Merthyr Tramroad

Merthyr Tramroad
Black and white photograph of the tram road next to a wall and a row of houses
The Merthyr Tramroad, around 1910
Overview
Other name(s)Penydarren Tramroad
StatusCeased operation
Service
TypeSingle-track plateway
Rolling stockWood strapped with iron
History
Commenced1800 (1800)
Completed1802 (1802)
ClosedAfter 1851
Technical
Line length9.75 mi (15.69 km)
Track gauge4 ft 4 in (1,321 mm)

The Merthyr Tramroad (sometimes referred to as the Penydarren Tramroad due to its use by Trevithick's locomotive, built at the ironworks) was a 9.75-mile-long (15.69 km) line that opened in 1802, connecting the private lines belonging to the Dowlais and Penydarren Ironworks with the Glamorganshire Canal at Abercynon, also serving the Plymouth Ironworks along the way. It is famous as the line, on which Richard Trevithick's experimental locomotive hauled the first train to carry a load (of 10 tons of iron). It was largely superseded when the Taff Vale Railway opened in 1841, and sections gradually went out of use over two decades, from about 1851.