Hay Railway
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The Hay Railway was a narrow gauge horse-drawn tramway in the district surrounding Hay-on-Wye in Brecknockshire, Wales. The railway connected Eardisley in Herefordshire, England, with Brecon in Wales. The Brecon terminus was Watton Wharf on the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal.
File:Brecon, the longest railway in the world - geograph.org.uk - 757089.jpg.]]
Parliamentary authorisation, construction and opening
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Hay Railway Act 1811
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title =
| year = 1811
| citation = 51 Geo. 3. c. cxxii
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 25 May 1811
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date =
| amends =
| replaces =
| amendments = Hay Railway Act 1812
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation =
| status =
| legislation_history =
| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = {{visible anchor|Hay Railway Act 1812}}
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act for enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Hay Railway to amend, vary, and extend the Line of the said Railway, and for altering and enlarging the Powers of an Act passed in the Fifty-first Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, for making and maintaining the said Railway.
| year = 1812
| citation = 52 Geo. 3. c. cvi
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 20 May 1812
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date =
| amends = Hay Railway Act 1811
| replaces =
| amendments =
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation =
| status =
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| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
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| revised_text =
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}}
The railway was authorised by the {{visible anchor|Hay Railway Act 1811}} (51 Geo. 3. c. cxxii) on 25 May 1811. Construction of its winding {{convert|24|mi|km|adj=on}} long route took nearly five years and the line was opened on 7 May 1816.{{Harvnb|Awdry|1990|p=80}} The tramway was built to a gauge of {{RailGauge|3ft6in}}. The railway adopted the use of cast-iron L-shaped tramroad plates in its construction. The vertical portions of the two plates were positioned inside the wheels of the tramway wagons and the plates were spiked to stone blocks for stability. The size of the stones, and their spacing, was such that the horses could operate unimpeded.{{Harvnb|Simmons|1997|pp=134–135}}
Operation of the railway
From 1 May 1820, the Hay Railway was joined at its Eardisley terminus, in an end on junction, by the Kington Tramway. Together, the two lines totalled {{convert|36|mi|km}} in length, comprising the longest continuous plateway to be completed in the United Kingdom.{{Harvnb|Simmons|1997|p=134}}
The Hay railway operated through rural areas on the borders of England and Wales and was built to transport goods and freight. Passengers were not carried on any official basis.
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Hay Railway Act 1860
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title =
| year = 1860
| citation = 23 & 24 Vict. c. clxxix
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 6 August 1860
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date =
| amends =
| replaces =
| amendments =
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation =
| status =
| legislation_history =
| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/23-24/179/pdfs/ukla_18600179_en.pdf
| revised_text =
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The Hay Railway was absorbed into the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway by virtue of the {{visible anchor|Hay Railway Act 1860}} (23 & 24 Vict. c. clxxix) and the line was converted to standard gaugeBaughan 1980, p. 205 for operation by steam locomotives.
See also
References
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
- {{citation|last=Awdry|first=Christopher|title=Encyclopedia of British Railway Companies|year=1990|publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd|isbn= 1-85260-508-1}}
- {{Baughan-Regional-Vol11}}
- {{citation|editor-last=Simmons |editor-first=Jack|title=British Railway History|year=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-211697-5}}
{{refend}}
{{Historical Welsh railway companies}}
Category:Early Welsh railway companies
Category:3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Wales
Category:Railway companies established in 1811
Category:Railway lines opened in 1816
Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1860
Category:Rail transport in Herefordshire
Category:1811 establishments in Wales
Category:British companies established in 1811
{{UK-rail-transport-stub}}