Carmarthenshire Railway

The Carmarthenshire Railway was a horse-worked plateway built in South Wales in 1803.

Carmarthenshire Railway
Overview
HeadquartersLlanelli
LocaleWales
Dates of operation18031844
SuccessorLlanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft (1,219 mm)
Length11.5 mi (18.5 km)

History

The Carmarthenshire Railway or Tramroad was authorised under an Act of Parliament of 3 June 1802 the first granted for a public railway in Wales to acquire the existing Carmarthenshire Dock at Llanelly and its feeder tramroad built by Alexander Raby by 1799,[1] thus incidentally becoming the world's first dock-owning public railway company.[2] The first 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from Cwmddyche ironworks down to the sea was open in May 1803 the first stretch of public railway in use in Britain[1] and construction ceased in 1805 when the line had reached Gorslas. The engineer was named James Barnes and the gauge was approximately 4 ft (1,219 mm).[1]

The line ceased to operate in or before 1844 and portions of its course were utilised by the Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway, opened in 1881.[1]

References

  1. Price, M.R.C. (1992). The Llanelly & Mynydd Mawr Railway. Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-423-7.
  2. Balkwill, Richard; Marshall, John (1993). The Guinness Book of Railway Facts and Feats (6th ed.). Enfield: Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-707-X.


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