I thought I should take advantage of the great weather we are currently enjoying to re-capture the Rhondda Valley in sunnier conditions.
A pair of Arriva Trains Wales Class 143 Pacer DMU's is seen passing the former Lewis Merthyr Colliery at Trehafod in the Rhondda Valley, on the Treherbert to Cardiff service. The colliery was one of the most productive mines in South Wales which closed in 1983 and is now preserved as the Rhondda Heritage Park. Today, the Rhondda line is only used by passenger services, but within living memory, substantial tonnages of coal were transported along the line from the collieries in the Rhondda Valley to the ports of Barry, Cardiff and Newport. One of the legacies of coal mining in South Wales is that a substantial rail network has survived, enjoyed today by thousands of commuters to Cardiff and other valley destinations.
