:Risca railway station
{{Short description|Former railway station in Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Risca railway station
| status = Disused
| image =
| borough = Risca
| country = Wales
| coordinates = {{coord|51.6089|-3.0998|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name = Grid reference
| grid_position = {{gbmapscaled|ST239905|25|ST239905}}
| platforms = 4
| original = Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
| pregroup = Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
| postgroup = Great Western Railway
| years = 23 December 1850
| events = Opened
| years1 = 30 April 1962
| events1 = Closed
| years2 = 6 February 2008
| events2 = Reopened as Risca and Pontymister
}}
Risca railway station was a station on the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company Western Valley line, later the Great Western Railway. It was located at Station Place, just south of the junction where the line split left towards Nine Mile Point (and eventually Tredegar) and right towards Ebbw Vale. It served the town of Risca.
History
The Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company (MRCC) had been running the canals and horse-drawn carriages on their tram-roads which went through Risca from 1795.{{cite journal|last1=Skillern, WJ|title=The Railways of Newport|journal=The Railway Magazine|date=July 1960|volume=107|issue=711|url=http://www.newportpast.com/transport/rail.php}} After 1802 the MRCC built a tramway from Nine Mile Point, west of Risca, to Newport, and an associated company, the Sirhowy Tramroad, connected there from Tredegar.
The first steam locomotive passenger train ran on the MRCC Western Valley line on Monday 23 December 1850, with service running twice in each direction (to Ebbw Vale and to Newport) each weekday.{{cite web|url=http://newspapers.library.wales/view/3395000/3395001|title=Advertising|agency=Monmouthshire Merlin|date=4 January 1851|access-date=31 October 2017|publisher=Charles Hough}}
The station was expanded to 4 through lines and platforms in June 1910 as traffic grew.
Passenger services on the line ended in 1962.{{cite book|author1=Vay Le, Julian|author2=Benedict Le Vay|title=Britain from the Rails: Including the nation's best-kept-secret railways|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxmxBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA271|date=1 December 2014|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-919-3|pages=271–}}
Goods services from Tredegar Junction to Risca Junction closed on 4 May 1970.{{sfnp|Hurst|1991|loc=p. 61, note 2751}}
Viaduct
Risca Long Bridge was a fine masonry viaduct with thirty-two arches that was built in 1805 to carry the tramroad across the Ebbw Valley flood plain. It was constructed from red pennant sandstone by the engineer of the Sirhowy Tramroad, John Hodgkinson. The bridge was redundant by 1859 and was demolished in 1902. Local houses have been built from its stone and the east abutment is the only remaining fragment.{{Coflein|num=308291|desc=Risca Long Bridge, Tramroad Viaduct, Risca|access-date=14 October 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Guy |first1=Andy |last2=Rees |first2=Jim |title=Early Railways: 1569-1830 |date=24 May 2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-0-7478-0811-4 |page=38 |language=en}} The viaduct was 48 ft high (14.6m) and had 32 arches. It was designed so that housing could be constructed below the arches.
Present day
A new station named Risca and Pontymister was opened on 6 February 2008 as part of the reopened Ebbw Valley Railway. It is located roughly ½ mile south east of the original Risca railway station.
Station Road, Station Place and the Railway Tavern are clues to the site which remain to this day. The station house and goods shed buildings remain adjacent to the line.
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{Cite book|last1=Tasker|first1=W.W.|title=The Merthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway and branches|year=1986|publisher=Oxford Publishing Co.|location=Poole|isbn=978-0-86093-339-7}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Tasker|first1=W.W.|title=Railways in the Sirhowy Valley|year=1992|orig-year=1978|publisher=Oakwood Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-85361-415-6}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Hall|first1=Mike|title=Lost Railways of South Wales|year=2009|publisher=Countryside Books|location=Newbury|isbn=978-1-84674-172-2}}
- {{cite book|last=Hurst|first=Geoffrey|title=Register of Closed Railways 1948–1991|year=1991|publisher=Milepost Publications|isbn=0-947796-18-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/registerofclosed0000hurs}}
Route
{{Disused Rail Start}}
{{Rail line|previous=Ebbw Vale|next=Tynycwm Halt|route=Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
Ebbw Valley Railway |col={{GWR colour}} }}
{{Rail line|previous=Nine Mile Point|next=Tynycwm Halt|route=Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
to Sirhowy Railway |col={{GWR colour}} }}
{{end box}}
Category:Former Great Western Railway stations
Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850
Category:1850 establishments in Wales
Category:Disused railway stations in Caerphilly County Borough