Day trip on the Hay-Brecon railway

['Trish']

Hi I have been told that the first picture is of a day trip from Blaina S Wales, probably on the Midland Railway(?) and that the train in the back of the picture was a Robinson C14 Great Central Railway 9L Atlantic tank engine.  The picture was probably taken before the group left the charabanc for the train.  I am also told that the trip was probably on the Hay-Brecon railway line.  With these clues could anyone hazard a guess at what station it was?  Could it have been Blaina's station in the 1920-30's.  The baby in the picture was probably my aunt or at least my mother which would have put the picture at sometime between 1929-30.  Can anyone help any further. The second picture is from a cutting someone did for me, to show that there was a train in the background. regards Trish

[Greensleeves]

It could possibly be Brecon.  The line was raised as in the photo, and houses of a similar style to those shown still exist today. Unfortunately I live about 10 miles from Brecon, so I can't just pop out to check.   However, if no-one else posts a positive identification, I'll try walking in that direction next week and see if I can spot the houses.  There is no longer a railway in Brecon, and the area where it used to run consists of council offices, car parks, a fire station and a children's playground.

Lovely photo, anyway, wherever it was taken!

Regards,
Greensleeves

[Geoff-E]

Brecon Station is shown here- http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/brecon/stations.shtml

It is certainly not the building seen in the background of the photo.

[Greensleeves]

I didn't say it was the station in the background; what I said - or meant to say -  was that the houses in the background look similar to those which still stand alongside what used to be the railway line in Brecon.

[dobfarm]

If the photo in the web link was taken in the time around 1860 /80 and the 1920/30 photo taken from the side of the station looking across the railway line and these houses built later opposite the station maybe. Though I think your photo was a little earlier more 1910-1920 but only a guess! by the cloths and bus.

[Greensleeves]

Ah, I think I've cracked it at last!  Having spent the other day wandering up and down Camden Road (where the Brecon Station used to be) I returned empty-handed.  However, this lunchtime, as I popped into town to the supermarket, I suddenly looked up and - lo and behold - there were the two houses shown in the photo to the left of the train!  Well, I'm pretty certain it is them, but sadly I had no camera with me.  Must go back tomorrow if possible and take photo, so I can post and you can all have a look and express opinions.

I think the houses are in Alexandra Road, Brecon, and the chara was parked roughly at GR SO 04712286 (304711E 228637N).  The station itself was a little way to the east of this, although the line itself continued westwards through Brecon and on to Sennybridge, Defynnog and south to the Valleys.

[Phodgetts]

We are getting there I think.

Some info here about how the midland took over the railway at Brecon, read section 10 competition for coal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midland_Railway

After contacting a railway forum it is thought the locomotive is a Johnson MR 1P 0-4-4T tank engine. Usually used on passenger trains. There is a picture of one here;

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/mrb10.htm

I also looked up Brecon railway station and came across this information. It is an interesting site for anyone interested in the area;

http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/brecon/stations.shtml   (oops same link as Geoff's, didn't read that before posting)

Note in the photo of the station the island platform with track to the left. I believe the train in the charabanc image is stood on the left side of the island platform facing away from the photographer and in the direction of Neath / Swansea.

Looking forward to hearing more from greensleeves.

A great colour railway map here as at 1887 showing the Midland owning the Hereford - Neath and Swansea lines;

http://mappery.com/fullsize-name/1887-Prinicipal-Railways-in-England-and-Wales

Philip

[Phodgetts]

I have also come across this colour picture taken in 1962 of a GWR 0-6-0 tank and a Midland 2-6-0 loco at Brecon station. The track was still in place in the bay to the left!

http://www.gwrarchive.org/images/pr0132.jpg

The caption on the website reads thus;

" Ex GWR 5700 class 0-6-0PT number 9796 stands in Brecon station after arrival on a train from Neath with LMSR designed class 2 2-6-0 number 46511 standing in the other platform on a Mid-Wales line train - 6/10/1962 "

So even late in the history of the line, GWR and Midland (LMS) loco's were working the line, hopefully proving that the loco in the original picture is quite likely a Midland engine.

Philip

[Geoff-E]

In the other thread, I opined that it could be a MR 0-4-4T but had reservations-
"I had thought all along that it could have been an 0-4-4T - but I could never quite convince myself that I was seeing a splasher rather than the top of someone's hat!  Nor can I find anything to suggest that MR 0-4-4Ts ever ventured into Wales - Great Malvern was possibly the limit.  Because of the gradients in South Wales, six-coupled loco's seem more likely."

However, now I've seen the picture that Hhodgetts linked to, the possibility of such a loco has increased-



But his picture troubles me - the loco has British Railways livery so it is 1948 or later.  The station nameboard appears to have a green backgound to the white letters, suggesting Southern region.  The white discs on the loco also suggest a Southern region train ... but the coaches are red.  I'm puzzled

Checking one of my books ... no ex-MR 0-4-4T was allocated  to any place west of Gloucester in BR days.