Gelli Felen Halt | |
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![]() Station remains in 2011. | |
General information | |
Location |
Gellifelin,
Monmouthshire Wales |
Coordinates | 51°48′12″N 3°08′31″W / 51.8033°N 3.1420°W |
Grid reference | SO213122 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
Key dates | |
6 September 1933 | Opened |
6 January 1958 | Closed |
Gelli Felen Halt railway station was a station on the London and North Western Railway's Heads of the Valleys line near the settlement of Gellifelin in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire. [1]
The first section of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway from Abergavenny to Brynmawr was opened on 29 September 1862. [2] The line was leased and operated by the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) which acquired the smaller railway company on 30 June 1866. [3] [4] The L&NWR was itself amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in the 1923 Grouping. [5]
Gelli Felen Halt was opened by the LMS on 6 September 1933. [6] [7] It was situated to the west of the twin-bore Gelli Felen Tunnel (Down 386 yards (353 m); Up 352 yards (322 m)) from which the station was reached on a sharp left-hand curve where flangeless 0-8-4T locomotives had in the past derailed. [8] At this point the line ran along the sheer rock face of the cutting side which was reinforced with engineering brick. [9] Gelli Felen railway halt was in an isolated location on a 1 in 38 gradient on a sharp curve requiring check rails to prevent derailment. [10] [4] Short staggered platforms were provided with a barrack-like brick huts as passenger shelters. [10] [4] To the west of the station there had been a signal box, crossover and siding but these had gone by 1931; the signal box was opened on the Up side in 1898 and was known as Gellavalln. [11]
As a result of decline in the local industry and the costs of working the line between Abergavenny and Merthyr, [12] passenger services ceased on 4 January 1958. [13] The last public service over the Merthyr line was an SLS railtour on 5 January 1958 hauled by LNWR 0-8-0 49121 and LNWR Coal Tank No. 58926. [13] [14] Official closure came on 6 January. [7] [15] [6] [16]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Brynmawr Line and station closed |
London, Midland and Scottish Railway Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway |
Clydach Line and station closed |
The platform shelters have survived in an overgrown state and the trackbed through the station is part of National Cycle Route 46. [4] [17]