Hiking And Biking With Richard Trevithick Part 2
ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
HIKING AND BIKING WITH RICHARD TREVITHICK Part 2
Merthyr Tydfil, being naturally blessed with iron ore, limestone and trees to make charcoal (later to be replaced with actual coal) was one of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1700s. It was not, however, blessed with suitable transport links, in its early days, to export its products. In last month’s article I discussed the building of the canal and the “plateway” that eased that problem.
Today the track bed constructed for the plateway provides the route for the National Cycle Route 477 – the Trevithick Trail – as it runs independently from the Taff Trail (NCR 8) for some 6 miles from a point near Pont y Gwaith to Merthyr Tydfil. And for the sake of completeness I would briefly reiterate (long story short) that Richard Trevithick was a Cornish mechanical engineer, who in 1804, successfully converted an otherwise static high pressure steam engine into a locomotive capable of hauling a 10 tonne load along the otherwise horse powered tramway from Penydarren to Abercynon, and thereby winning a 500 guinea wager for its promoter (namely Samuel Homfray).
The image above shows two adjacent stone sleepers with the chiselled recesses to accommodate the fixings that constrained the L shaped “plates” for the 4 foot 2 inches gauge “plateway”
In passing I would introduce you to the Grade II Listed Pont y Gwaith (Bridge of the Works). This hump back bridge spans the River Taff near to the works in question. These were the very first iron smelting works in the area and date from the 1580s.
Pont-y-Gwaith
Near that bridge the Trevithick Trail parts company with the Taff Trail and runs along the east bank of the River Taff. It passes through the settlements of Merthyr Vale, Troedyrhiw and Pentrebach before terminating near the Merthyr Tydfil railway station.
At Merthyr Vale an information board reveals that in the now green valley below was situated the Merthyr Vale colliery which began producing coal in 1875, after the six years it took to sink the two mine shafts. In the 1890s over 2000 people were employed with those underground working at a depth of some 550 feet. As with other mines in the vicinity, it was seriously affected by the miners’ strikes of the 1980s after which it never fully recovered and the pit was closed in 1989.
Troedyrhiw can best be described as a typical valleys town that in its heyday housed the families of hundreds of locally employed miners. It was notable in that there were three soccer teams – no fewer than seven of its players achieved fame in their day by going on to play for league teams in England and in two cases for Wales.
The Trail then passes to the north east side of Pentrebach and looks down on the village and much industrial, business and leisure development. It then crosses the A4060 dual carriageway on a spectacular cable stayed footbridge cum cycle way. This bridge carries two large panels which depict a stylisation of Trevithick’s locomotive.
Footbridge-cum-cycleway at Pentrebach which carries the Trevithick Trail over the A4060 on its final leg into Merthyr Tydfil.
From this point, most of the actual line of the original “plateway” to the Pen y Darren ironworks is lost to subsequent developments. But what is now described as the Trevithick Trail continues for a further mile and a half to finish at Merthyr Tydfil train station.
Tony Hodge