WHILE putting together our regular 50 years ago feature we came across this bit of news about Pontypool Road Station, which for more than a century was a major passenger and freight junction, being demolished.
We have found some fantastic pictures of the station from Pictorial Memories of Old Pontypool by Bryan Roden.
This picture of Pontypool Road Station was reproduced from a 19th century glass lantern slide. It shows a pre-1900 scene with a porter in the front wearing a hat bearing the name Clarence Hotel - he had probably been sent to the station to collect some passengers intent on staying at what was Pontypool's leading hotel at the time
The busy engine sheds at Pontypool Road in about 1908, showing a well-decorated locomotive No 3472 Columbia 4-4-0 Bulldog class. The display on the front states 'Success to the GWR Temperance Union Pontypool Road Division', suggesting this to be a period of anti-alcohol feeling and religious revival in the district
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The story from 50 years ago said:
"Work on the job, which will take four months, began this week and the contact has been awarded to a local firm, W J Harris and Sons, Pontypool.
"Built in the early 1850s, it was originally called 'Newport Road'. It was from this small beginning that the great junction was built up and with it the area of Griffithstown, which took its name from the first station master, Henry Griffiths.
This is a picture of 34 members of station staff pictured in 1915. The facilitiers offered here in days gone by even included licensed refreshment rooms. Then came the unabated decline of rail travel during the 1960s, and Pontypool Road was all but demolished by local contractors W J Harris and Sons in 1970
The new and extensive Pontypool Road Station which was completed and officially opened on March 1, 1909. This was a major freight and passenger station with a platform length of almost a quarter of a mile - the second longest in Britain at the time surpassed only by Manchester's Victoria. The station today is but a shadow of its former self and has been renamed Pontypool and New Inn
This is the original Pontypool Road station which was opened in 1854. Initially the station was called Newport Road and a Mr Henry Griffiths was appointed as the first station master. These early buildings and platforms were positioned on the south side of the road bridge but, by 1906 were unable to cope with the ever-increasing volumes of traffic. This it was decided to construct a much larger station on the north side of the bridge
"Throughout the late 50s and early 60s the marshalling yards grew into a tremendous complex and Pontypool Road the marshalling yards grew into a tremendous complex and Pontypool Road became the most important rail junction in Wales and one of the most important in the whole country.
Pontypool and New Inn station as it appears today
"At the very beginning railway speculators had hoped to open a line into the Midlands through Brecon, Hereford and Worcester, but this scheme failed through lack of financial support.
"But a subsidiary scheme to join Newport to Hereford was better supported and assuming the title of the 'Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway', was passed by Parliament."
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