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Society Annual Outing:  Sunday June 27th 2010, to the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway,
Big Pit Mining Museum, and Brecon Mountain Railway.

In perfect weather, 45 members and friends joined us on a Bakers Coach which was just twelve weeks old for a fascinating day out. Following our last pick-up at Clevedon we headed over the Second Severn Crossing and after leaving the Motorway at Newport it seemed in no time at all we were arriving in Blaenavon.

The industrial Landscape of Blaenavon itself is a World Heritage site, being the first UK site to receive this award in 1999, before the likes of Bath, Ironbridge and the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. This is due in major part to the early emergence of the Ironworks in Blaenavon, opened in 1789, and we gained a brief glimpse of its remains as we headed to our first stop in Blaenavon and viewed other parts of this industrial landscape, the Coal mining industry and supporting rail network.

The Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway

The first active steps to set up a preserved railway here came in 1983, but it was not until 29th May 2010, some 27 years later, that the preserved railway extended to Blaenavon High level Station with the first scheduled passenger train since closure to passengers in 1941! The line from Blaenavon to Pontypool finally closed in 1980 when its use for coal trains from Big Pit and other local mines finally ceased. The main station 'Furnace Sidings' is built close to the site of the former coal washery and other colliery buildings which were demolished during 1987.  The railway, with a 1 in 19 gradient in places, is the steepest standard gauge preserved passenger-carrying line in Britain, ensuring some spectacular starts from the steam locomotives! The northern terminus, Whistle Halt, stands at 1307 feet above sea level and is the highest station in England and Wales.

There is currently no run-round loop at Blaenavon High Level so all trains have to be “top and tailed” by a second loco. For 2010 the locos are newly-arrived  and restored Austerity 0-6-0T no 71515, which arrived on 28th April from Bill Parker’s restoration facility at the Flour Mill, in the Forest of Dean. Perhaps surprisingly, the loco at the other end is an ex- BR Class diesel shunter, D4157 (08927), immaculately restored in green and hired in from the Gloucs & Warwicks Railway for the 2010 season. This was actually the last class 08 ever built (but not last numerically) being built at Horwich in December 1962.

Normal procedure is for the Class 08 to lead down the gradient to Blaenavon High Level, with the steam loco to do the hard work of hauling the three coach train and Class 08 up the grade to Furnace Sidings and on to Whistle Halt with suitably impressive sound effects!
All but one of the former collieries on this line have gone (Big Pit being the exception), as have many of the Coal Tips, some now replaced by the artificial Garn Lakes (which are now a local amenity, outdoor recreational area and wildlife retreat).  Landscaping and nature have taken away much of the starkness of the former industrial landscape.
After a return trip on the line, our party were given an extended guided tour of the locomotive and rolling stock sheds and sidings. Main line diesels here included Class 31, 37 and electro- diesel Class 73. Southern influence was also further represented by DEMU and EMUs, alongside DMUs.
Following a look in the shops and café, many members later chose to take the scenic ten minute walk, or alternatively the vintage coach, to nearby Big Pit, the National Mining Museum of Wales. Future plans for the railway over the next few years envisage a short branch off the running line to serve Big Pit, but this time for passengers rather than coal!

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