Coelbren Junction railway station

Colbren Junction
A Brecon-bound train at Colbren Junction. October 1962.
Location
Place	Coelbren
Area	Powys
Coordinates	51°47′20″N 3°40′04″W / 51.7890°N 3.6678°W / 51.7890; -3.6678Coordinates: 51°47′20″N 3°40′04″W / 51.7890°N 3.6678°W / 51.7890; -3.6678
Grid reference	SN849114
Operations
Original company	Neath and Brecon Railway
Pre-grouping	Neath and Brecon Railway
Post-grouping	GWR Western Region of British Railways
Platforms	2 side platforms (upper) 1 side platform (lower)
History
1873	Opened
15 October 1962	Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Colbren Junction was a railway station on the Neath and Brecon Railway. The station, which was near Coelbren, was completed at the same time as the Swansea Vale and Neath and Brecon Joint Railway opened a seven-mile branch from here to Ynysygeinon in 1873. It was a key junction in the networks operated by the Midland, Neath and Brecon, and Great Western railway companies.

Although the Welsh spelling of the nearby village is ‘Coelbren’, the anglicised version ‘Colbren’ was used for the station name and in railway literature.

Colbren Junction was the outcome of a plan by the Midland Railway to reach the port of Swansea and it surrounding industries. The Midland wanted a route to Swansea that was independent of its two main competitors, the Great Western and London and North Western Railway.

By 1867, the Neath and Brecon Railway had already opened a branch south from Brecon down the east side of the Tawe (or Swansea valley). This line, which provided the shortest route to Neath, crossed into the head of the parallel Dulais Valley near Coelbren. It then carried on westwards along the coast to Swansea via the Swansea and Neath Railway. Despite its direct route to the coast, the line avoided most of the Swansea Valley. Bypassing the areas around Abercrave near Ystradgynlais where there was heavy industry including coal mining and iron-making.