Editing Glamorgan (section)

===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]].