Railway Line Question.

[Tuerto]

I'm not sure that i'm imagining this, but as a very young child i used to walk up to Penylan Hill, from my Uncles house in Melrose Avenue, to catch the bus back to Llanedeyrn. I'm sure that there was a railway track running Parallel with Melrose Avenue, although i can't ever recall seeing a Train, so maybe the track had been out of use for some time, i'm going back to around 1980.

If my imagination is not playing tricks, then where did that Track start and end-Was it just freight. passenger or both? As i remember it, it looks like it would've run up Ty Gwyn Rd. Anyone have any memories?

[xsnaggle]

Re: Railway Line Question.

They keep thousands of old maps of the city and the county in the library archives in Cathays library. That should give the answer.

There didn't appear to be one in 1911. See:-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Railway#/media/File:Cardiffrly.png

how old are you again?

[Enoch Mort]

Re: Railway Line Question.

It was the Roath Branch. It came off the TVR at College Road, Whitchurch. There were sidings at Gabalfa where the iinterchange is now and it followed what is now Eastern Avenue as far as Lake Rd West/ East where it carried on behind Ty Draw Rd under Penylan hill ( you can still see the railway bridge on both sides of the road). It then carried on down to the docks. It closed in 1968 and the sidings at Gabalfa were filled in when Eastern Avenue and the interchange was constructed

[Tuerto]

Re: Railway Line Question.

They keep thousands of old maps of the city and the county in the library archives in Cathays library. That should give the answer.

There didn't appear to be one in 1911. See:-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Railway#/media/File:Cardiffrly.png

how old are you again?

I'm sure there was a railway line there. If you drive down penylan Hill, there's a bridge by Ty Gwyn rd, why would that bridge be there? The bridge is also there if you drive up Penylan Hill as well-Just for clarity.

[Tuerto]

Re: Railway Line Question.

It was the Roath Branch. It came off the TVR at College Road, Whitchurch. There were sidings at Gabalfa where the iinterchange is now and it followed what is now Eastern Avenue as far as Lake Rd West/ East where it carried on behind Ty Draw Rd under Penylan hill ( you can still see the railway bridge on both sides of the road). It then carried on down to the docks. It closed in 1968 and the sidings at Gabalfa were filled in when Eastern Avenue and the interchange was constructed

Enoch, that's brilliant, thanks for that. I'm guessing it was Freight?

[Enoch Mort]

Re: Railway Line Question.

Enoch, that's brilliant, thanks for that. I'm guessing it was Freight?

Coal, was the prime reason for its existence. Opened on 1887 in readiness for the opening of Roath Dock.

[LeningradCowboy]

Re: Railway Line Question.

I'm sure there was a railway line there. If you drive down penylan Hill, there's a bridge by Ty Gwyn rd, why would that bridge be there? The bridge is also there if you drive up Penylan Hill as well-Just for clarity.

Wasn't there a pedestrian underpass in that location until fairly recently? Flats have been built on either side now.

[LeningradCowboy]

Re: Railway Line Question.

Does anyone remember there being a farm near the junction of Lake Road East and Ty Draw Road? I think it existed when my grandparents moved to Cardiff in the early 1960s.

[Rjk]

Re: Railway Line Question.

http://systemed.net/atlas/

is it shown on here?

[Michael Morris]

Re: Railway Line Question.

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=14.480517895961981&lat=51.50163&lon=-3.17579&layers=10&right=ESRIWorld

Great site for comparing old maps with today's landscape

[Tuerto]

Re: Railway Line Question.

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side...ight=ESRIWorld

Great site for comparing old maps with today's landscape

Cheers Mike, that's a great site.

[Cyncoed Slumdog]

Re: Railway Line Question.

It was the Roath Branch. It came off the TVR at College Road, Whitchurch. There were sidings at Gabalfa where the iinterchange is now and it followed what is now Eastern Avenue as far as Lake Rd West/ East where it carried on behind Ty Draw Rd under Penylan hill ( you can still see the railway bridge on both sides of the road). It then carried on down to the docks. It closed in 1968 and the sidings at Gabalfa were filled in when Eastern Avenue and the interchange was constructed

Well done Enoch. The line ran along the side of the Harlequins playing fields which was Cardiff High School's home ground and I remember seeing trains going past whilst I was playing rugby. It ran along the bottom of Waterloo Gardens then before new houses were built on the old track bed.

[Enoch Mort]

Re: Railway Line Question.

Well done Enoch. The line ran along the side of the Harlequins playing fields which was Cardiff High School's home ground and I remember seeing trains going past whilst I was playing rugby. It ran along the bottom of Waterloo Gardens then before new houses were built on the old track bed.

Yes, it ran down past the playing field and crossed Newport Road over a bridge and then crossed the South Wales Main Line at the back of Spring Gardens Terrace. It then ran down towards Roath Dock between Moorland Road and Splott Park in parallel with the GWR Roath Dock Branch which left the main line at Pengam Junction opposite the Newport Road Bus and Tram Depot.

If you are familiar with the Rhymney Line, south of Heath High Level where the line goes under Highfields Road you will see a brick wall with a raised track bed in front of a large retaining brick wall. That raised track bed gets higher as the Rhymney Line drops towards Queen St Station. The track bed ends as it reaches Cathays Cemetery. It was a proposed link to the Roath Branch to allow coal to get from the Rhymney Valley direct to Roath Dock. The plan never got off the ground but tracks had been laid on it and it was used as a siding for many years, specifically for carriages. The tracks were lifted when Heath Junction ( to what was the Coryton Line formerly the Cardiff Railway) was moved 300m north ( now the City Line) and the sidings land that was surplus to requirements was sold off for housing.

[BLUETIT]

Re: Railway Line Question.

Yes, it ran down past the playing field and crossed Newport Road over a bridge and then crossed the South Wales Main Line at the back of SPRING GARDENS TERRACE. It then ran down towards Roath Dock between Moorland Road and Splott Park in parallel with the GWR Roath Dock Branch which left the main line at Pengam Junction opposite the Newport Road Bus and Tram Depot.

If you are familiar with the Rhymney Line, south of Heath High Level where the line goes under Highfields Road you will see a brick wall with a raised track bed in front of a large retaining brick wall. That raised track bed gets higher as the Rhymney Line drops towards Queen St Station. The track bed ends as it reaches Cathays Cemetery. It was a proposed link to the Roath Branch to allow coal to get from the Rhymney Valley direct to Roath Dock. The plan never got off the ground but tracks had been laid on it and it was used as a siding for many years, specifically for carriages. The tracks were lifted when Heath Junction ( to what was the Coryton Line formerly the Cardiff Railway) was moved 300m north ( now the City Line) and the sidings land that was surplus to requirements was sold off for housing.

I was born in number 40, we used to walk the line to Splott Park, outside our back garden was the main line to London, it used to frighten the Bejesus out of any friends who were out there with me, when a Steam Locomotive went past.

[Enoch Mort]

Re: Railway Line Question.

I was born in number 40, we used to walk the line to Splott Park, outside our back garden was the main line to London, it used to frighten the Bejesus out of any friends who were out there with me, when a Steam Locomotive went past.

I can identify with that, railway trespass formed a large part of my youth