The story
Formation of the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway
The time seemed right for the LVR and the OVR to amalgamate, and the necessary powers were secured in an act of Parliament, the Llynvi and Ogmore Railways (Amalgamation) Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. cxx) on 28 June 1866: the new company would be called the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway (L&OR).
Under the 1866 act the Ogmore Valley Railway Company was dissolved and amalgamated with the Llynvi Valley Railway Company to create the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway Company with a capital of £402,000 and borrowing powers of £133,900.
By 1868 the third rail had been laid throughout the system, and the L&OR became effectively a narrow (standard) gauge railway, although broad gauge traffic to and from the Great Western Railway system was carried on the broad gauge rails, which remained in situ for the time being.
Tondu Junction became the headquarters of the L&OR. A locomotive shed and workshops were erected there and Mr. J. Routledge was appointed the Locomotive Superintendent.
The GWR converted its South Wales system to the standard gauge in 1872, although in the meantime there was increasing hostility among mineral traffic customers against the constraints of the broad gauge, such that the L&OR projected a long line from Brynmenin to Nantgarw on the Rhymney Railway in 1871. The project would have been extremely expensive, although the London and North Western Railway encouraged it and would no doubt have contributed to the cost in order to get the access. However the GWR was motivated by now to convert its South Wales system to the standard gauge, which it did in 1872, and nothing more was heard of the scheme to reach Nantgarw. As the broad gauge system was no longer in use in South Wales, the L&OR removed the third rail that had been provided for broad gauge vehicles.
1960s closures
The R&SBR line and the GWR (L&OR) line ran parallel and adjacent from Cymmer to Blaengwynfi. In 1960 expensive repairs to Gelli Tunnel and Groeserw Viaduct on the R&SBR line became necessary, and instead a connection between the two routes was made, enabling trains on the R&SBR route to use 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) of the GWR line, by-passing the defective section, which was closed. The L&OR line was connected into the R&SBR station, and east of the station a slue was made back into it. A new junction was made some distance west of Blaengwynfi, where the two routes separated once again. The new arrangement was commissioned on 13 June 1960.
On the same day however Abergwynfi Station, at the head of the former L&OR Extension line in the Afan Valley, was closed to passenger traffic. The service from Bridgend via Cymmer Afan was transferred to Blaengwynfi station. Goods traffic continued to use the Abergwynfi Station until 27 May 1963.
On 3 December 1962 the Treherbert to Swansea passenger service on the former R&SBR was withdrawn, and replaced by a new diesel rail car service between Treherbert and Bridgend over the rearranged lines at Cymmer. From 18 April 1964 nearly all the L&OR network was diesel hauled, following re-organisation of Tondu locomotive depot.
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On 5 June 1961 the section from Gellyrhaidd Junction to Gilfach Goch was closed completely.
The Porthcawl branch and the Pyle to Tondu service was closed to passengers on 9 September 1963, and the entire Porthcawl branch closed to all traffic on 1 February 1965.
Llanharan Junction was severed on 3 December 1962 and remaining C&OR served pits around Wern Tarw reached from Bryncethin Junction and the Pencoed branch. Known afterwards as the Raglan branch, the Ogmore Junction to Wern Tarw section continued in operation but it was later closed in September 1983.
The R&SBR line in the Afan Valley was closed from Duffryn Rhondda down to Aberavon and Briton Ferry in 1964. From that time coal from Duffryn Rhondda Colliery was hauled up the valley to Cymmer, and after reversal, taken down the L&OR route to Bridgend via Maesteg. However Duffryn Rhondda colliery closed in October 1966.
Freight operation in the Garw and Ogmore branches ceased on 22 March 1965, but coal traffic continued until final closure in 1980.
1970s closures
The passenger service between Bridgend and Treherbert continued longer than some of the others, because of the mountainous terrain and the difficulty of securing reliable replacement bus services. It closed down on 22 June 1970, although school trains continued between Cymmer and Llangynwyd until 14 July 1970.
The section between Nantyffyllon and Caerau closed for freight traffic on 7 September 1976 and was formally closed on 7 March 1977. Traffic from Caerau Colliery continued to travel via the Coegnant inlet to the Maesteg Colliery until the closure of Caerau Colliery on 27 August 1977.
Traffic lower down the line was also lost in 1977 with the closure of the Llynfi Power Station which had been opened in 1943. Further traffic was lost in 1981 when the Bridgend Paper Mills traffic transferred to road transport; the small mines and coal yard traffic at Maesteg station ended when Coegnant Colliery ceased production in 1981.
1992 reopening to passengers
On 26 October 1992 the line between Bridgend and Maesteg was reopened by British Rail and Mid Glamorgan County Council for passenger trains. New stations were provided at Wildmill and Sarn, just south of the site of the former Aberkenfig station, Garth, a little north of the former Troedyrhiew Garth station, Maesteg Ewenny Road, and Maesteg, a little south of the original Maesteg station.
From Wikipedia’s article on Llynvi and Ogmore Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3