Brecon Mountain Railway

Brecon Mountain Railway Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog
300px 1908-built German 0-6-2WTT Graf Schwerin-Löwitz and American-style carriages.
Locale	Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Terminus	Pant
Commercial operations
Name	Brecon Mountain Railway
Original gauge	1 ft 11 3⁄4 in (603 mm)
Preserved operations
Owned by	Brecon Mountain Railway Ltd
Operated by	Brecon Mountain Railway Ltd
Stations	3
Length	5 miles
Preserved gauge	1 ft 11 3⁄4 in
Commercial history
Opened	1980

The American feel of the line is apparent from this photo of 1930 US-built Baldwin pacific No. 2 on 11 April 2004.

Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway
Legend
Neath and Brecon Railway to Neath Brecon (Watton) Brecon (Free Street) Taff Vale Railway to Cardiff Central Talyllyn Tunnel 674 yd  616 m  Merthyr High Street Talyllyn Junction Maerdy Junction x20px Hereford, Hay & Brecon Rly to Hereford Brandy Junction & Mid Wales Rly to Builth Wells Ynysfach Junction Talybont-on-Usk Y'ch Ironworks Rhydycar Junction Pentir Rhiw Cyfarthfa Junction Cwm Colliery Great Western Railway/ Taff Vale Railway Llwyngelyn Junction to Quakers Yard and Merthyr Railway Heolgerrig Halt Great Western Railway to Aberdare Cyfarthfa Steelworks Cefn Viaduct Cefn Coed Y Cymmer Torpantau Tunnel 666 yd  609 m  Pontsarn Halt Torpantau Pontsarn Viaduct Dolygaer Morlais Junction Pontsticill Dowlais Central x20px Brecon Mountain Railway Morlais Tunnel 1040 yd  951 m  x20px x20px x20px Pontsticill Junction Pantysgallog Halt (High Level) Pant Junction Pant Dowlais (High Street) Dowlais Top Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Rly Dowlais Top Junction (LNWR)   Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Rly (LNWR) Rhymney Railway to Dowlais Cae Harris to Abergavenny   Fochriw Junction Fochriw Colliery Fochriw Ogilvie Village Halt Rhymney Railway to Rhymney Ogilvie Colliery Rhymney & Pontlottyn Darran and Deri Abertysswg Groes-Faen Colliery Cwmtysswg Colliery Croes-Faen Halt New Tredegar & Tirphil Bargoed North Junction Cwmsyfiog & Brithdir x20px Bargoed Bargoed South Junction x20px Aberbargoed Junction Rhymney Railway to Caerphilly x20px Aber Bargoed Pengam   Newport, Abergavenny Fleur de Lis platform and Hereford Railway to Aberdare Maesycwmmer Junction Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway to Pontypool   Rhymney Railway to Caerphilly Maesycwmmer Gwernydomen Halt Barry Railway to Barry Junction Fountain Bridge Halt Waterloo Halt Bedwas White Hart Halt Trethomas Machen Machen Quarry Church Road Rhiwderin Bassaleg Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway to Alexandra Docks

The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog) is a 1 ft 11 ³⁄₄ in (603 mm) narrow gauge tourist railway that runs through the Brecon Beacons along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir and uphill passing the nearby upper (Pentwyn) reservoir to Torpantau.

The BMR, is located three miles north of the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Mid-Glamorganshire, South-East Wales.

Route of the BMR

The line, runs along part of the trackbed of the northern section of the former standard gauge Brecon and Merthyr Railway from Pant to a new station at Torpantau, via Pontsticill and Dolygaer Loop, A total of approximately 5 miles (8.0 km)s in length.

With this, it has taken the BMR just short of the southern entrance to the 667yd long Torpantau tunnel, the highest railway tunnel in Great Britain, that carried the original line through the hills along the side of Glyn Collwn to Brecon.

One of the benefits of the line, and a condition of the planning permission, is that tourists can access and experience remote parts of the Brecon Beacons National Park without driving their cars through it. Car parking for railway passengers is only available at Pant Station, outside the National Park.

The Brecon Mountain Railway is a fellow member of the Great Little Trains of Wales.

Stations of the BMR

• Pant - perfect starting point of the BMR.

• Pontsticill - located to adjacent reservoir of the same name.

• Dol-Y-Gaer - passing loop only.

• Torpantau - current northern terminus of the BMR.

Locomotives

Full list of steam locomotives at the site:

Builder	Works No.	Date	Type	Name or Number	Status
Baldwin	15511	1897	2-6-2	1	Undergoing restoration in the workshops.
Baldwin	61269	1930	4-6-2	2	Operational. Originally built for the Eastern Province Cement Company in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Acquired by the Brecon Mountain Railway around 1990, and restored to full working order in 1997.
Baldwin	Original was No. 23		2-6-2	3	Original locomotive scrapped in 1936. A replica is being constructed in the workshops from the original drawings.
Baldwin	Original was No. 10.		2-4-4T	4	Original locomotive scrapped in 1936. A replica is being constructed in the workshops from the original drawings.
Brecon Mountain Railway	001	1987	0-6-0DH		Operational.
De Winton		1894	0-4-0VBT	Pendyffryn	On display but is in working order.
Henschel	29587	1957	2-8-2	146 (SAR NG15 Class)	Stored out of use.
Hunslet Engine Co.	827	1903	0-4-0ST	Sybil	On display but is in working order.
Jung	1261	1908	0-6-2WT+T	Graf Schwerin-Löwitz 99-3553	Operational.
Redstone		1905	0-4-0VBTT		On display but is in working order.
Wickham	10943	1976	2w-2PMR		Operational.
Kambarka	TU7-1698	1981	4w-4wDH		The loco came from a Peat Railway at Seda, in Latvia.
Kambarka	TU7E-2426	1985	4w-4wDH		The loco came from a Tatra Electric Railway, in Slovakia.

See also

• British narrow gauge railways
• List of British heritage and private railways
• List of closed railway lines in Great Britain

External links

• Official website
• BMR listing
• Picture of New Torpantau station (before opening)