Cardiff Riverside Branch
The Cardiff Riverside Branch was a short railway constructed as an industrial railway in Cardiff, South Wales by the Great Western Railway.[1] The line was subsequently upgraded for passenger services.
New industries had developed along the banks of the River Taff south from Cardiff Central station towards Cardiff Docks. Whilst the main Bute and Roath docks were well serviced by both the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the Taff Vale Railway (TVR), the relatively thin spit of land between the River Taff and the Glamorganshire Canal, known locally as "Rat Island", was not.
In 1894 the line was upgraded for passenger use, allowing the TVR to extend its existing passenger services, running from Cogan to Clarence Road from 2 April 1894.[1] This also allowed connection to the made with the Cardiff Tramways Company system.[3] During both World Wars the line was used to transport raw materials and munitions to and from the Curran's works, which became a munitions factory manufacturing shell casings and tank tracks. Production of machine gun ammunition continued until the 1960s.
The line continued to run under
The entire spit has been redeveloped, with industry squeezed out between developing office, retail and housing developments. Few signs of the former line or its stations exist today.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Cardiff Riverside Branch". RailScot. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ a b Glamorgan XLCII.NE (includes: Cardiff; Penarth.) (Map). 10,560. Ordnance Survey. 1901.
- ISBN 0853614873.
External links
- "View of Bute Ironworks, Cardiff". Coflein. Aerial view showing most of the railway line (1937)