Steam on the Sirhowy Tramroad and its Neighbours – Book Review

In the first decades of the nineteenth century a transportation system evolved in Monmouthshire which was, in some respects, almost two centuries ahead of its time.

Published by the Railway and Canal Historical Society, Steam on the Sirhowy Tramroad and its Neighbours is a fascinating study of this system. The tramroad was a plateway, which consisted of “L” shaped rails where the flange on the rail guided flat road-like wheels. Railways are more familiar to us where the flanges are on the wheels rather than the track. Because of this some people do not class a plateway tramroad as a railway. But I am using the wider definition for the proposes of this review.

What is in the Book?

The book is organised in three main sections. The first section describes the development of the tramroad system to become the most extensive in the world. A comprehensive survey follows of the various tramroad locomotives. In some cases they were purchased from manufacturers in England, but in many cases they were built locally in South Wales. The final section examines the working of the tramroad including the social and economic impact on the locals. 

The Triumph and Tragedy of the Tramroads

A tragedy which Lewis highlights is that much of the documentation of the Sirhowy tramroad has been lost. In consequence much information is frustratingly out of reach. However, the author suggests some fascinating possibilities such as the existence of a smaller version of the 1804 Tevithick Penydarren engine at Tredegar works!

Lewis’s book provides an insight into the originality of the Monmouthshire tramroads. At that time coal and ironmasters built most systems to transport their own produce to dockyards. But the Monmouthshire tramroads were, in effect, infrastructure providers with transport provided by the companies served by the tramroad or independent hauliers. So in effect a prototype of today’s railways in Britain!

The tramroad extracted a significant human cost from both the company employees and the local public. A horrific toll of death, injury and maiming is shocking by the standards of today. Moreover, extraordinary stories of drunkenness and violent behaviour by locomotive drivers point to an almost lawless environment.

Outline Contents:

Part 1 : The background

Part 2: The locomotives
A.  The Experimental Period
B.  Sirhowy Tramroad
C.  Western Valleys Lines
D.  Rumney Railway
E.  Tramroad Unknown
F.  Internal and limestone Tramroads

Part 3: The tramroads at work

About the Author: Michael Lewis

Dr Michael Lewis, an eminent industrial archaeologist, is acknowledged as one of the leading authorities on early railways. One of his previous works, How Ffestiniog got its Railway, was the first book to be published by the Railway and Canal Historical Society in 1965. (from the RCHS website)

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History of the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company by Aubrey Byles
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Railways and Industry in the Sirhowy Valley by John Hodge
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