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designated as access land and which are therefore legally available to walkers, though the terrain is somewhat difficult and often waterlogged. Much of the northern few miles of the route is not publicly accessible though it is crossed by a few minor roads and public paths from which short sections
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follows the line of the tramway north from Bwlch Bryn-rhudd before the grassed-over route is seen to sweep around to the east to cross the Nant
Gyhirych at the edge of a plantation. It continues northwestwards to near the junction of the minor road to
292:
are also deemed to form a part of the Brecon Forest
Tramroad network, constructed as they were by Christie and his successors. These served numerous limestone quarries as well as sources of silica sand though it seems that the connection to extensive
232:
and this route obliterates long sections of the tramway. From
Penwyllt, the main route north is again followed by the railway line though the occasional tighter bend is preserved where the later railway had to assume a more flowing
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Christie was declared bankrupt in
December 1827 and the Great Forest, including the tramroad and most of his other assets, passed to his principal creditor, Joseph Claypon, of the banking house of Garfit & Claypon in
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This scheme was abandoned and instead the line from the Drim was taken northwards along the contours of the eastern side of the valley past the quarries at
Penwyllt, wrapping around the western slopes of
90:) on its sale by the Crown in 1819. Construction of the tramroad was an essential part of his plans for the exploitation of his property. His original intention was to use the tramroad to convey
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Christie further extended the tramroad southwestwards from its southern terminus to a colliery at Gwaun Clawdd on the northern slopes of Mynydd y Drum and connected it to the
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and around the flanks of the hill north to
Penwyllt. Initially Christie's probable intention was to link this line to that at Pwll Byfre by an incline through what is now the
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Christie commenced construction of the tramroad in about 1821. The earliest section constructed was that between the limestone quarries at Pwll Byfre and
Castell-du Farm at
355:
268:
and subsequent land restoration but lengthy sections can be followed around Mynydd y Drum, including sections where runs of stone blocks still remain. The mile-long
257:. From this point onwards to its northern terminus the tramway route largely coincides with the later railway though in places it runs roughly parallel to it.
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216:. Claypon's Tramroad was largely unaffected by this, although sections at Ystradgynlais were converted into colliery railways or taken over by the
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197:. Claypon built a further extension southwest and then west from the Drim colliery to join the Swansea Canal and to supply limestone to the
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Following the death of
Claypon in 1859 much of Christie's original route was ultimately sold to the railway contractor,
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and over the pass at Bwlch Bryn-rhudd then northeastwards to join the original line just south of the
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trade with India. This enabled him to purchase the Crown
Allotment of the Great Forest of Brecon (or
24:
438:
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which
Christie had leased in 1822. From the colliery the line ran northeastwards to the village of
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189:. During the 1820s he was a major shipper of coal on the canal which was shipped through Swansea.
392:(Aberystwyth : Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales, 1990)
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412:(Aberystwyth : Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales, 1990
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132:. The model farm of Cnewr was constructed at the halfway point of this stretch of tramroad.
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workings to the north of Cribarth was not completed and did not come fully into operation.
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can be followed including the ruined remains of the winding engine house at the summit.
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with the A4067 before crossing the latter and curving westwards and northwards towards
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p12,The Brecon Forest Tramroads: the archaeology of an early railway system
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Much of the southernmost section of the Tramroad was followed by the later
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The Brecon Forest Tramroads: the archaeology of an early railway system
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A second stage was to build a tramroad to serve the Drim Colliery near
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He subsequently expanded his activities to exploit minerals outside
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Claypon's Tramroad can be followed for much of its length. At the
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http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/ystradgynlais/gtforest.shtml
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Section of former tramroad crossing open country south of Crai.
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where its soil-improving qualities would be appreciated.
434:
BFT page on official website of the Fforest Fawr Geopark
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Some of the many miles of tramroad on the hill known as
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whilst some other sections are available to walkers as
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who had amassed a fortune from his involvement in the
109:and to markets further to the south in the rapidly
27:, or rather a network of connecting tramroads or
51:. Its northern terminus was at the village of
8:
71:some 20 km (12 miles) to the south.
78:, a Scottish-born entrepreneur based in
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59:Valley whilst its southern ends lay at
16:Former tramroad network in Powys, Wales
74:The tramroad project was conceived by
31:, which stretched across the hills of
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313:Parts of the route are followed by
98:to the farms of the Usk valley and
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288:on the western side of the upper
212:and incorporated by him into the
39:(modern administrative county of
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165:Ruined crossing of Nant Gyhirych
264:end it has been obliterated by
23:is an early nineteenth century
326:of the route can be glimpsed.
1:
240:Abandoned loop near Coelbren.
474:Railway lines opened in 1821
321:. Long sections run through
94:sourced from quarries near
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377:The Brecon Forest Tramroad
35:in the historic county of
454:History of Brecknockshire
230:Neath and Brecon Railway
214:Neath and Brecon Railway
459:Tram transport in Wales
156:National Nature Reserve
421:pp275-281 of Hughes, S
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224:Main present-day route
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124:History of development
21:Brecon Forest Tramroad
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118:South Wales Coalfield
469:Horse-drawn railways
218:Swansea Vale Railway
199:Ynyscedwyn Ironworks
195:Boston, Lincolnshire
143:and then across the
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280:Cribarth Tramroads
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185:at Cae'r Lan near
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388:Stephen Hughes,
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100:Mynydd Epynt
88:Fforest Fawr
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33:Fforest Fawr
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295:rottenstone
266:opencasting
244:The modern
147:just above
130:Sennybridge
53:Sennybridge
43:) in south
448:Categories
364:References
272:down into
251:Heol Senni
246:A4067 road
145:Nant Llech
29:waggonways
92:limestone
286:Cribarth
187:Abercraf
178:stream.
141:Coelbren
96:Penwyllt
61:Abercraf
25:tramroad
330:Gallery
270:incline
262:Onllwyn
137:Onllwyn
116:of the
114:valleys
55:in the
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233:curve.
84:indigo
80:London
45:Wales
41:Powys
394:ISBN
255:Crai
63:and
19:The
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57:Usk
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49:UK
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