Wenvoe Tunnel (1,867yds) - South Wales, 1888 - 1963
With construction completed in 1888 the 1,867 yard Wenvoe Tunnel which opened in 1889 was part of the Barry Railway Company’s efforts to beat the Taff Vale Railway & Cardiff Docks on the export of coal from South Wales, By 1910 they’d successfully taken the lead in terms of tonnage shifted through the docks at Barry. In just 4 years they’d built a substantial railway network which included several branch lines and a 18½ mile railway from Trehafod to Barry Docks.
The tunnel is constructed predominantly of brick masonry aside from a section near the northern portal where its a natural rock wall with a brick lined arched roof, various repair patches some most notable at 26 chains in, theres a single ventilation shaft close to the centre which spans close to the whole width of the tunnels bore, it appears above ground in the Culverhouse Cross retail park.
The tunnel is now home to a huge mains water pipe maintained by Welsh Water running throughout its entire length along the east wall, it’s almost always flooded inside and it seems a water course has been diverted into the tunnel, on the day on the visit the water was pretty fast flowing north - south and about 12 to 18 inches deep, due to the water ingress not only on the ground but also through the tunnels lining there’s some fantastic calcite deposits throughout, the penetrating water does become almost deafening after a decent downpour in certain areas of the tunnel, there a short section of tunnel that’s evidently dryer than most as the sooted walls still absorb the light,
the northern portal is in a fair sized cutting, fenced off and is heavily waterlogged with fly tipped rubbish and general rubble evident, the southern portal has seen some recent activity with contractors creating an access road to the portal and it appeared they’d possibly been inside the tunnel as the previously reported rubbish below the ventilation shaft had gone, the portal is fenced off and a fair bit of debris has washed up against the gates making entrance particularly treacherous, the date stone of 1888 was more visible this end above the portal.
I had noticed the steep access road they’d cut into the embankment had begun to wash away most likely due to the heavy rainfall we’d experienced prior to the visit.
The tunnel closed on the 31st March 1963 this was due to a fire which destroyed the signal box at Tynycaeau North, the Glory days for this magnificent structure are most certainly over it resides hidden away and in most part forgotten.
Visited 2024.
Thanks for looking.
With construction completed in 1888 the 1,867 yard Wenvoe Tunnel which opened in 1889 was part of the Barry Railway Company’s efforts to beat the Taff Vale Railway & Cardiff Docks on the export of coal from South Wales, By 1910 they’d successfully taken the lead in terms of tonnage shifted through the docks at Barry. In just 4 years they’d built a substantial railway network which included several branch lines and a 18½ mile railway from Trehafod to Barry Docks.
The tunnel is constructed predominantly of brick masonry aside from a section near the northern portal where its a natural rock wall with a brick lined arched roof, various repair patches some most notable at 26 chains in, theres a single ventilation shaft close to the centre which spans close to the whole width of the tunnels bore, it appears above ground in the Culverhouse Cross retail park.
The tunnel is now home to a huge mains water pipe maintained by Welsh Water running throughout its entire length along the east wall, it’s almost always flooded inside and it seems a water course has been diverted into the tunnel, on the day on the visit the water was pretty fast flowing north - south and about 12 to 18 inches deep, due to the water ingress not only on the ground but also through the tunnels lining there’s some fantastic calcite deposits throughout, the penetrating water does become almost deafening after a decent downpour in certain areas of the tunnel, there a short section of tunnel that’s evidently dryer than most as the sooted walls still absorb the light,
the northern portal is in a fair sized cutting, fenced off and is heavily waterlogged with fly tipped rubbish and general rubble evident, the southern portal has seen some recent activity with contractors creating an access road to the portal and it appeared they’d possibly been inside the tunnel as the previously reported rubbish below the ventilation shaft had gone, the portal is fenced off and a fair bit of debris has washed up against the gates making entrance particularly treacherous, the date stone of 1888 was more visible this end above the portal.
I had noticed the steep access road they’d cut into the embankment had begun to wash away most likely due to the heavy rainfall we’d experienced prior to the visit.
The tunnel closed on the 31st March 1963 this was due to a fire which destroyed the signal box at Tynycaeau North, the Glory days for this magnificent structure are most certainly over it resides hidden away and in most part forgotten.
Visited 2024.
Thanks for looking.
