The origins of the Swansea Vale Railway lay in an early nineteenth century tramroad (Scott's Tramroad [nprn 403886]) on the east bank of the river Tawe. The SVR company was formed in 1845 to build a modern railway route serving the mines and metal industries in the Swansea Valley and by 1860 a passenger service between St Thomas's station in Swansea and Pontardawe had been established. By 1864 the line had been extended from Gurnos Junction to Brynamman in the northern coalfield. The southern section of the Morriston Loop, between Upper Bank and Morriston, was opened in 1871 and the northern section to Glais Junction in 1875. The Midland Railway leased the SVR in 1874 and purchased it two years later. Passenger traffic ceased in 1950 and the line closed in stages between 1964 and 1983. A section of the route between Upper Bank and Six Pit was retained as a preserved railway run by the Swansea Valley Railway Society, but this closed after Swansea City Council withdrew its support in 2007.
Sources include: Col.M.H.Cobb, The Railways of Great Britain A Historical Atlas, Ian Allan, second edition, 2006.
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 20.12.2012.