Ystwyth Trail

The Manchester and Milford Railway line, which linked Carmarthen and Aberystwyth, came to Tregaron in 1866 from a southerly direction. This was part of a scheme to develop a railway line running through Mid Wales, linking Haverfordwest and Manchester, in order to transport imported cotton. The scheme came to nothing because of difficulties encountered when tunnelling between Cwmystwyth and Llangurig, so the railway line was diverted at Pencader (on the Carmarthen to Newcastle Emlyn line).

The line was extended to Aberystwyth in 1867. The scheme encountered financial difficulties and it was taken over by GREAT WESTERN in 1911. It ceases to transport goods in 1964 and passengers a year later. As a result of the advent of the railway line, the town began to grow. The drovers’ era came to an end and people used the railway as a means of moving away to areas such as South Wales and London.

Original Footage of the Railway. Visit the Routes Section of this site to view up to 12 of our new movie clips of the old railway halts you pass through on Ystwyth Trail, with original narration. Halts to view:

Tregaron clip (low quality)
Tregaron clip (high quality)
Strata Florida clip (low quality)
Strata Florida clip (high quality)
Caradog Falls clip (low quality)
Caradog Falls clip (high quality)
Trawsgoed clip (low quality)
Trawsgoed clip (high quality)
Llanilar clip (low quality)

Ystwyth Trail, a disused railway: photograph of a train 1962

Llanilar clip (high quality)
Aberystwyth clip (low quality)
Aberystwyth clip (high quality)

Between 1845 and 1861, when the Manchester and Milford Railway Bill was passed, a number of other companies had built / proposed lines in the area and the Company Bill was for a section of line linking these other lines at Pencader in the south and Llanidloes in the North. The route was to pass through Pontrhydfendigaid, Pontrhydygroes and Devils Bridge. In 1864/5 this was changed to Strata

Florida (as the station at Ystradmeurig was now called) and was extended to Aberystwyth by August 1867. Strata Florida was one of the line’s passing places, and was to serve the local villages with three trains each way per working day. It was constructed on a tight curve westward towards Aberystwyth with the line climbing at 1:43 towards Caradog Falls before descending to Trawscoed on a 1:41 grade.

Ystwyth Trail, images of the railway stations 1962 Ystwyth Trail, images of the railway stations 1962