Cardiff City

Curran Road, Cardiff

The West side of Curran Road, along the banks of the River Taff, is ripe for re-development. Luckily it's still a jumble of old warehouses and industrial units with a lot of embedded track that led off the Riverside branch. The locations in the captions refer to the 1954 OS maps.

Curran Road North, Cardiff, 1954	Curran Road South, Cardiff, 1954	Curran Road 'Index Engineering'	Curran Road 'Index Engineering'
Curran Road 'Index Engineering'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'
Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff
Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff	Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff	Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff	Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff
Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'
Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'

From the City centre to the docks

Other interesting odd spots around the City centre

West Junction Canal bridge	West Junction Canal bridge	Sophia Street railway bridge	Roath Basin lock-keepers office
Bute Dry Dock, Cardiff Bay	Channel Dry Dock, Cardiff Bay	Channel Dry Dock, Cardiff Bay	Mountstuart Shipbuilding Yard
Cardiff Dock entrance lock	Old coal drams at Cardiff Bay	Canal tunnel under Kingsway	TVR docks branch bridge

Caerphilly Tunnel and Cefn Onn caves

From ukCaving.com :-
The gated entrance did have a padlock on it, but not only was this padlock not attached to anything, the hole underneath the gate was more than large enough to get through. The shaft was straight and about 75-80 metres long, with a number of drill holes, so obviously man made, ending when you arrive at a curved brick wall, obviously another ventilation shaft for the railway. We could hear a significant (small waterfall size!) amount of water through a hole in the shaft wall, but couldn't see down to where it came from.

The little hole that I had crawled into as a lad was less interesting. We moved a boulder and dropped into it (tight and steep, much much harder to get out than to get in!) and there was probably about 7-8 metres of standing room passage that abruptly ended. We wondered if the railway workers had started to dig here before stopping for some reason.

Cefn Onn, Tranch-yr-hebog Quarry	Cefn Onn, Tranch-yr-hebog Quarry	Cefn-Onn large adit, Cardiff	Cefn-Onn small adit, Cardiff
Ventilation shaft No4	Ventilation shaft no3	Ventilation shaft no3
Shaft No3 tramway bridge	Shaft No3 tramway bridge	Shaft No3 waste tips	Shaft No3 waste tips

Llandaff North - Railways and the Canal

The course of the Glamorganshire Canal	The course of the Glamorganshire Canal	Ty Mawr Lane bridge
Ty Mawr Lane bridge	Ty Mawr Lane bridge	The TVR crossing the River Taff
The TVR loop line over the River Taff	The TVR loop line over the River Taff	The TVR loop line over the River Taff

Outskirts of Cardiff

Cefn Mably valvehouse

Peterstone sewer outfall

St Brides sewer outfall

St Brides sewer outfall

Old photos around Cardiff

Some 1960s photos at Cardiff General and Cardiff Canton Open Day in August 1985

Cardiff trolleybus 201, 1964	Cardiff trolleybus 242, 1964	Cardiff bus 46 EBO 900	Flying Scotsman at Cardiff
Flying Scotsman at Cardiff	Cardiff General and 9426	Cardiff General and 6947, 1964	Cardiff Railway poster
An empty Heath Junction, Cardiff	Cardiff Canton open day, 150 001	Cardiff Canton open day, 150 001	Cardiff Canton open day, 25322
Cardiff Canton open day, 4930	Cardiff Canton open day, 4930	Cardiff Canton open day, 4930	Cardiff Canton open day, 7029
Cardiff Canton open day, 7029	Cardiff Canton open day, 97201	Cardiff Canton open day, D200	Cardiff Canton open day, 92220
Cardiff Canton open day, 92220	Cardiff Canton open day	Cardiff Cathays Park, C306	Cardiff Central, Class 43

Tickets and Totems around Cardiff

Ray Weavin has shared these photos of his souvenir tickets and station totems,also the Barry Railway signal box nameplate spelt 'Dynas Powis'.

Souvenir platform ticket	Souvenir last tram ticket	Souvenir trolleybus tour ticket
Cardiff bus tickets from the 1960s	Cardiff Station totems	'Dynas Powis' signalbox nameplate

East Moors Steelworks in the 1950s

Ray Weavin 's uncle, Ivor Evans, worked as a crane driver at East Moors Steelworks, after serving in the Merchant Navy during the war, including Russian convoys. He took these photos of his workmates in the mid-1950s.

East Moors Steelworks, c1955	East Moors Steelworks, c1955	East Moors Steelworks, c1955
East Moors Steelworks, c1955	East Moors Steelworks, c1955	East Moors Steelworks, c1955

Penarth, Lavernock and Dinas Powis

The Taff Vale Railway (TVR)

The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) ran from Penarth to Sully and Barry and now makes a good footpath towards Lavernock.

A '769' dmu at Penarth Station	The TVR leaving Penarth Station	The TVR at Penarth goods yard	The TVR to Alberta Road
The TVR at Sully Terrace	The TVR near Alberta Road halt	The TVR at Forrest Road bridge	The TVR at Forrest Road bridge
TVR near Brockhill Rise bridge No.40	TVR Brockhill Rise bridge No.40	TVR Brockhill Rise bridge No.40	TVR Brockhill Rise bridge No.40
The TVR near the Cement Works	The TVR at the Cement Works	The TVR at the Cement Works	TVR Fort Rd bridge No.43

South Wales Portland Cement Works, Cosmeston - ST 1783 6933

S. Wales Cement Works wagon	S. Wales Cement Works wagon	'Hudson' builders plate	Cosmeston clay pits tramway
Lower Cosmeston Farm, Penarth	Bamford's patent grinding mill	Lavernock electrical sub-station	Rock Cottage, Lavernock

Lavernock Point gun battery - ST 1804 6791

St Mary's Well Bay WW2 anti-aircraft gun battery was built on the site of a Victorian gun emplacement. It was armed with four 3.7" guns and a 40mm Bofors gun and consisted of gunpits, command post, magazine and workshops. It was unusual because gunpits 1 and 2 had steel doors so they could engage shipping if needed but pits 3 and 4 only had earth banks and no magazine. A searchlight position at St Mary's Well Bay, ST 1782 6775, assisted a coastal battery that is now under the caravan site. The pillbox at ST 1740 6750 is on the opposite side of the bay. A similar searchlight was on Lavernock Point itself (ST 1870 6814) but is very overgrown. There is a ruined building at ST 1855 6905 which may be connected with the coastal defence system.

Lavernock Point battery, 2013	Lavernock Point battery gunpit 1	Lavernock Point battery gunpit 2	Lavernock Point battery gunpit 3
Gunpits 1, 2 and command post	Lavernock Point battery magazine	Command post and workshops	Information board
Searchlight building	Searchlight building	Searchlight building
St Mary's Well Bay pillbox	St Mary's Well Bay pillbox		Eastern building

Dinas Powis limekiln - ST 1396 7328.

A very decrepid limekiln from the mid 1800s.

Limekiln near Dinas Powis

Limekiln near Dinas Powis

Limekiln near Dinas Powis

Barry Docks and Barry Island

Woodhams Yard in the 1960s and 1975

Woodhams Yard, Barry, 30499	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 30830	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 34070	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 35022
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 4247	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 45293	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 47324	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 48305
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 6023	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 61264	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 92219	Woodhams Yard, Barry
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 30841	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 31874	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 45690 31618	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 53808 31618
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 44777	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 31625	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 31806 31638

Barry Docks in 2025

Barry Dock outer lock gates	Barry Dock No 3 Dock, the basin	Barry Dock inner lock gates	Barry Dock inner lock gates
Barry Dock No 1	Barry Dock No 1	Barry Dock No 1	Barry Dock No 2
Barry Dock No 2	Barry Dock pumphouse	Original access to Barry Docks
Barry Dock Offices	Barry Dock Offices	Barry Dock offices rememberance plaque	'Broad & Son, Founders, London'

Barry Island and old harbour - ST 1067 6681

The limekilns and activity and inactivity in the old harbour with the breaking up of the 'Morning Dawn' as the 'Alisa' awaits removal.

The 'Morning Dawn'	The 'Morning Dawn'	The 'Morning Dawn'	'Alisa' at Barry harbour
'Alisa' at Barry harbour	Barry harbour	Barry harbour	Barry harbour limekilns
Barry harbour Watchtower	WW2 building on Little Island	WW2 Searchlight post	Barry Island goods shed
Barry Island viaduct and '150 267'

Barry West and Steamer Piers - ST 1220 6665

Some rails are still surviving on the West breakwater at Jackson's Bay.

Barry steamer pier

Barry West pier

Barry West pier

Barry West pier

Porthkerry, Rhoose and Aberthaw

Porthkerry Quarries - ST 0753 6595

Between c1912 and c1931 a 3'0" gauge railway ran around these quarries. The bridge abutments and stonework may be connected with this line but have standard gauge rails embedded. The limeworks had two chimneys at one time, one by the kilns which seems to have gone by 1962 and one at the rear which was still standing in 1972 along with the works itself.

Porthkerry Limeworks c1970	Porthkerry Limeworks c1970	Porthkerry higher quarry	Porthkerry quarry pillbox
Quarry bridge abutments	Quarry bridge abutments	Porthkerry lower quarry	Porthkerry lower quarry
Porthkerry lower quarry	Porthkerry lower quarry	Porthkerry lower quarry	Porthkerry Viaduct

Rhoose Quarries - ST 0660 6570

East Quarry, Rhoose	West Quarry blast shelter	West Quarry tank, Rhoose
West Quarry, Rhoose	West Quarry, Rhoose

Aberthaw Pebble Limestone Co - ST 0382 6612

Lime-making at Aberthaw had been in production since the 1750s on a fairly small scale producing a good quality hydraulic lime that could set underwater. So in 1888 the Aberthaw Pebble Limestone Company was formed to take full advantage of the limestone pebbles on Aberthaw beach. There were originally two kilns and a further two were added c1895 after the opening of the TVR branch from Cowbridge. The works closed down in 1926. The 3ft gauge tramway to the pebble beach was probably horse- or rope-worked until 1921 when a 4w petrol loco was bought from Baguley, wks no '905'. It went to the 'Southerndown Road Lime Co' when Aberthaw closed down.

The limeworks in 1912

The limeworks in 1900

The limeworks in 1919

The limeworks in 1919

General views of the limeworks

Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks
Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks

The three-storey mill building

Limeworks mill building

Mill drive shaft access

Mill drive shaft support

Limeworks mill steam pipe

The boiler house

Limeworks boiler house wall	Limeworks boiler house wall	Limeworks boiler house chimney
Limeworks boiler house flue	Limeworks boiler house wall	Limeworks boiler house flue	Limeworks boiler house access

The original 1888 kilns

Old kilns draw-hole doors	Old kilns draw-hole doors	Old kilns draw-hole doors	Old kilns lime run-off channels
Old kilns upper draw-hole	Old kilns passageway	Old kilns upper draw-hole	Old kilns floor plates
Old kilns upper draw-hole	Old kilns lime run-off channel	Old kilns draw-hole	Old kilns lime run-off channel
Old kilns upper draw-hole	Old kilns draw-hole	Old kilns passageway
Interior of the old kilns	Interior of the old kilns

The new kilns built after the TVR branch from Cowbridge was opened, c1895

Limeworks new kilns

Limeworks new kilns

Limeworks new kilns

Limeworks new kilns

Around the outside

Upturned Barlow rail

New kilns ramp foundation

'Pleasant Harbour' wharf

The Taff Vale Railway at Aberthaw

TVR line Well Road bridge	TVR line River Kenson bridge	TVR line River Kenson bridge
TVR line Marshes House bridge	TVR line Marshes House bridge
'Waverley' steams past Aberthaw		Barry Railway Marshes House bridge

Out and About in South Glamorgan

St Fagans Folk Museum

St Fagans Museum, Limekiln

St Fagans Museum, Limekiln

St Fagans Museum, Pottery kiln

The Llantrisant No.1 Railway at ST 1196 7907

The Llantrisant No.1 Railway ran from Waterhall Junction to Llantrisant. A footpath crosses under the line near Rhydlafr and planning notices show that no less than 5970 houses are to be built here very soon!

Bridge abutments near Rhydlafr

Trackbed to the South

Trackbed to the North

Tresilian, Llantwit Major - SS 9473 6777

There are four World War 2 pillboxes surrounding Tresilian, a large seaside house, near Llantwit Major. Two are on the clifftop either side of the bay and two are in each corner of the bay itself.

The Eastern Tresilian pillbox	The Eastern Tresilian pillbox	The East Central Tresilian pillbox
The East Central Tresilian pillbox	The West Central Tresilian pillbox	The Western Tresilian pillbox

St Donats Castle - SS 9345 6800
Dunraven Castle - SS 8893 7345

St Donats Castle once boasted an outdoor swimming pool and this chimney and flue appear to have been part of the heating system, unusual with the chimney some way away from the pool like the old lead-smelting flues.
There's not much left of Dunraven Castle itself but the gardens are very pleasent. There's an old barn not far away with cast-iron pillars supporting the roof.

St Donats Eastern Pillbox

St Donats swimming pool chimney

St Donats swimming pool flue

Dunraven Castle barn pillar

Monknash and Marcross

Monknash Corn Mill appears to a c19th century mill at SS 9088 7028 with one wall and the wheelpit left. The windmill or dovecot is more prominent at SS 9086 7060. Old maps show it as a windmill but latterly it's been used as a dovecote. The base of Marcross windmill is at SS 9269 6898.

Monknash Corn Mill	Monknash Corn Mill	Monknash Corn Mill	Monknash Corn Mill
Monknash Corn Millrace	Monknash Corn Millrace	Monknash Windmill or Dovecot	Marcross Windmill

St Brides Major, Duchy Quarry - SS 9060 7575

Duchy Quarry first opened in 1920 and the adjacent Lancater Quarry in 1928, owned by the 'Lancaster Lime & Limestone Co'. Sidings ran into each quarry from the Vale of Glamorgan line, the Lancaster siding closing in 1953 and the Duchy siding in 1958.

Duchy Quarry, St Brides Major, 1953		Duchy Quarry, St Brides Major	Duchy Quarry, St Brides Major
Duchy Quarry siding, St Brides Major	Duchy Quarry siding, St Brides Major	Duchy Quarry siding, St Brides Major	Duchy Quarry siding, St Brides Major

St Brides Major, limekiln - SS 9129 7520
'Ffynnon-y-Pant' - SS 8809 7570

Another very ruinous limekiln near Castle-upon-Alun, St Brides Major.
A rather elaborate old well in the dried-up valley of Pant Mari Flanders, in existence by 1877

Limekiln near St Brides Major

'Ffynnon-y-Pant', St Brides Major

Duffryn, Wenvoe, limekiln - ST 1060 7210

A small ruined limekiln near Goldsland Wood, between Duffryn and Wenvoe.

Limekiln near Goldsland Wood

Limekiln near Goldsland Wood

Limekiln near Goldsland Wood

Acknowledgments, sources and further reading

Thanks for the use of their photographs and information to :- Wayne Gaskell, Brian Mills, Mike Stokes, Ray Weavin