The railway you walked is apparently still a live railway, I was taking photos of the Fountain level crossing in 2018 and the crossing was under repair and I was told not to trespass on the line as it is still in use.
You're probably right, I think it is still 'usable' but nothing has been down it for a long time. When I walked a short distance of it, the tracks were rusted and there was quite a bit of debris over the tracks themselves. |'ve seen photographs from a few years ago of a special event, where an old train was on it.
Most of the area has been redeveloped as a nature reserve with walking and cycle paths. In the Victorian era, it would have been very different. It was good to see where my grandfather would have worked.
Glad you enjoyed it, do you know what town they came from. I used to live at an address in a Welsh town called Philadelphia Road (apparently the landowner was going to emigrate but built a couple of houses instead)
@@flydriveexplore I would have liked to have made the walk today, but the weather has just been dreadful unfortunately and with it getting dark that much earlier rendered my ambitions mute 😅
Great video! Subscribed! Since the first lockdown I’ve taken a real interest in old collieries in my local town of Pontypool. There’s just something about old collieries and brickworks that fascinates me!
My Grandfather (Henry Tremlett) worked a at Aberbaiden colliery near Bedford Rd until it closed in 1959. He then went to work in Port Talbot Steel works. He always said “he never had camaraderie like he had in the colliery.
Yes you’ve got it I have the Grid reference for it if that helps . My Family are From Cefn and Pyle so were either involved in mining or steel. My Aunties sister is married to the author of the local history books that were written about Pyle and kenfig hill
@@danieltremlett9322 Thanks, I'll take a look at the coordinates. On my other channel, I took a walk through the woods and noticed they still had a pumping station to stop the mine water from polluting the river ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nVWCkaLViIk.html
Brilliant video's 👍👍 Really interesting and informative. I'm from South Wales and I've learnt something new from that and will definitely be taking a walk there soon. Thank you.
I cycle past there quite often. I remember trains used to go past. I always wondered if the line was closed or not, your video now explains it all. The last I read, the junction box used to be open as a museum , but it was vandalised too many times and is now locked up, only opened for selected few days of the year. Although, It's a shame about the information surrounding William Malin's office, online documentation is scarce about it and his influence in the area. ...good news is that they've now opened up the old Opencast site to the public and you can casually walk around on designated trails.
surprised you didnt mention Cefn Gwrydd local history volunteers who restored and maintain the signal box and surrounding area. also the margam open cast site was supposed to be turned into a nature reserve but the company mysteriously ran out of money when they were refused an extension to mining licences
So many familiar places, I still regularly walk in Parc Slip, such a sad history. I remember the signal box, I thought it had disappeared but obviously had forgotten that it’s further up the track than I remember, I even know the little waterfall @8:30. I have links to Tondu too, my nana lived at the head of Derllwyn Close, so I spent my youth exploring the old NCB works. Great set of videos you have, I’ve just discovered your channel via your Mariam Sidings vid which is right on my doorstep, keep up the good work 🏴👍 Oh, and the open cast site at the end used to be a right shit hole, it was why the owners had planning permission refused for housing due to the terrible mess locals had to endure during the mining works. I walked those sidings with my family a few months ago....................
Fly Drive Explore Can I suggest one on the New Inn and Cap Coch ?? EDIT I knew there was another suggestion for you when I posted earlier but knee deep in toy building I couldn’t remember. How about the village of Groes, it was in Margam and got bulldozed flat to make way for the M4 extension in the 70’s. All that is left is the chapel that was re-built in tollgate park block by block.
@@cerealkiller4248 I remember the old chapel before it was moved and my father telling me about the shape of it. I've already done a video about the story of Cap Coch (a few years ago)
There was always a tradition in my family that a that one of my great great uncles died in the Parc Slip explosion in 1892, a relative who lived at Cefn Cribwr did a lot of research in to the explosion and found the uncle had been killed there 2 years earlier in a roof fall. My relative did find some 21 miners who were part of my very extended family that died. All of them very distant cousins and in-laws.
Yep, it was a dangerous industry. If you weren't injured are killed you probably suffered in the long term with lung diseases. If you have ancestors from south Wales the chances are they were in the coal industry. The valleys really expanded from small villages and farms to large industrial towns during the industrial revolution.
@@flydriveexplore Really enjoyed your videos around Porthcawl and the valleys, many memories from my past, my grand parents lived in Brynmenyn and I can remember visiting Porthcawl by train in the 1950s
