Opened : 1853, Closed : 1967, Engineering code : MER, Length: 6m 23c
Abernant tunnel, also known as the Aberdare or Merthyr tunnel was built to carry the Vale of Neath Railway from Merthyr to Neath via Hirwaun. Located beneath Mynydd Gethin, this 2497 yds tunnel is one of the longest in the area. It was taken over by the GWR in 1865. The tunnel istelf was built single track, although the eastern approach was up to 4 track at the Cyrfartha Junction (about 1/2 mile away.) The Cyrfartha Junction allowed GWR traffic between Neath an Merthyr High Street to cross GWR/TVR joint traffic from Quaker's Yard to Dowlais. The route was abandoned in 1967 and the tunnel mouth bricked up. In 1998 the walls were removed and fencing put in their place.
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The section of track nearest Gelli Tarw junction is on
private land, howeverm to the east of the partly demolished road
bridge, as far as the western portal of Abernant Tunnel is open and
accessible as public footpath. |
| The platofrms at Llwydcoed and Abernant are still in place,
as are most of the bridges of this section of line. |
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| The Abernant / Merthyr Tunnel was accessible in 2005. |
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| The site of the Cyrfartha Junction is readily accessible and somewhat overgrown. There is a well walked trail along the GWR Trackbed towards the tunnel. Also evident is the bridge just east of the junction. I was not able to find remnants of the old signalbox. Lineside fencing is still there, looking rather dilapidated. The approach cutting is about 1/2 mile long and muddy in places. A small stream runs down it after heavy rain. There are two bridges on this section of cutting, presumably serving colliery tracks. The first is a wide stone arch, the top so overgrown that one would not even know that one was crossing a bridge. The second is a smaller iron girder bridge, the roadway so worn that the girders show through. The cutting at the portal itself is deep and narrow, with exposed rock outcrops. |
