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Wales u k lost railways tintern wireworks branch wye valley
The Tintern Wireworks Branch was a short branch line on the Wye Valley Railway. It was completed in 1874 and opened on 1 November 1876; the reason for the delay was that the Wye Valley Railway which the branch line fed into, was not completed until the latter date. It closed in 1935 when the rails buckled in the heat of the summer.
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Wye Valley Amendment Act
In 1866 the Wye Valley Railway Company announced that it would not build a line through the village of Tintern, but by-pass it. To make up for this the company was forced to build a branch to the wireworks on the other side of Tintern. The Wye Valley Amendment Act was passed on 14 June 1875 stating that the company would forever maintain the branch and junction in good repair; as well as setting the regulations on running the line.
Abbey Wire and Tinplate Company
By August 1875, before the opening of the branch, the Abbey Wireworks Company had stopped trading. The line remained practically empty until the early 1880s when the works were taken over by the Abbey Wire and Tinplate Company; this venture was short lived and the works closed in 1901. The privately owned locomotive was sold and from then on the branch was only used by horses for the sawmills and turnery works in the village.
Closure
The line closed in 1935. Most of the tracks were lifted in 1941 and sent for scrap. The junction with the Wye Valley Railway was lifted in 1945 and was the last part of the branch to be lifted. The weigh house on the line survived until the late 1970s.
The route today
Today the bridge carrying the branch over the Wye is still standing. It now carries a public footpath.