323:, on which work did not start until 1911, it ran along the valley floor. At first, it may have crossed over the river near Nant-Ddu lodge, and run along its eastern bank to the foot of the dam, but it later stayed on the western bank to reach the top of the dam. The track was built by William Jones, the first contractor for the reservoir, on the basis that it would be taken over by the Corporation. Work began on it around April 1886, and it was largely finished by October, although storm damage meant that some of the ballasting was delayed. After Jones' reservoir contract had been revoked, the railway was valued at £3,395 in December 1888 as part of the settlement litigation. A temporary incline was constructed in June 1889 to the north of the dam, but it is not clear whether this began at the lower level and was used to raise materials, or began at the higher level and was used to lower them to the worksite.
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sites, and by the time the first sod was cut for the reservoir by the Mayor on 4 May 1886, around 2 miles (3.2 km) of the railway had already been completed. Jones succeeded in cutting the embankment trench and filling the bottom with a concrete key, but he lacked funds, and did not have enough pumping plant to keep the workings dry. Many of his labourers left the job, and progress became very slow. The Town Clerk took possession of the works on 29 October 1888, which included Jones' plant, tools and implements. Jones then took out a writ against the
Corporation, and an agreement was not reached until June 1889, with the Corporation paying £10,000 to the court in July.
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for free. When the railway was no longer needed, the land would be reinstated, or the landowner could buy it. However, around 1.04 miles (1.67 km) of track were lifted in March 1892, after a disagreement developed. This was probably a new section which was part of the northern extension, but the difficulties were eventually resolved, and the track was reinstated in April 1893. The Board of Trade approved the plans for the extension on 27 April 1893 and by June, two timber viaducts had been built, to carry the railway over ravines on the west bank of the reservoir, and the
Beacons site was reached, creating a railway that was 7.25 miles (11.67 km) in length.
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progress was slow, with the extremely wet weather of 1890 being a significant factor. He struggled to retain his workforce, and wrote to J A B Williams explaining the difficulties. By
February 1891 he had completed about half of the job, and on 18 March 1891 the Water Committee relieved him of his contract, paid for the work that had been done, and took possession of his plant, railways, a quarry and a clay field from which the puddle clay was extracted. Mackay's involvement with the project ceased on 13 June 1891.
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Committee, and impounding of water began on the same day. A plaque to commemorate the event named the
Waterworks Engineer, J A B Williams, but failed to mention either of the contractors. The weir and the steps of the overflow channel on the western side of the dam were faced in granite obtained from Cornwall, but the rest of the stone was obtained from a quarry near Cefn Coed, served by sidings on the railway, at which extraction began while Jones was fulfilling his contract.
252:, who also recommended the Taff Fawr scheme in June 1882 as the one most likely to meet the needs for water at the lowest cost. They presented a bill to Parliament in November 1883, which was considered by a House of Commons Committee between 1 May and 20 May 1884. There were 16 petitions against it and serious opposition from riparian landowners, but several influential civil engineers was called to give evidence, notably Bateman,
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354:)-gauge railway was used to transfer the clay from the field to the main line railway. It was then moved to the Corporation sidings at Cefn Coed, from where the private locomotives hauled it up the valley to Cantref. One narrow gauge locomotive is known to have worked at the clay pit, an 0-4-0 saddle tank named
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Meanwhile, a new contract was awarded in March 1889 to John Mackay of
Newport, who had previously completed work on Llanishen Reservoir and the balancing reservoirs at Blackbrook, Cefn and Rhubina for the Corporation. The contract was for £89,619, and he had two years to complete the work, but again
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The catchment of the upper Taff Fawr was 10,400 acres (42 km) but it was split into an upper area of 4,000 acres (16 km) and a lower one of 6,400 acres (26 km). Any works had to provide compensation water to maintain the flow in the Taff Fawr, and working on the upper area first meant
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Tracing the history of the standard gauge locomotives used on the construction project is a little more difficult. Jones, the first contractor, is known to have had one locomotive, and possibly a second. When Mackay took over the contract, he bought four more with him, and so there were five or six
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to be built. In 1891 the
Corporation negotiated with Lewis to allow the railway to remain in place for another six years, and it was agreed, providing that the route was properly fenced, gates were provided at level crossings where necessary, and goods for local farms could be transported from Cefn
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in 1879, and in March 1881 asked their
Borough Engineer, John Avery Brandon Williams, to produce a report on all possible sources of water for Cardiff, so that they could plan for the future. Williams presented his reports in May and August 1881, suggesting that the best scheme was to impound the
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Initially the contract for construction of the earth dam, which was about 600 feet (180 m) long with a puddle clay core, was awarded to
William Jones of Neath. To provide access to the site, a standard gauge railway, some 6 miles (9.7 km) long, was built from Cefn Coed to the reservoir
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As built, the crest of the dam was 120 feet (37 m) above the foundations, and 90 feet (27 m) above the level of the river. At its maximum, the water is 73 feet (22 m) deep, and the dam created a reservoir which is 0.75 miles (1.21 km) long, holding 323 million imperial
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Completion of the reservoir was achieved by using direct labour. J T Jones was the first site manager, but became ill, and this role was taken over by F Orton in
November 1881. The reservoir was formally opened on 14 September 1892 by Alderman David Jones, who was chairman of the Waterworks
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station, and passed through a rocky gorge, where a trestle bridge was built to carry it over the Taff Fawr. The bridge was 150 feet (46 m) long, and some 50 feet (15 m) above the river. After that, it ran on a ledge to the west of the river, and by the time it reached the site of
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James
Mansergh, and George H. Hill. J A B Williams, their own Engineer, and the meteorologist George James Symonds also gave evidence, and although it cost the Corporation £3,652 to fight the case, Royal Assent was obtained for the Cardiff Corporation Act 1884 on 7 August.
358:, which was obtained second-hand from the Bargoed Coal Company of Fochriw around 1885. It was probably obtained by Mackay, but passed into Corporation ownership when his contract was terminated, and was sold to the Crawshay Brothers in early 1897 for £150, becoming their
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that they only had to supply 3 million imperial gallons (14 Ml) per day of compensation flow until work started on the lower area. Cantref Reservoir, at the time known as Cantreff, was the first to be built, together with a 32-mile (51 km) pipeline to
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and intermediate balancing reservoirs at Blackbrook, Cefn, and Rhubina. Work on the pipeline was completed in September 1888, and on the balancing reservoirs in November 1888. Construction or the reservoir was not so straight forward.
370:, the identity of which is less certain. There were three sales of plant and equipment in 1897 and 1898, at which eight locomotives were listed, so it is possible that some were offered for sale more than once. One locomotive, named
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operating during this period. The Corporation bought a second-hand locomotive in 1891, and two new ones in 1891 and 1894. Four 0-6-0 and two 0-4-0 saddle tanks have been positively identified, and there was a locomotive named
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The remote location of Cantref Reservoir and the huge amount of material needed to construct the dam resulted in plans for a standard gauge railway to be built. This left the
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was definitely auctioned at the final sale on 2 September 1898 and subsequently worked in the Northamptonshire ironstone industry until 1962.
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Puddle clay for the construction of the core of the dam was obtained from land owned by the Crawshay Brothers, part of their ironworks near
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gallons (1,470 Ml). It covers an area of 42.85 acres (17.34 ha) and its surface level is 1,073 feet (327 m)
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waters of the upper Taff Fawr. The Corporation were a little hesitant, but consulted the water engineer
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to the south of Cantref, and was later extended northwards over land belonging to
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www.geograph.co.uk : photos of the Cantref reservoir and surrounding area
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History of the Cardiff Corporation Waterworks Undertaking
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551:Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 map, 1904
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404:Wheatley, Joseph Larke (1905).
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694:Cardiff Corporation Waterworks
626:"Welsh Water Recreation Guide"
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187:Cardiff Corporation Waterworks
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195:Brecon Beacons National Park
334:to enable the reservoir at
173:is the middle of the three
156:42.85 acres (17.34 ha)
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245:Cardiff Waterworks Company
206:historic county boundaries
410:. British History Online.
148:0.75 miles (1.21 km)
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216:unitary authority area.
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501:Bowtell & Hill 2006
193:. It is located in the
164:1,073 feet (327 m)
250:John Frederick Bateman
202:unitary authority area
620:at Wikimedia Commons
638:on 28 September 2011
288:Above Ordnance Datum
102:51.83194°N 3.46111°W
674:Reservoirs in Powys
476:, pp. 462–463.
464:, pp. 461–462.
267:Llanishen Reservoir
227:and links with the
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575:, pp. 11, 13.
321:Llwyn-on Reservoir
316:Cefn-coed-y-cymmer
214:Rhondda Cynon Taff
185:. It was built by
107:51.83194; -3.46111
18:Reservoir in Wales
618:Cantref Reservoir
616:Media related to
599:, pp. 14–18.
563:, pp. 10–11.
396:978-0-9540726-2-9
328:Sir William Lewis
263:Lisvane Reservoir
171:Cantref Reservoir
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161:Surface elevation
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191:Welsh Water
145:Max. length
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80:Coordinates
689:River Taff
668:Categories
650:(409
437:References
229:Taff Trail
181:valley in
175:reservoirs
90:51°49′55″N
426:ignored (
416:cite book
348:3 ft
179:Taff Fawr
124:reservoir
93:3°27′40″W
372:Cantreff
302:Railways
296:Llwyn-on
231:and the
69:Location
642:31 July
368:Swansea
356:Darrell
336:Beacons
292:Beacons
239:History
235:paths.
177:in the
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636:(PDF)
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199:Powys
183:Wales
131:Basin
73:Wales
644:2011
428:help
391:ISBN
294:and
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