Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    TracyJames50
    Guest

    Default Walnut Tree Junction - Taffs Well Station

    Hi Everyone

    I've decided to write about my family history starting with my gg grandfather, George James, who was Station Master c1878 - 1891 at Walnut Tree Junction or Taff's Well Station (I believe both names were used back then) but probably longer than this with the Railways.

    So far I've managed to find some photo's of the house George, wife Caroline & 6 of their 8 children (one being my great grandfather Clement James) were born in plus some great history on Taff's Well and surrounding villages & hamlets & have exhausted the census records.

    What I'm hoping to find are staff records or something similar for George's time with the Railways, a photo of him and also of the office or building he would have worked in as someone I contacted said he would not have been located at the station where people caught the train but probably in the main rail yards as he would have overseen this area more than the station itself.

    Really appreciate any info or help you can offer as living in New Zealand I'm finding it hard to find exactly where to find this info.

    Kind Regards

    Tracy

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Sue Mackay's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Rhoose Point, South Wales
    Posts
    6,540

    Default

    Ancestry has railway service records from the RAIL series at the National Archives. If you don't have a subscription you can get a 14 day trial or sometimes libraries have it. The station was on the Taff Vale Railway at that point, but often the service records for TVR are under Great Western as they later took over the TVR. My husband has a great many pictures of railways in the area. I will ask him to have a look
    Sue Mackay
    Insanity is hereditary - you get it from your kids

  3. #3
    pippycat
    Guest

    Default

    You could try The National Archives.

    From their 'Discovery' link: enter Rail 684 into the search box

    Taff Vale Railway Co.
    Apparently amongst the collection are staff records...with a date range of Jan 1823 - Dec 1962.

    No guarantee what you would get, but you can download the first 1000 records!

    Rebecca

  4. #4
    TracyJames50
    Guest

    Default

    Thanks for your reply Sue

    I've already looked at Ancestry as I've got a subscription with them. I also registered with National Archives UK but afterwards have been unable to sign in, have contacted them via email but keep getting same message saying I'm logging into wrong place....rather unusual as it's the same place I signed up from so have given up.

    Would appreciate any photo's of Taffs Well Station or the Rail Yards at that time. Being new to this forum, do you have access to my email address or do I need to post it in a reply?

    Kind Regards

    Tracy

  5. #5
    TracyJames50
    Guest

    Default

    Thanks for your reply Rebecca

    In my reply to Sue I mentioned my problem with signing in to National Archives UK but thanks for taking the time to give me the details for searching the TVR records....might go back and try again

    Kind Regards

    Tracy

  6. #6
    pippycat
    Guest

    Default

    Tracy

    You don't need to sign in to National Archives.

    Just get to 'Discovery' and type in Rail 684 - that's it!

    Rebecca

  7. #7
    Knowledgeable and helpful
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland
    Posts
    628

    Default

    Tracy,

    Judging by a book titled: “British Railways Past & Present” Vol 28 (South Wales), Taffs Well was the passenger station (that name was used in the 1922 timetable for the line). Walnut Tree junction was a junction a couple of hundred yards south of Taffs Well station, where a freight line branched off towards Penrhos.

    Walnut Tree junction has disappeared now with the closure of the Penrhos branch, but Taffs Well is still open and in regular use. The book contains a photograph showing the junction itself, Taffs Well station and the main station buildings, taken in 1980, plus another in 1994 by which time a few changes had been made (including the demolition of the station buildings).

    The book also mentions some freight sidings at Walnut Tree junction that served a small ironworks to the east of the junction. There are no obvious offices, save for the ones associated with the passenger station, but obviously the photos don’t cover every angle.

    If you would like the photos, send me your e-mail by PM.
    ELWYN

  8. #8
    Super Moderator Sue Mackay's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Rhoose Point, South Wales
    Posts
    6,540

    Default

    Thanks to hubby I now have a photo of the station taken in 1904 and one of the original station house. Will send you a PM. According to "Taff Vale Railway Miscellany" by John Hutton the station became Walnut Tree Junction after the opening of the Rhymney Railway connection in 1858, then on 1st June 1886 the name was changed to Walnut Tree Bridge. It was renamed Taff's Well on 16th March 1900

    E-mail addresses are best sent by PM (private message) - click on a person's username
    Sue Mackay
    Insanity is hereditary - you get it from your kids

  9. #9
    Loves to help with queries
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Lancashire
    Posts
    102

    Default

    Hi
    You seen the Oakwood Press book The Llantrisant Branches of the Taff Valley Railway: A History of the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway and the Treferig Valley Railway by Chapman, Colin ISBN 10: 0853614814 / 0-85361-481-4
    ISBN 13: 9780853614814 ?

    Oakwood press books seem to be very good with details about minor lines and the people working on them.

  10. #10
    TracyJames50
    Guest

    Default

    Thanks for your email StintonLomas

    I'll see if I can source those books at a library here in New Zealand.

    Cheers
    Tracy

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Select a file: