Strata Florida railway station

Strata Florida was a railway station in Wales, on the former Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Line; it served the villages of Ystrad Meurig, Pontrhydfendigaid and Ffair Rhos. The Manchester and Milford Railway (M&MR) opened from Pencader to Aberystwyth on 12 August 1867;[2] the line went into receivership from 1875 to 1900. The site is now part of the Ystwyth Trail, a shared-use rail trail between Aberystwyth and Tregaron.

Strata Florida railway station
Site of Strata Florida station
General information
LocationYstrad Meurig, Ceredigion
Wales
Coordinates52.2872°N 3.8912°W / 52.2872; -3.8912
Grid referenceSN7109567143
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyManchester and Milford Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1 September 1866[1]Opened
22 February 1965[1]Closed

History

The Ystwyth Trail, near the old station.

The railway

The M&MR's original plan was to build a line through the mountains. One scheme involved the building of a six-mile tunnel to Llangurig, whence it would proceed to Llanidloes, reaching Manchester over other companies' lines through Moat Lane, Newtown, Welshpool, Oswestry, Whitchurch and Crewe. The required finance was not forthcoming and the prospect of such a route never being economic became apparent; only the section from Llangurig to Llanidloes was actually built. A line towards Aberystwyth, via Llanilar, was opened instead in 1867; from Aberystwyth, access to Moat Lane and onwards could be achieved, after a reversal, by way of Machynlleth and Caersws.

The Great Western Railway (GWR) took over the service in 1906 and fully absorbed the line in 1911. The station, and GWR, passed on to British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

Although proposed for closure in the Beeching Report, the line closed in December 1964; this was due to serious damage caused by flooding south of Aberystwyth, near Llanilar station, in December 1964. The cost of repairs was deemed unjustified and led to the withdrawal of passenger services in February 1965; however, milk trains continued to run from Carmarthen to nearby Pont Llanio until 1970.[3]

The station

The station was about three miles from the old abbey of Strata Florida; Lord Lisburne of Trawsgoed, an influential local landowner, had tried to have the station to be named Ystrad Meurig after the village of that name.[4] The station was built at a point where it could serve three local villages, but its location made railway access difficult. The station itself was positioned on a tight curve, although the line from the south took a straight course across the Cors Caron bog. On leaving the station, the branch line towards Aberystwyth climbed out of the Teifi valley at 1:43 for about a mile to the summit of the line, before falling for four miles at 1:41 into the Ystwyth valley and Trawscoed.[5]

The station had two platforms, basic buildings and a signal box. All have been demolished; there are a few artefacts remaining, including the stationmaster's house.

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Alltddu Halt   Great Western Railway
Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Line
  Caradog Falls Halt
Manchester and Milford Railway
Aberystwyth
Llanrhystyd Road
Llanilar
Felindyffryn Halt
Llanidloes
Trawscoed
Caradog Falls Halt
Llangurig
unbuilt connection
15 miles (24 km)
Aberayron
Llanerch-Ayron Halt
Strata Florida
Crossways Halt
Alltddu Halt
Ciliau-Aeron Halt
Tregaron
Felin Fach
Pont Llanio
Talsarn Halt
Olmarch Halt
Blaenplwyf Halt
Llangybi
Silian Halt
Derry Ormond
Newcastle Emlyn
Pontgoch
Lampeter
Henllan
Pencarreg Halt
Alltycefn Tunnel
Llanybydder
Pentrecourt Platform
Maesycrugiau
Llandyssul
Bryn Teifi
Teifi Valley route
(Carmarthen & Cardigan Rly)
Pencader Junction
Pencader
Pencader Tunnel
985 yd
901 m
Llanpumpsaint
Conwil
Danycoed Halt
Llwyfan Cerrig
Bronwydd Arms
Abergwili Junction
Carmarthen Town
Carmarthen

Today

Much of the route from Aberystwyth to Tregaron has now been turning into a walking and cycling route, the Ystwyth Trail.[6]

References

  1. Butt 1995, p. 222.
  2. "Manchester and Milford Railway (91660)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  3. "Olmarch Railway Halt, Olmarch (41352)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  4. History of Pontrhydfendigiad Archived 24 December 2012 at archive.today Retrieved : 2012-09-29
  5. D S M Barrie, revised Peter Baughan, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 12: South Wales, David St John Thomas, Nairn, 1994, ISBN 0 946537 69 0
  6. "Ystwyth Trail". Ceredigion.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2012.

Sources

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