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Merthyr Tramroad

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NPRN91513
Map ReferenceSO00NE
Grid ReferenceSO0512006690
Unitary (Local) AuthorityMerthyr Tydfil
Old CountyGlamorgan
CommunityPenydarren
Type Of SiteTRAMWAY
PeriodPost Medieval
Description
1. Merthyr Tramroad, sometimes referred to as the Penydarren Tramroad, ran from quarries near Morlais Castle via a junction on the Dowlais - Jackson's Wharf tramroad at SO 0512 0669 (at the present junction of Tramroadside North and Penydarren Road and now marked by the Trevithick Memorial (nprn 91516)) in Merthyr, to the Glamorganshire Canal basin at Abercynon (ST 0846 9493) where a commemorative plaque has been erected (nprn 400379). The tramroad is famous as the line on which Trevithick's engine ran on 21 February 1804, the first steam locomotive to pull a load on a railway. The Morlais Quarry section was built to supply Merthyr's Ironworks with limestone, and the Merthyr to Abercynon section to avoid the congested Glamorganshire Canal (nprn 34425).
(See: Mercer, S., Trevithick and the Merthyr Tramroad, in Transactions of the Newcomen Society, xxvi (1947-9), pp.89-103)
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 10 July 1998.
2. At ST 0806 9784, there is a stone revetment wall between the tramroad and the Taff Vale Railway embankment to the west.
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 04 February 1992.