Quakers Yard railway station

Quakers Yard Welsh:Mynwent y Crynwyr
Quakers Yard railway station in 2024
General information
Location	Quakers Yard,Treharris,Merthyr Tydfil Wales
Coordinates	51.6604°N 3.3231°W/51.6604; -3.3231
Grid reference	ST085965
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	QYD
Classification	DfT categoryF2
Key dates
5 January 1858	Opened
Passengers
2018/19	65,798
2019/20	59,890
2020/21	10,764
2021/22	36,174
2022/23	38,238
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from theOffice of Rail and Road

Quakers Yard railway stationserves the village ofEdwardsvillein thecommunityofTreharris,Merthyr Tydfil,Wales. It is located on the Merthyr Tydfil branch of theMerthyr Line.Passenger services are provided byTransport for Wales.

History

The station was opened as "Quakers Yard Low Level" by theTaff Vale Railwayin 1858.

Isambard Kingdom Brunelbuilt theGoitre Coed Viaduct,it was opened in 1841. Its height is approx 100 ft the Goitre Coed Viaduct was widened in 1862 with another stone bridge of slightly differing design sitting embedded next to the original one, this addition can easily be spotted when passing underneath the viaducts arches on theTaff Trailcycle route 8. This viaduct still exists as the gateway to the Taff Valley for the Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil railway line. In a recent TV appearance, a Brunel expert put the Goitre Coed Viaduct as the finest example of Brunel's viaducts in Wales.

Two more viaducts existed at the north end of Edwardsville which were demolished shortly after the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. The main reason for their demolition was subsidence and the viaducts had been strengthened with huge wooden supports for a number of years.

Until June 1964 (when the adjacentVale of Neath RailwayHigh Levelstation was closed, along with the Pontypool Road toNeathline that passed through it),this was a large, two-level junction with services to numerous locations and a hub through which large amounts of coal were transported. The line from Abercynon-Merthyr Tydfil is now a single line operation, the dual track being removed in the early 1970s, although some dual track has since been brought back at Merthyr Vale running towards Merthyr Tydfil to help with the increased frequency of services.

Location

Quaker's Yard Area
to Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Vale to Aberdare to Merthyr Quakers' Yard and Merthyr Joint Railway Quakers Yard Low Level Quakers Yard High Level to Nelson Abercynon to Cardiff

Today thestationis situated below the Taff Vale estate where bespoke detached properties have been built on the high level line area and also on the incline that existed from the lower level which ran towards Treharris. The derelict upper level was partitioned when the Taff Vale estate was built. The land to the east below Edwardsville cemetery was earmarked for business units - but was eventually sold off to Bailey Homes house builders - mainly detached houses were built and named Forest Grove. A small senior citizen sheltered bungalow complex buffers this site with the Taff Vale site.

Quakers Yard station provides access to and from theTaff Trailcycle route. The beauty spot atPontygwaithBridge over theRiver Tafflies about 1 mile north on the trail. Arriva Trains Wales allow cyclists on local trains with some restrictions on timing. Access to the Taff Trail is via a foot crossing over the railway line a short distance north of the railway platform.

This section of the Taff Trail includes the original stone sleepers from Edwardsville towards Pontygwaith and beyond towards Mount Pleasant, whereRichard Trevithickran the first eversteam locomotiveto run on rails and the first to carry passengers in 1804.

Services

Trains run every half-hour each way, north toMerthyr Tydfiland south toPontypridd&Cardiff Central.Southbound trains continue alternately toBarry IslandandBridgendvia theVale of Glamorgan Line.On Sundays there is a two-hourly service each way to Merthyr & Bridgend.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Abercynon		Transport for Wales Merthyr Line		Merthyr Vale

Edwardsville

Edwardsville is the name given to the small urban area that grew up around the Quakers Yard station. The railway pre-dated the villages of both Edwardsville and Treharris.Although not close toQuakers Yardvillage, this was the only local placename of any note at the time.

The Edwardsville area began as apublic houseand a few houses on the road along the valley to Merthyr. TheGreat Western Hotel,still exists just above the railway station, with strong links to the railways obvious by its name. Around 1900 the area acquired its name from the landlord of this pub, Edmund Edwards.

Mrs C M Williams of Grove House, Edwardsville, wrote:

My late father, Mr A Clarke, was in the meeting held in the Long Room of the Great Western Hotel when Edwardsville was given its name. It was called this after the late Mr Edmund Edwards, who was chairman of the meeting and the proprietor of the Great Western Hotel. He later became the owner of many properties.

The suffix ‘-ville’ was popular for new placenames around this time, particularly those largely built by speculative builders or landlords. It suggested both a pastoral ‘village’ and also a then-fashionably French aspect of 'ville' (town).Edwardsville expanded on both sides of the road and soon had aboard schooland chapel.

On27 October 1913,much destruction was caused in Edwardsville when it was hit by atornado.The roofs of many houses, the school and chapel were destroyed. Three people were killed and over a hundred injured.Damage was caused over a wide area, with chimneys also demolished as far down the valley asPontypridd.This toll remains Britain's highest for a tornado.

Recently Edwardsville has expanded below the main road, with new houses filling the space of the previous high-level station.

Edwardsville is part of the Treharriscommunity,as is Quakers Yard. Boosted by the pit, Treharris has grown to be larger than both.

External links

• Website about Edwardsville

• Train timesandstation informationfor Quakers Yard railway station fromNational Rail