A Lidl bit of the Neath and Brecon
66120 creeps up to Neath and Brecon junction with 6e09, the 1354 Onllwyn to Immingham service. This working conveys anthracite from the opencast sites around Onllywn disposal site for Coal Products Ltd at Immingham, who use the coal in the manufacture of smokeless fuels.
The line to the right is the disused remains of the Vale of Neath railway which connected Aberdare to Swansea Victoria. Latterly the line served the loading point at Cwmgrach (pictured here in 1997 flic.kr/p/24Ep8Vi and here in 1994 flic.kr/p/PBQZhh but was disused by the time of this photograph.
I was fascinated to find this steam era photograph from virtually the same viewpoint:
Hosted on Phil Trotter's excellent smugmug site, it shows a busy yard to the right of the Vale of Neath line and an engine shed, complete with 0-6-0 Pannier tanks on the land now occupied by the Lidl supermarket. All of the buildings in the old photograph have disappeared and have been replaced with housing.
A Lidl bit of the Neath and Brecon
66120 creeps up to Neath and Brecon junction with 6e09, the 1354 Onllwyn to Immingham service. This working conveys anthracite from the opencast sites around Onllywn disposal site for Coal Products Ltd at Immingham, who use the coal in the manufacture of smokeless fuels.
The line to the right is the disused remains of the Vale of Neath railway which connected Aberdare to Swansea Victoria. Latterly the line served the loading point at Cwmgrach (pictured here in 1997 flic.kr/p/24Ep8Vi and here in 1994 flic.kr/p/PBQZhh but was disused by the time of this photograph.
I was fascinated to find this steam era photograph from virtually the same viewpoint:
Hosted on Phil Trotter's excellent smugmug site, it shows a busy yard to the right of the Vale of Neath line and an engine shed, complete with 0-6-0 Pannier tanks on the land now occupied by the Lidl supermarket. All of the buildings in the old photograph have disappeared and have been replaced with housing.