Whistle Inn is a halt on the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway heritage railway in Torfaen, Wales. It is situated adjacent to the Whistle Inn, near the village of Garn-yr-erw. The station is the northern terminus of the line and its highest point at 1,307 feet (398 m) above sea level. To the north of the halt, on the other side of the road bridge over the line, was Garn-Yr-Erw Halt on the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway.
Whistle Inn Halt | |
|---|---|
| Station on heritage railway | |
 GWR 6400 Class 6435 at Whistle Inn Halt. | |
| General information | |
| Location | Garn-yr-erw, Torfaen Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°47′02″N 3°07′06″W / 51.7838°N 3.1182°W |
| Grid reference | SO229100 |
| Operated by | Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Key dates | |
| 30 April 1988 | Opened |
History edit
The station is situated on the trackbed of the London and North Western Railway's Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway which closed to passengers on 5 May 1941 and to goods on 23 June 1954.[1][2][3][4] In September 1971, a section of the line between Waenavon and Blaenavon Furnace Sidings was relaid by the National Coal Board for opencast mine workings.[5][6] The relaid section came into use in March 1972 and carried approximately 1000 tons of coal per day until June 1975 when the mine workings ceased and the line was clipped out of use on 18 August.[6] The Private Siding Agreement concluded by the Coal Board for the reinstatement of the section was not terminated until 30 April 1980, after which the track was removed.[6][5] A section from Cwmbran to Big Pit, Blaenavon was subsequently sold to the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway.[7]
Steam workings on the Pontypool and Blaenavon commenced on 11 August 1984 and a station was opened at Whistle Inn on 30 April 1988.[8][9] Just beyond the station to the north was Garn-yr-erw Halt.[10][11] Whistle Inn, which takes its name from the adjacent public house,[12] is the line's northern terminus and its highest point at 1,307 feet (398 m) above sea level.[11]
| Preceding station |  Heritage railways
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway | Furnace Sidings | ||
References edit
Notes edit
- ^ Clinker (1988), p. 140.
- ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. XXXII.
- ^ Quick (2009), p. 395.
- ^ Butt (1995), p. 239.
- ^ a b Page (1988), p. 46.
- ^ a b c Warrington (2003), p. 196.
- ^ "History of the Line". Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ Warrington (2003), p. 199.
- ^ Hall (2009), p. 40.
- ^ Hall (2009), p. 41.
- ^ a b "Map of the Line". Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ "The Whistle Inn". Visit Blaenavon. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
Sources edit
- Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- Clinker, C. R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.
- Hall, Mike (2009). Lost Railways of South Wales. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-172-2.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (January 2006). Monmouthshire Eastern Valleys. Welsh Valleys. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-90447-471-5.
- Page, James (1988) [1979]. South Wales. Forgotten Railways. Vol. 8. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-44-5.
- Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
- Warrington, Alastair (November 2003). "A Walk around Blaenavon". The Welsh Railways Archive. 3 (8). The Welsh Railways Research Circle: 196–199.
External links edit
Media related to Whistle Inn Halt railway station at Wikimedia Commons
