Catch the train, just 33 miles from The Living Energy Holidays. You will need to drive as there are no trains from Velindre (or taxis and buses come to that)!!. Take the slightly longer route through Crickhowell for good views of the other side of the Black Mountains and the south side of Brecon Beacons.
Returns and singles available, on a nostalgic journey aboard vintage steam locomotives. Trips can be booked to include other activities such as guided walking tours, and spending time on the loco’s footplate. The journey offers breathtaking views of the Bannau Brycheiniog, along the historic route of the original Brecon & Merthyr Railway, which first opened in the 19th century and closed in 1964.
The line runs from Pant, 3 miles north of Merthyr Tydfil, to Torpantau, going through some of the most stunning scenery Wales has to offer. It passes through lush woodland, past sparkling reservoirs to Torpantau which sits at 400m above sea level. There are of course amazing views, mostly including sheep!!
The Brecon Railway is narrow gauge at 603mm. But not all narrow-gauge railways are a standard gauge, e.g. Ffestiniog is 597mm, Snowdon 800mm, Talyllyn 686mm, and Vale of Rheidol Railway 603mm. Today, the surviving narrow-gauge railways in England and Wales are almost exclusively heritage and tourist lines celebrating the technology that thrived in specific landscapes but ultimately could not compete with the universal advantages of the standard gauge network. Narrow gauge was not as useful for high-speed trains etc but remained to an extent because it was lower cost (rails and rolling stock) and prevalent in:
- Mountainous regions: e.g., the railways of Switzerland, Wales (Snowdon Mountain Railway), and the Rockies.
- Industrial settings: Mines, quarries, plantations, and factories where space was limited and tracks needed to weave around obstacles.
- Colonial and developing economies: Where capital was scarce and traffic volumes were initially expected to be low.
To wrap up this technical tangent, it’s amusing to remember that Isambard Kingdom Brunel once dreamed up his famously broad (and decidedly lonely) 7 ft ¼ in gauge for the Great Western Railway. Standing out like a sore thumb amongst the narrow and standard gauges. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t catch on. Perhaps Brunel had simply misplaced his tape measure that morning or fancied giving the other engineers something to gossip about! But of course snuggled in the middle is the gauge as we know it today at 4′ 8.5″. It stemmed from George Stephenson who used it in the Killingworth Colliery and Stockton and Darlington Railway at 4′ 8″. An extra half inch was added for the Liverpool Manchester Railway (it gave train wheels more space for going around curves without wheel screech). This became one of England’s greatest exports as it is the gauge used by 55% of railways throughout the World. And finally, I promise, it also replaced the US Unionist 5′ garage.
Enjoy your journey
