Brecon Mountain Railway

The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Fynydd y Bannau) is a narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons in Wales. It climbs northwards from Pant along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also called 'Taf Fechan' reservoir by Welsh Water) and continues past the adjoining Pentwyn Reservoir to Torpantau railway station. The railway's starting point at Pant is located north of the town centre of Merthyr Tydfil.

Route description The line runs along part of the trackbed of the northern section of the former Brecon and Merthyr Railway from Pant to a new station at Torpantau, via Pontsticill and Dolygaer, a total of about .

This takes the BMR just short of the southern entrance to the 667 yd (610 m) long Torpantau tunnel, the highest railway tunnel in Great Britain,www.british-heritage-railways.co.uk Accessed 18 December 2012 which carried the original line through the hills along the side of Glyn Collwn to Brecon or to Moat Lane or Hereford via junctions at Talyllyn and Three Cocks.

One of the benefits of the line, and a condition of the planning permission, is that tourists can access and experience part of the Brecon Beacons National Park without driving their cars through it.www.narrow-gauge-pleasure.co.uk accessed 18 December 2012. Car parking for railway passengers is only available at Pant Station, outside the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The Brecon Mountain Railway is a member of the Great Little Trains of Wales.

History The Brecon Mountain Railway was founded in the mid-1970s, by Tony Hills (1937–2015). Hills was a long time railway enthusiast who by 1970, had established a base at Gilfach Ddu on the Llanberis Lake Railway where he stored the locomotives he purchased. In 1977, he purchased five miles of trackbed of the abandoned Brecon & Merthyr Railway at Pant and moved his collection there. Construction of the BMR started in 1978, with the grant of a light railway order, the (SI 1980/671) following.https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/47821/page/5222/data.pdf Notice of Light Railway Order application, 1979 Track was laid between Pant and Pontsticill in 1979–80. At Pontsticill the station house was renovated, the old waiting room was converted into a small workshop and a storage shed was built. Seven bridges were repaired or replaced. The railway opened to passengers in June 1980 using the engine Sybil and one carriage.

Between 1982 and 1996, a large station and workshop were built at Pant. These provide passenger facilities including toilets, cafe, shop and booking office as well as the extensive workshop used to build and maintain the railway locomotives, carriages and wagons.

A extension from Pontsticill to Dol-y-Gaer opened in 1995. The railway was further extended to Torpantau, just short of the southern entrance of the Torpantau Tunnel, with passenger services commencing 1 April 2014.

By 2016, the original waiting room building at Pontsticill, which had served as a workshop for a period, was converted into a steam museum housing various stationary steam engines and three of the smaller locomotives. All of the stationary units were connected up to a steam distribution header and boiler, which in 2017 was still awaiting commissioning.

In 1989, the Brecon Mountain Railway purchased the Vale of Rheidol Railway. Both lines operated under unified management until 1996, when a decision was made to establish them as distinct entities. In 2023 it was announced the Vale of Rheidol was in negotiation to acquire the Brecon Mountain Railway.

Stations Pant – southern terminus of the BMR. Pontsticill – at the southern end of the Pontsticill reservoir. Dolygaer – station closed, but run round loop in use. Torpantau – current northern terminus of the BMR.

Locomotives Full list of locomotives at the site:UK Locos – Preserved, Private, Hired & Industrial Locos

Image Builder Works No. Date Type Name or Number Status NotesSteam Locomotives Baldwin 15511 1897 1 Operational Named Santa Teresa. Acquired 2002. Restored to full working order in 2019. Baldwin 61269 1930 2 Operational Originally built for the Eastern Province Cement Company in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Acquired by the Brecon Mountain Railway around 1990, and restored to full working order in 1997.Locomotives Under Construction Baldwin / BMR 3 Under construction Working from original drawings of former Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad locomotive 23 (works number 40733) of 1913. Baldwin / BMR 4 Under construction Working from original drawings of former Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad locomotive 10 (works number 42231) of 1916.Diesel Locomotives BMR 001 1987 0-6-0DH Operational Constructed at the railway. Kambarka TU7-1698 1981 4w-4wDH Operational Acquired from a Peat Railway at Seda, Latvia. Kambarka 706.951 1985 4w-4wDH Unknown Acquired from the Tatra Electric Railway, Slovakia. Former Locomotives Hunslet Engine Co. 827 1903 Sybil Operational Sold to the Richmond Light Railway in Kent in 2021.Locomotives on static display Jung 1261 1908 T Graf Schwerin-Löwitz99 3553 Museum Display Due to lower power, required assistance if operating beyond Dolygaer. Currently on display at the Vale of Rheidol Railway. De Winton 1894 Pendyffryn Museum Display Currently on display at the Vale of Rheidol Railway. Redstone 1905 T Museum Display Currently on display at the Vale of Rheidol Railway.

Brecon Mountain Railway

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