Editing Glamorgan (section)

==Transport==

{{See also|Transport in Wales}}

===Roads===
The earliest forms of transport within Glamorgan were mere paths or trackways linking one settlement to another.<ref name="Evans33">Evans (1948) p.33</ref> With continual use the tracks widened to allow different forms of travel, including the use by pack horses; and as the tracks became more recognisable the first primitive roads came into being. The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] established a route, Via Julia Maritima, to service their garrisons across South Wales and this is followed largely by the present [[A48 road|A48]].<ref name="Motorway Archive History"/> However, for 1,000 years after the Romans there was little need for major roads.<ref name="ICE Proceedings"/> Early roads were not systematically managed, and in Glamorgan as in the rest of Wales, they were in a very poor state.<ref name="Evans34">Evans (1948) p.34</ref> Towards Tudor times the upkeep and repair of the roads came under the administration of each parish, with six days of the week during the summer allowed for track repairs. These repairs were rarely completed and the roadways continued to suffer.<ref name="Evans34"/> The [[Highways Act 1555]] required each landowner to produce a cart, horses or bullocks, and two men to work 4 days on roads. Supervision was by two unpaid surveyors appointed by the parish. By the late 1600s the situation improved as surveyors were appointed by the magistrates, who were allowed to levy a rate to pay for some of the work.<ref name="ICE Proceedings"/>

In 1756, after the shire of Glamorgan had come under the rule of the crown, Wales adopted a toll system for the maintenance of the roads; with the governance falling under the control of the [[turnpike trust]]s. Further Turnpike Acts came into force in 1799 and 1810, and these Acts allowed trustees to collect a toll for the use of certain roads within a district.<ref name="Evans35">Evans (1948) p.35</ref> In South Wales there were turnpikes along the coast, more or less following the present motorway line, up the Merthyr Valley and across the hills to [[Abergavenny]], [[Brecon]], [[Llandovery]] and down to [[Carmarthen]].<ref name="ICE Proceedings"/> This system improved travelling conditions, allowing for stage coaches which were then coming into general use.<ref name="Evans35"/> Although the roads improved there were those who felt that the tolls were unjust, and there was a popular uprising between 1839 and 1843 known as the [[Rebecca Riots]] where agitators attacked and destroyed the [[toll house]]s. Although most of these attacks occurred in Carmarthenshire, there were reports of attacks within Glamorgan, most notably in Swansea.<ref>[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/lesson48.htm Rebecca Riots – Both the villages of Llangyfelach and Pontarddulais are villages near Swansea in Glamorgan] nationalarchives.gov.uk</ref> In 1846, county highway boards were established in south Wales, to buy out the turnpike trusts and take over their functions.<ref name="Motorway Archive History">{{cite web|url=http://www.motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/waleshist.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331115442/http://www.motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/waleshist.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 March 2022|title=The history of motorway development in Wales|publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust|access-date=3 January 2010}}</ref> In 1878 all roads that had ceased to be turnpiked after 1870 were deemed as 'main roads' by the [[Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act 1878]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://archives.northyorks.gov.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=1&dsqSearch=(RefNo=='QAH') |title=Highways, 1862–1901|publisher=northyorks.gov.uk}}</ref> The turnpike system was eventually abolished by the [[Local Government Act 1888]] and the roads were placed under the management of the local county council.<ref name="Evans38">Evans (1948), p.38</ref> County highway boards were disbanded. There were, however, a number of urban areas within Glamorgan that retained the right to control their own highways, and the county council never achieved control of the whole highway network.<ref name="Motorway Archive History"/>

Proposals for a high-quality new road across South Wales were first made in the 1930s. However, the [[dual carriageway|dualling]] of the A48 Neath bypass was only completed in 1960, with the A48(M) Port Talbot bypass following in 1966. The latter road, an early example of dual carriageway construction through a built-up area, was the first length of [[motorway]] opened to traffic in Wales.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ciht.org.uk/motorway/m4corbag.htm|title=M4 in Wales. Coryton to Baglan (J32 to J41)|publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust|access-date=5 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221224744/http://www.ciht.org.uk/motorway/m4corbag.htm|archive-date=21 February 2012}}</ref> The Ministry of Transport initially envisaged that the new [[M4 motorway]] would terminate at Tredegar Park near [[Newport, Wales|Newport]], with a series of bypasses to improve the A48 further west. The creation of the [[Welsh Office]] led to a re-appraisal of policy and a decision to extend the M4 further into Glamorgan. By 1970, the Welsh Office was committed to building a new route all the way to [[Pont Abraham]] in Carmarthenshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/m4wales.htm#thetop|title=The M4 in Wales|publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust|access-date=4 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122052452/http://www.motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/m4wales.htm#thetop|archive-date=22 January 2011}}</ref> The 1960s also saw the construction of the first road across the [[Heads of the Valleys]], with the A465 [[Neath]]-[[Abergavenny]] trunk road opening in 1964.<ref name="ICE Proceedings">{{cite journal|author1=D.H. New |author2=A.L. Benjamin |author3=K.S. Miles |date=February 1978|title=Some features of the Aberdulais to Llandarcy section of the Neath-Abergavenny trunk road (A465)|journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers|volume=64|issue=1|pages=153–154|doi=10.1680/iicep.1978.2747 }}</ref><ref>Jenkins (1992), p.375</ref> However, even at the outset there were complaints about the capacity and safety of its single carriageway, three-lane design.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1960/feb/17/heads-of-the-valleys-road#S5CV0617P0_19600217_CWA_25|title=Hansard – Written Answers (Commons)|date=17 February 1960|work=Heads of the Valleys Road|access-date=5 January 2010}}</ref>

===Waterways and ports===
Due to Glamorgan's long coastline, several settlements grew and prospered as harbour and port towns. In 1801, Swansea was Glamorgan's largest urban area with a population five times that of Cardiff's.<ref name="Davies840">Davies (2008), p.840</ref> [[Cowbridge]] was the capital town of the Vale, and the centre of agricultural trade, with surplus stock being shipped to the coastal village of Aberthaw<ref name="Davies116">Davies (2008), p. 116</ref> and to a lesser extent [[Newton, Bridgend|Newton]].<ref name="Davies697">Davies (2008), p. 697</ref> Where there were breaks in the rocky coastline, small fishing and cockling communities existed, such as Port Eynon and [[Penclawdd]].

The event that changed the face of coastal Glamorgan was the growth of the Merthyr iron industry. Merthyr needed a coastal export point for its iron and Cardiff was the obvious choice being at the mouth of the River Taff.<ref name="Davies116"/> A road was built to connect the two towns, but with only horses to move the cargo, transportation was cumbersome; therefore an alternative was planned. Although Glamorgan had a large number of rivers, few were navigable for any considerable length.<ref name="Davies111">Davies (2008), p.111</ref> Between 1790 and 1794, acts of Parliament were obtained for the construction of three canals within Glamorgan, the [[Glamorganshire Canal]] (1790), [[Neath and Tennant Canal|Neath Canal]] (1791) and the [[Swansea Canal]] (1794). All three were vital in increasing the transportation of iron, copper, steel and coal from the uplands of the county to the ports at Swansea and Cardiff. Although the first stages of all three canals were completed by 1800 and revolutionised the commercial transportation systems of Glamorgan; in 1804 at Penydarren Ironworks, [[Richard Trevithick]]'s [[Pen-y-Darren (locomotive)|"Pen-y-Darren" locomotive]] became the first engine to pull a load along rails;<ref name="Davies886">Davies (2008), p.886</ref> heralding the coming of the railways, which would eventually replace the canals.

The [[Cardiff Docks|port at Cardiff]] grew quickly during the 19th century, not as a mass exporter of iron but of coal, transported from Pontypridd and the [[Cynon Valley|Cynon]] and Rhondda Valleys. From 1840 to 1870 Cardiff's export tonnage of coal increased from 44,350 to 2,219,000.<ref name="Davies117">Davies (2008), p.117</ref> By 1871, Cardiff had outgrown all of its Welsh rivals to become the most populous town in the country<ref name="Davies117"/> [[Swansea Docks]] continued to be the world's leading exporter of copper, but did not experience the growth of Cardiff due to poor links to the coalfields. Ambitious attempts were made to link Swansea's docks to coal rich areas, such as the [[Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway]], but these plans were never truly economically successful. The biggest threat to Cardiff's dominance came in the early 20th century at [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]]. In 1881, Barry had 484 inhabitants, after an 1884 act of Parliament{{which|date=July 2024}} authorising the construction of a docks and railway link, the town grew to over 27,000 by 1901.<ref name="Davies52">Davies (2008) p.52</ref> The chief advocate of Barry's growth as a dock was [[David Davies (industrialist)|David Davies]], and in 1901 Barry was exporting more coal than Cardiff, peaking in 1913 when it shipped 11.41 million tons.<ref name="Davies52"/>

The [[Great Depression in the United Kingdom|interwar depression]] experienced by Great Britain brought an end to the prosperity of the Glamorgan ports.<ref name="Davies699">Davies (2008), p.699</ref> During the Second World War, the main ports of Glamorgan were heavily targeted by German bombing raids, though exports were not severely disrupted. By the second half of the 20th century none of the county's docks showed any growth, and with the collapse of the coal trade in South Wales Cardiff and Barry Docks became near derelict, shipping mainly general cargo. Swansea also suffered a vast reduction on trade with the end of the area as a world leader in copper smelting. The only dock to remain a viable exporter was the [[Port of Port Talbot]]. First built in 1839,<ref name="Davies697"/> the docks at Port Talbot were a minor concern in relation to the more established ports, but exports increased after the 1916 with the completion of the Margam Steelworks.<ref name="Davies697"/> Exports continued strongly when the [[Port Talbot Steelworks|Abbey Works]] were built in 1952. Port Talbot would eventually become the biggest exporting port in Glamorgan, and the second largest in Wales, only surpassed by [[Milford Haven (harbour)|Milford Haven]].

===Rail===
Before the use of locomotives, railway track was used at various stages of the canal system to link locations to which the waterways could not reach. These wagons on these tramlines would be pulled by horse over wooden rails, which later were replaced by wrought iron.<ref name="Evans39">Evans (1948), p.39</ref> In 1809 [[Richard Griffiths (industrialist)|Richard Griffiths]] built a private tram-road to the Glamorganshire Canal from his coal mine in Gyfeillion.<ref name="Lewis40">Lewis (1959), p.40</ref> The Gyfeillion site was extended further in 1811 to link [[Walter Coffin]]'s mine at [[Dinas Rhondda]],<ref name="Lewis42">Lewis (1959), p.42</ref> allowing the first viable transport link from the Rhondda coal fields to the ports of Cardiff.

The first railway network to be built in Glamorgan, the [[Taff Vale Railway]], was also the first in Wales. Linking the ironworks of Merthyr to the ports of Cardiff, the Taff Vale line was given royal assent in 1836, with work commencing the same year. It was completed in 1840, and as well as carrying goods the trains made limited passenger trips from the very beginning. By 1856 the Taff Vale Railway was extended to service the top of the Rhondda Valleys at [[Treherbert]] and [[Maerdy]], which allowed the exploitation of the minefields in one of the most coal-rich areas of Britain. The second major railway to open was the [[South Wales Railway]], linking Gloucester in England to [[Neyland]]. The line was designed to link the coalfields of Glamorgan to London, and was also part of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]'s vision of a transport link from London to New York. The South Wales Railway serviced Cardiff, Bridgend, Neath and Swansea, with its final destination within Glamorgan being [[Loughor]], before continuing through Carmarthenshire. Other railway lines that opened during the mid to late 19th century included the [[Vale of Neath Railway]], the [[Swansea Vale Railway]] and the [[Rhymney Railway]]; all designed with the primary purpose of transporting metals and coal from the uplands of the county to the ever-expanding ports. The cargo carried on these lines was of a very high volume, and in 1850 the Taff Vale Railway was transporting 600,000 tons of coal per annum.

Towards the turn of the 19th century, two notable events occurred connected to the Taff Vale Railway. In 1888, the [[Barry Railway Company]] was formed as part of [[David Davies (industrialist)|David Davies']] plan to create an alternative export port in south Wales at [[Barry Docks]]. As a threat to the monopoly of the TVR, the plans were heavily contested in Parliament, and more parliamentary time was spent on the Barry bill than on any other railway bill in British history.<ref name="Davies728">Davies (2008), p.728</ref> The second event saw the Taff Vale Railway Strike of 1900, an event that saw the House of Lords, in the [[Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants|Taff Vale Case]], deem [[trade union]]s accountable for the financial losses caused by strike action. The need to reverse the decision was a central factor in the creation of the British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].<ref name="Davies728"/>

In the 20th century, the railways saw a gradual drop in usage as the heavy industrial works and mines began to reduce output and close and many stations became redundant. Following the Second World War, the railways were nationalised in 1948. In the 1960s the main line services in Wales underwent [[dieselisation]], but this modernisation failed to save the rail system and by 1968 many passenger lines were discontinued by the [[Beeching Axe]].

===Airports===
Glamorgan was served by several airports and airfields, with [[Cardiff Airport]] being the county's chief airport. Cardiff Airport grew from a [[RAF Rhoose|former RAF station]] built in 1942 at [[Rhoose]],<ref name="Davies20">Davies (2008) p.20</ref> and was originally known as Rhoose Airport. In 1970 it became 'Glamorgan, Rhoose Airport' before becoming 'Cardiff-Wales airport' in the 1980s.

Glamorgan's second commercial airport was [[Swansea Airport]] which also began as an RAF station, before being released to commercial usage in 1956. The airport saw varying degrees of success until regular flights ceased in 1969. Several other airports and aerodromes have serviced Glamorgan, but usually for private flights. The most notorious aviation disaster in Wales occurred in Glamorgan in 1950, when a privately hired [[Avro Tudor]] crashed at [[RAF Llandow|Llandow Aerodrome]]. The [[Llandow air disaster]] was, at the time, the world's worst aviation disaster.<ref name="Davies816">Davies (2008), p.816</ref>