Cwm Mawr, Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley Railway, Carmarthenshire
During the 1990s my good friend Spencer and myself visited an incredible number of railway installations, mostly on day trips out and back from home, covering some crazy distances!
We were both keen to see the last remaining section of the old BP&GV Railway before it closed, so headed out on one particular day to try our luck in finding a train working on this unique line, with its low-clearance bridges which necessitated locomotives with reduced-height cabs. For years modified Class 03s were used but by the time of our visit a second group of Class 08s, with cut-down cabs and air brakes were seeing out the last few years of the line before closure.
Looking back I’m so glad we made the effort, and endured a long day, to capture a brief insight on a fascinating line that was like no other! The last train at Cwm Mawr ran on 29th March 1996, almost three years, to the day, after our visit. The final stub of the old BP&GVR, between Kidwelly and Coed Bach, closed in 1998.
We were both keen to see the last remaining section of the old BP&GV Railway before it closed, so headed out on one particular day to try our luck in finding a train working on this unique line, with its low-clearance bridges which necessitated locomotives with reduced-height cabs. For years modified Class 03s were used but by the time of our visit a second group of Class 08s, with cut-down cabs and air brakes were seeing out the last few years of the line before closure.
Looking back I’m so glad we made the effort, and endured a long day, to capture a brief insight on a fascinating line that was like no other! The last train at Cwm Mawr ran on 29th March 1996, almost three years, to the day, after our visit. The final stub of the old BP&GVR, between Kidwelly and Coed Bach, closed in 1998.
Return to: UK - South & West Wales or Gallery
Return to: UK - South & West Wales or Gallery