| Swansea Vale Railway | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Llantanam Abbey sitting vandalised after closure of the railway in 2009. | |
| Locale | Wales |
| Commercial operations | |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1848 |
| 1874 | Taken over by Midland Railway |
| Closed | 1965 (passenger) 1983 (goods) |
| Preservation history | |
| 1984 | Reopens between Upper Bank and Six Pit |
| 2007 | Land lease expires; railway closes |
| Headquarters | Upper Bank railway station |
The Swansea Vale Railway (SVR) was a railway line connecting the port of Swansea in South Wales to industries and coalfields along the River Tawe on the northern margin of Swansea, by taking over a tramroad in 1846. It was extended to Brynamman in 1868. Passengers were carried from 1860, and a loop line through Morriston was built.
The company was profitable but it was always short of capital, and it looked for a larger company to buy it out. The Midland Railway did so in 1874 when it leased the network, and it absorbed it in 1876. The Midland Railway used the line to get access to Swansea, which it had long sought. After 1923 the Midland's successor transferred the through traffic to another route.
Road omnibus services abstracted much of the local passenger business, and only anthracite traffic kept the line going. When that industry declined the railway mineral traffic followed, and from 1965 closures set in. Parts of the network continued for a time, but by 1983 the entire line was closed.