Cefn Onn - Railway

Just beyond the eastern boundary of Parc Cefn Onn runs the Cardiff to Caerphilly railway line. This passes through a tunnel, the southerly end of which begins roughly level with the upper section of the park.

The original line was 8 miles long and ran from "Crockherbtown Bridge" to "New Cemetery", Llanishen, and finally through the tunnel to Caerphilly. (Crockherbtown Bridge was on the site of what is now Cardiff Queen Street Station.)

Building of the tunnel began in September 1866 by Messrs Logan and Hemmingway and their engineer Mr. E Dawson. The tunnel is 25 feet high, 20 feet wide and a mile and an eighth long. Construction commenced by sinking five brick-lined shafts from the hillside above, and then tunnelling north and south from each until the tunnels of adjacent shafts met. Having fulfilled their primary purpose these shafts now act as ventilation shafts. Water was a problem during the tunnel's construction and pumps were used to remove an average of 1,600 gallons per minute. Except for a slight curve at the south end the tunnel is almost perfectly straight.

At two minutes past one on the 3rd December 1870 the first train, which consisted of three or four carriages and a guard's van, left Crockherbtown Bridge to pass through the tunnel bound for Caerphilly. The first passenger service took place on April 1st 1871.[1]

Cefn Onn Halt is shown on Ordnance Survey maps as early as 1910. Regular passenger services began after the Council opened Parc Cefn Onn, which rapidly became very popular, and until 1952 it was only accessible by footpath or railway.[2] The path up from the railway emerged at the junction of the lower and upper parks shown by the railings in the photograph below.

Railings

Looking towards the bridge and railway

Cefn Onn Halt closed on 27th September 1986,[3] to be replaced by the new Thornhill and Lisvane station nearby. Although closed and fenced off, the platforms still exist, as do the path and steps leading down from the park to the railway line. Evidence of the bridge over the railway line can also still be seen.

The line is still in regular use and runs from Cardiff Central to Cardiff Queen Street, Heath High Level, Llanishen, Lisvane & Thornhill, through the tunnel to Caerphilly and then northwards through several stops, finally ending at Rhymney.[4]

In 2016 the pathway between the park and the old station was re-laid and the fencing replaced. There is now a locked gate between the pathway and the steps down to the platform. Metal railings have also been placed on the edges of both platforms..

Sources of Information

In general, the information in this section is taken from the Cardiff Times 10th December 1870 page 6

Other sources are:

  1. Cardiff Times 8th April 1871 page 7
  2. Cardiff Times 18th April 1953
  3. Cefn Onn Halt
  4. Cardiff railway map