Author: John Hodge and Ray Caston
Publisher: Pen and Sword Books
ISBN: 9781399096058
Price: RRP £35.00 (but available at a lower price)
Publication Date: 27th April 2022
Number of pages: 248
Format: Hardcover
How Obtained: Purchased
The Brecon and Merthyr Junction Railway (B&M) was unusual in the South Wales valleys. Almost every other company was established to transport coal and iron to the Bristol Channel ports while the B&M was built to carry goods and passengers to mid Wales.
Railways and Industry on the Brecon and Merthyr by John Hodge and Ray Caston is the first of three books profiling the railway from its earliest days. Pen and Sword published the book in April 2022 as part of their South Wales Valleys series.
The Brecon and Merthyr Junction Railway: history, services and locomotives
The book follows a similar pattern to others in the South Wales Valleys series. An early chapter covers an outline history of the railway followed by a look at passenger services, coal and freight services and the motive power deployed.
The overwhelming majority of the book, 178 pages out of 243, focusses on ‘location analyses’. Starting with Newport High Street, each analysis takes a station or major industrial installation and examines its history as part of the railway. For reasons not made clear the B&M 0-6-2 tank engines receive their own dedicated chapter completely separate from the main motive power section. A series of appendices present timetables from various years in the history of the B&M.
The first of three books on the B&M
The authors claim this book to be the first in a sequence of three on the Brecon and Merthyr. The subtitle of the book states Bassaleg to Bargoed and New Tredegar/Rhymney B&M and it can be assumed that future books will move in a northerly direction.
Two questions immediately arise. Firstly, will the history chapter be repeated for all three books, incurring unnecessary duplication for the reader? It is noticeable that the Historical Introduction is the only chapter which bears the name of John Hodge alone. Secondly, if the next volume follows the pattern then the railway around Merthyr and Dowlais north through Pant and the Torpantau Tunnel will be the focus. Thereafter the valleys are left well behind and badging them as part of the South Valleys series becomes a stretch.
A good quality book, but could be improved for the general reader
In many ways the book reflects many of the strengths and weaknesses of another Hodge book in this series, Railways and Industry in the Sirhowy Valley (find a link to our review here). The book is a handsome volume in hardback form with good quality paper and an attractive dust jacket. A superb range of over four hundred colour and monochrome photographs and relevant maps back up the text.
Unfortunately, as with the earlier Sirhowy book, there is no index whatsoever, making it difficult to correlate material relating to a particular subject of interest. The only other irritation is the use of unexplained acronyms. Thus, for example, it is reasonable to assume MSO is Monday to Saturday Only, but it would be nice to have this confirmed.
In Summary
A well researched and readable account of the Southern Section of the Brecon and Merthyr Railway. Packed with an extensive range of photographs, maps and diagrams in a quality cover. But completing the set for the Northern Section could prove expensive!
The Good
- Well illustrated with a generous selection of photographs, maps and diagrams
- A lot of research information is presented in an accessible and readable format
- The Location Analysis approach allows the reader to focus on the development of one site without too much jumping around in time
The Not So Good
- No subject index
- This volume covers just the Southern Section with another 2 volumes to come. Could prove a pricey proposition at a possible £105 RRP for the set.
- Some acronyms used are not expanded. For example MSO – Monday to Saturday Only?
Outline Contents
- History of the Brecon & Merthyr Railway
- Passenger Services
- Coal & Freight Services
- Motive Power
- Location Analysis
- Former Brecon & Merthyr 0-6-2Ts GWR 421-436
About the Authors – John Hodge and Ray Caston
John Hodge is a former railway manager in South Wales during the 1960s, who since retirement in 1992 has produced many articles and books on South Wales railways.
Ray Caston is a former chemist, working for Monsanto’s at Newport. He has lifelong association with the B&M where his father and grandfather were both employed. He has lived all his life at Bassaleg where he is a local councillor. Since 1970 he has maintained a continuous interest in the operation and history of the B&M line, Bassaleg being its southern terminus. He has a wide knowledge of the South Wales railway scene and is a valued member of local railway societies.
(From Pen and Sword Books)
Related reviews
Brecon to Newport by Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith
Railways and Industry in the Sirhowy Valley by John Hodge
Railways and Industry on the Brecon and Merthyr: Bargoed to Pontsticill by John Hodge and Ray Caston
Railways and Industry on the Brecon and Mertyr: Merthyr to Pontsticill & Brecon by John Hodge and Ray Caston
South Wales Branch Lines by Harold Morgan
Track Layout Diagrams of the GWR and BR WR: Section 42, Rhymney Valley by R.A. Cooke