From
Pathfinder RailtoursSATURDAY 9 MARCH 2024
THE LAST PASSENGER TRAIN TO CWMBARGOED?
By January 2024 centuries of large scale coal (Welsh = glo) mining in Wales will almost certainly have finished. This will bring the end of traffic on one of the longest non passenger branch lines in Britain, that to Cwmbargoed. Given the high (1200ft+) and remote location, with no habitation, further use for the line seems unlikely. This train, therefore, may well be the last chance for passengers to visit the upper parts of this wild valley, which has no roads, and little even in the way of tracks or footpaths.
That's a bit over the top (pun intended)! It's true that the surviving railway line goes up a valley that none of the roads uses for a mile or two, but that's not unusual. Most of the clusters of houses that used to be scattered over the land have gone, but there are still farms with road access.
The top of the hill has also lost its few houses, along with the old mine. But that was so that the land could be stripped and the coal taken away, and most of the current "green" bits are restored. The current peak of the hill appears to be a spoil heap, so that number will likely change. The last opencast mine open is right next to Dowlais, and not much higher, so it's not remote at all.
The railway used to go on over the top and into Dowlais. In this case asking whether the route survives is not really helpful, since this bit too has been removed and put back. But it is clear of obstructions ... until you get to the A4060.
