This line ran along the floor of the Clydach valley, serving two
collieries and the town of Ynysbwl. The gradient of he valley floor,
about 1
in 40, created operating difficulties. The upper line shut in the
1960's, but
the sction seerving the Lady Windsor colliery closed after the colliery
in
1988.
More details on the dates of construction and abandonment can be found
here
(RAILSCOT
website). . The main purpose of this page is to show what is left
of this
route about 15 years after abandonment. The table on the right details
the
current state of the line. There is a photogallery at the bottom of the
page.
 |
!Cwm Clydach Halt is the uppermost section of trackbed accessible from the roadside. Altough the road bridge has been demolished, a ramp leads from the southern side of the bank to the surviving platform of the halt. The trackbed here is somewhat overgrown and boggy. |
| The line is accessible between Old Ynysybwl Halt and the Nant Clydach bridge north of Ynysbwl Station. The siteof the Old Ynysbwl Halt has been partially cleared although a pub (that looks original) remains nearby. The land to the south of the demolished Mill Lane Bridge is used for grazing. Nearer the Nant Clydach bridge, which has been removed, the trackbed is more overgrown but can be reached via a scramble from the colliery approach road next to the Clydach bridge. | |
| Between Ynysybwl Station and Robertstown the trackbed is disappearing rapidly beneath new development. The site of Ynysybwl Station is now a doctor's surgery, incorporating the old station building which has been tastefully extended. The western side of the cutting is visible behind some new houses and the Gelli Road bridge has been demolished. The site of Robertstown halt has been cleared and is used as an unofficial car park. | |
| The trackbed, only pulled up in 1988, has been converted into a surfaced cycleway between the site of the Clydach bridge, south of Robertstown Halt all the way to Coed Y Cwm, a distance of 2 km. The Coed Y Cwm bridge still carries the sole road access to the housing estate. | |
| South of Coed Y Cwm, the branch to Lower Ynysybwl Junction is hard to trace as the Clydach bridge has been removed, only stone abutments remaining. An old (1972) atlas suggests that thre was a halt just inside the B 4273 curve. The two bridges over the B 4273 have ben demolished to make way for road widening works. The cutting between and site of Glyncoch station has been backfilled. Sections of the stone parapet of the Abercynon Road bridge remain. | |
| South of Coed Y Cwm, the branch to Upper Ynysybwl Junction, which was only pulled up in 1990 after the Lady Windsor colliery closed in 1988 is relatively complete. The uppermost bridge over the Nant Clydach is intact and retains a ballast trackbed. The lower Clydach bridge, an impressive three span girder bridge, has been fenced off due to its testle top, with large gaps. A couple of rails have been abandoned on the bridge. A short section of trackbed ebmankment leads to a small beam bridge over an unnamed lane. Just beyond this, the trackbed remains, althoigh the junction itself has been cleared from the mainline. |
