Rassa Railroad

The Rassa Railroad was a horse-drawn tramroad opened in 1794 in south Wales between Sirhowy Ironworks and Beaufort Ironworks.

History

Rassa Railroad bridge over the Rasa Brook (SO160115)

The Rassa Railroad opened in 1794 as an edge railway of approximately 3 ft 4 in (1,016 mm) gauge. It was laid out by Thomas Dadford, engineer of the Monmouthshire Canal Co., which owned the line. After a few years it was converted to a 4 ft 2 in (1,270 mm) gauge plateway. A tram engine was used on the route from 1829.[1]

Route

The railway ran for 2 1/2 miles, north from Sirhowy then east through the village of Rassau to Beaufort. At Trevil Machine a junction was made with the Trefil Rail Road from the limestone quarries at Trefil. A further junction at Shop Row led to the Ebbw Vale Ironworks at Pont-y-Gof. [2][3]

References

  1. ↑ Baxter, Bertram (1966). Stone blocks and Iron Rails.
  2. ↑ "Rassa Railroad". RailBrit.co.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "Ebbw Vale history". bioeddie.co.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
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