There were two small communities, Machynys and the Bwlch, amidst the railway sidings and metalworks in the south of Llanelli, roughly where the Machynys Peninsula Golf And Country Club now exists.
The works gradually shut down over the 1940s and 1950s.
In the 1970s the two communities were demolished.
(for a more detailed history of the area see
http://www.abandonedcommunities.co.uk/machynys.html ).
The BBC Wales site has an article from 2006 with a few photos
http://cdnedge.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4676778.stm.
I chanced upon the "Derek Newton Goverd Digital Photography" site while optimistically (and yet successfully!) Googling for photos of the Bwlch. I don't think it's been mentioned on RootsChat before...
http://www.digitalderek-photography.co.uk/The "Machynys History Photo-Gallery" link near top left has around 70 photos of the area, while the "People of Bwlch y Gwynt Photo Gallery" link slightly below has over 100 photos of people. The photos are mainly from the 1940s to 1960s, with a few later ones. There's also a group photo from Machynys School photo from 1914 (70/71 in the Machynys History Photo-Gallery).
Image 56/71 in the Machynys History Photo-Gallery is an old map of the Bwlch / Machynys area of Llanelly with the South Wales Steel Works. The locations of the Thomas & Clement Foundry, Burry Box Works, Pattern Shed, Carpenters Shop and the GWR Wagon Repair Sheds are marked.
Also marked are the Richard Thomas Memorial Hall, Eddie John Burry Gospel Hall, Machynys Pond, Burry Pond, Machnys School andChrist Church School Room.
And the locations of Globe Row, Globe Cottages, Maliphant Row, Bay View Terrace, Brick Row and Burry Terrace are also given.
You can see Dafen Row at the top right (for comparison, here is Dafen Row on a modern map - GoogleMaps -
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0arb/ )
Please note that you'll need Adobe Flash to view the photos.
If you had relatives in the Bwlch or Macynys in the 1950s, it's quite possible you'll find photos of them here
(Don't forget to read the copyright notice on the site!)
Pete
