Llanmynach began developing, like so many coastal towns, in the Victorian era, on the arrival of the railway. The inhabitants of the industrial heartland found it possible to travel to the coast for the 'invigorating sea breezes and healthy atmosphere' of mid Wales and were encouraged to do so by their physicians.
Slate had already been mined and quarried for years before, with packhorses bringing the finished slates to the coast for sending further by sea. Following several visits to the town by railway, a Midland businessman decided it would be viable to build a small line to carry the slates down to the town and exchange then to the mainline railway there.
So began the development of Llanmynach. The delights of travelling over the little line were not lost and as the town prospered and guest houses and hotels sprang up, so the popularity of a trip over the 'toy railway' increased and became a required event of the week's holiday and something to write home about.
The railway provided carriages and ensured that there was always a good service, at least in the holiday season, for passengers. The town of Llanmynach today enjoys a good tourist trade and in the Summer the guest houses and hotels are full, the beaches well populated and the economy thriving.
The railway continues to meet the needs of local and slate traffic but is also able to cater for an ever increasing tourist role. It provides a very self-respecting cafe which has found favour with its own workforce, the tourists and of course the locals, who are able to have a cup of tea and a gossip before returning home on the afternoon train.
The goods yard is served by one goods platform, all goods being man-handled on and off the trains. There are three passenger roads with rail-level platforms, although one has a short raised platform. A two-road locomotive shed provides accommodation and servicing for six locomotives - this was the original and only shed but is now better described as the 'running shed', repairs and overhauls being performed in the workshops.
Another road, primarily for the slate traffic, runs through a wing of the workshops and continues to the trans-shipment area. Two sidings provide mostly storage space for a variety of wagons. These nine lines converge to one single track, which then runs under the bridge carrying the coast road and into Tyddyn-Glas Cutting on its way to Rhyffedd Coed.
Before you go on your tour, why not take a look at the locomotives and coaches which might be used on your train, or the goods vehicles you might notice on your journey? To return here, just use the 'back' button on your own pc browser.
Perhaps you might like a closer look at some of the buildings at Llanmynach. Again, to return here, use the 'back' button on your own pc browser.