junction, the existing Rhymney Railway line to Walnut Tree Junction dropped down into the valley by a long and steep gradient at 1 in 48 but the Barry Railway's new line, parallel in this area, remained at a higher level and crossed the railways, river and canal in the Nantgarw gap by the Walnut Tree viaduct of . The engineering complexity of the route was such that it was not until 1 August 1901 that it opened, for goods and mineral traffic only. It had cost £270,000. ==Cadoxton improvements==

The mineral operation on the Barry Railway was of course focused on the sidings at Barry and Cadoxton, where considerable sorting activities took place and dock storage was necessary waiting for specific ships to become available for loading. About of sidings were at the location, and access to the sidings by arriving trains resulted in serious congestion. In 1898-1899 a burrowing junction was constructed at Cadoxton from the sidings and goods lines on the north side of the line to No. 1 dock. R. A. Cooke's GWR track layout diagrams show the new docks access lines as "ready by 1898". The facility comprised two pairs of tracks descending at 1 in 121 from Cadoxton Low Level Junction to Graving dock Junction, one pair feeding No. 2 dock and the other No. 1 dock and goods yard, all at quay level, although there was a double-line junction to access No. 1 dock from the No. 2 dock lines near Graving Dock Junction. The section between the two block posts (Cadoxton Low level Junction and Graving Dock Junction) had always been controlled permissively (i.e. more than one train could be permitted to enter the section at a time). The 'burrowing' was provided by two reverse curve alignments with the 'bores' separated by a dividing wall with refuge manways, besides those provided in the main support walls. Although generally referred to as the "Graving Dock Tunnels", technically the facility was in fact a long skew rail underbridge over which some 14 sidings passed between Cadoxton Low Level Junction and Barry Docks signal box. The structure was radically altered to provide the new Barry docks area southerly town bypass road and now named Ffordd y Mileniwm, one half of the 'bore' being backfilled and the other, capped by a skew road overbridge which now provides a direct road link from Cadoxton to Barry Island. Just one freight railtrack survives here and links the Barry-Cardiff main line with No. 2 dock. ==On to the Brecon and Merthyr Railway==

Frustrated by the refusal of running powers on the Rhymney network, the Barry Railway now decided to extend the new line further north-east to join the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, crossing the Rhymney Valley to do so. The '''''' (61 & 62 Vict. c. cxlii) permitted the extension to cross the Senghenydd branch of the Rhymney Railway and then cross the Rhymney Valley itself, joining the Brecon and Merthyr line near Duffryn Isaf; the new line was in length and included even more prodigious engineering challenges, in particular the Llanbradach or Pwll-y-Pant viaduct. This alone cost about half of the £500,000 expense of building the line. The viaduct was long with eleven spans above the valley floor. The Brecon and Merthyr Railway received financial help to enable it to double-track parts of its system. The new route opened for goods and mineral traffic only on 2 January 1905. (Passenger excursion trains to Barry did run over the line.) In fact the Brecon and Merthyr Railway did not extend to Dowlais; by a compromise arrangement when the line from Bargoed to Dowlais was authorised, the line was divided lengthways, and the Rhymney Railway owned the northern to Dowlais; for that reason Barry Railway running powers over the B&MR were not enough to get to Dowlais. Between 1904 and 1907 the Barry Railway planned an extension railway to by-pass the Rhymney Railway section, and to reach Newport over the B&M Railway, and this was authorised by the '''''' (7 Edw. 7. c. clxxiii) of 28 August 1907. However, there were considerable limitations, particularly on rate competition, and the Barry Railway saw that this expensive line would not be profitable, and it delayed construction, hoping to negotiate better terms with its competitors. The delay continued right up until 1914, when the outbreak of World War I prevented the realisation of major new schemes. ==Financial results==

From the outset the Barry Railway had been remarkably successful in financial terms. Volumes of traffic carried, numbers of ships berthed at Barry, quantity of coal exported, all resulted in superlatives. Shareholders had become accustomed to excellent dividends and these were consistently distributed, although there were periods when the expense of new works, and of the Parliamentary costs associated with them, diverted profit away from shareholders, leading to dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, the dividend was 10% in 1890, and every year from 1894 to 1897 and in 1912, and was never less than 9.5% in any subsequent year. ==Passenger services==

Although the mineral traffic was massively dominant, the Barry Railway ran a respectable passenger operation. Between Barry and Cardiff, the company ran 33 trains each way every weekday. Barry to Porth was less intensive, typically six return trips and about the same frequency on the Barry to Bridgend section. In 1898 there were ten trains daily between Cardiff Riverside and Pontypridd of which four were non-stop. Railcars were briefly used on the service from 1905. The service on the route declined in later years, in favour of the Taff Vale route which gave better connectivity. ==Working to Rogerstone==

During World War I the exceptional coal traffic placed heavy demands on all the railways of South Wales. To assist with a difficult motive power situation, Barry Railway locomotives started working through to Rogerstone Yard, on the Newport Western Valley line, via Ebbw Junction; the practice was continued until the Grouping. ==From 1922==