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71-630: Responding to competitive pressure the company obtained authorisation to connect its network to Swansea and Carmarthen, but the failure of a contractor put the company into financial difficulty, and a financial reconstruction later led to the Swansea and Carmarthen lines passing to the London and North Western Railway, while the original core system was taken over by the Great Western Railway. The line from Swansea to Llandovery became part of

142-657: A harbour at Llanelly for onward transport of the finished product by coastal shipping. There were extensive mineral deposits further inland at Cross Hands , and exploitation of the minerals needed a longer railway; the distance was 16 miles and Raby was the prime mover in the formation of the Carmarthenshire Railway or Tramroad Company for the purpose. The tramroad was the first railway in Wales to obtain an authorising act of Parliament, which it did in June 1802 with

213-424: A junction at Abergwili, a mile or so north of Carmarthen. The C&CR was broad gauge at that time, and a third rail to make mixed gauge would need to be laid. Anglicisation Anglicisation or Anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England . It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English or place adopts

284-670: A narrow gauge (as 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in or 1,435 mm standard gauge was described at the time) mineral branch line, and for some time considered a viaduct to avoid the flat crossing of the Llanelly lines, which seemed to be the point at issue. The issue continued fruitlessly until the SWR opened its main line in October 1852; a flat crossing was provided and the Llanelly Company insisted on controlling

355-574: A new quay at Machynis Pool (now spelt Machynys) was feasible; there would need to be an incline down from St Davids to Dafen . The proprietors of the Llangennech Coal Company promoted a bill in Parliament, to make a wet dock for vessels up to 300 tons at Machynis with wharves and warehouses, and build the railway to St Davids. The Llanelly Railway and Dock Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4 . c. xci) was passed on 19 June 1828, authorising

426-480: A particularly important customer. Not only the Llangennech Coal Company but numerous other pits came to use the line and the dock. The company paid a 3% dividend in 1837 and 1838 and paid a remarkable 12% in 1839. Horse traction was used exclusively on the line for several years, but from January 1858 a locomotive was employed. With opening of the dock and the Dafen line in 1834, the directors were already thinking of

497-544: A railway line northwards from Llanelly and Llangennech to Llandilo . Such a line would open up access to known important coal deposits in the valley of the River Amman , and Llandilo was an important agricultural centre. The Llanelly Railway and Dock Company Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4 . c. xcvi) was passed on 21 August 1835, and the company was retitled the Llanelly Railway and Dock Company . The line

568-430: A third "Dock" station opened in 1869 replacing the first station. In this period, trains called at both stations, referred to as "Llanelly" and "Dock" (or "Llanelly Docks") in timetables respectively. In 1879, the layout and station arrangements were simplified, as described below. Throughout this period, Swansea had been growing in importance as an industrial centre, and its docks had been, much extended and enhanced. At

639-577: The British Isles , when Celts under the sovereignty of the king of England underwent a process of anglicisation. The Celtic language decline in England was mostly complete by 1000 AD, but continued in Cornwall and other regions until the 18th century. In Scotland , the decline of Scottish Gaelic began during the reign of Malcolm III of Scotland to the point where by the mid-14th century

710-543: The Carmarthenshire Railway or Tramroad Company Act 1802 ( 42 Geo. 3 . c. lxxx); the capital was £250,000. Charles Nevill came to Llanelly and in 1804 established a copper works with an associated harbour facility. There were extensive deposits of anthracite coal at Llangennech on the River Loughor estuary east of Llanelly, and about this time an expansion of the mining there took place, with associated construction of short tramroads. The Llangennech Coal Company

781-899: The Danish city København ( Copenhagen ), the Russian city of Moskva ( Moscow ), the Swedish city of Göteborg ( Gothenburg ), the Dutch city of Den Haag ( The Hague ), the Spanish city of Sevilla ( Seville ), the Egyptian city of Al-Qāhira ( Cairo ), and the Italian city of Firenze ( Florence ). The Indian city of Kolkata used to be anglicised as Calcutta , until the city chose to change its official name back to Kolkata in 2001. Anglicisation of words and names from indigenous languages occurred across

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852-629: The English language or culture; institutional, in which institutions are influenced by those of England or the United Kingdom ; or linguistic , in which a non-English term or name is altered due to the cultural influence of the English language. It can also refer to the influence of English soft power , which includes media, cuisine, popular culture, technology, business practices, laws and political systems. Anglicisation first occurred in

923-616: The English-speaking world in former parts of the British Empire . Toponyms in particular have been affected by this process. In the past, the names of people from other language areas were anglicised to a higher extent than today. This was the general rule for names of Latin or (classical) Greek origin. Today, the anglicised name forms are often retained for the more well-known persons, like Aristotle for Aristoteles, and Adrian (or later Hadrian ) for Hadrianus. During

994-708: The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands . Until the 19th century, most significant period for anglicisation in those regions was the High Middle Ages . Between 1000 and 1300, the British Isles became increasingly anglicised. Firstly, the ruling classes of England, who were of Norman origin after the Norman Conquest of 1066, became anglicised as their separate Norman identity, different from

1065-526: The Llanelly Railroad and Dock Company , with share capital of £14,000. Only horse traction could be used. At the time of the Committee hearings 83% of the capital had already been subscribed. The upper terminal was described as Gelly Gille Farm. Priestley reported on the act: This work was projected for the purpose of conveying the minerals and other productions of the country near its line to

1136-556: The Scots language was the dominant national language among the Scottish people . In Wales , however, the Welsh language has continued to be spoken by a large part of the country's population due to language revival measures aimed at countering historical anglicisation measures such as the Welsh not . In the early parts of the 19th century, mostly due to increased immigration from

1207-781: The Swansea Vale Extension Railway , and it opened on 1 January 1864 for mineral traffic. By the end of 1864 through operation between the Swansea Vale Extension and the Llanelly Railway was established at Brynamman, and the two lines formed a significant through route for goods traffic from Swansea to Liverpool . In May 1864 a passenger service to Brynamman was established on the Swansea Vale line. The Llanelly company decided to start its own passenger service to Brynamman, extending

1278-462: The Welsh educational system . English "was perceived as the language of progress, equality, prosperity, mass entertainment and pleasure". This and other administrative reforms resulted in the institutional and cultural dominance of English and marginalisation of Welsh, especially in the more urban south and north-east of Wales. In 2022, the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities warned that

1349-692: The conquest of Wales by Edward I , which involved English and Flemish settlers being "planted" in various newly established settlements in Welsh territory. English settlers in Ireland mostly resided in the Pale , a small area concentrated around Dublin . However, much of the land the English settled was not intensively used or densely populated. The culture of settling English populations in Wales and Ireland remained heavy influenced by that of England. These communities were also socially and culturally segregated from

1420-635: The Central Wales Line connecting to Shrewsbury and the north-west, but after the 1960s only the Llanelli to Llandovery line and short colliery connections in the Amman Valley remained in use. Before 1971 many place names had Anglicised spelling . The railway system was slow to convert the names of railway locations. For consistency, this article generally uses contemporary spellings. In the eighteenth century minerals had been extracted in

1491-666: The Islands. The upper class in the Channel Islands supported anglicising the Islands, due to the social and economic benefits it would bring. Anglophiles such as John Le Couteur strove to introduce English culture to Jersey . Anglicisation was an essential element in the development of British society and of the development of a unified British polity. Within the British Isles , anglicisation can be defined as influence of English culture in Scotland , Wales , Ireland ,

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1562-457: The Llanelly company proceeded with the Swansea and Carmarthen lines themselves, running into considerable practical and financial difficulties from landowners and otherwise in the process. The Central Wales Extension Railway was naturally keen for the lines to be completed, and it facilitated friendly contact with the London and North Western Railway and the Llanelly company; could not the LNWR finance

1633-457: The New Dock at Llanelly was opened for mineral traffic on 1 June 1839. From Pontardulais construction was directed towards the Amman Valley as having greater income potential than the rural route towards Llandilo. From Pontardulais to Cwmamman (later called Garnant) was opened on 10 April 1840 and the line was extended to Gwaun-cae-Gurwen on 6 May 1841. There were two rope worked inclines on

1704-479: The South Wales Railway (SWR) was constructing its 7 ft  1 ⁄ 4  in ( 2,140 mm ) line from near Gloucester to Fishguard. (The western terminal was later changed to Neyland ). The South Wales Railway, routed east to west, needed to cross both the lines of the Llanelly company, and the latter started to make obstructions to the process. The exact configuration of the crossing

1775-698: The Swansea and Carmarthen lines with the Central Wales Railway, and running powers over the Central Wales line from Craven Arms , not far from Shrewsbury on the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway . The Llanelly directors favoured Penson and his partners, and the arrangement was agreed at a shareholders' extraordinary general meeting on 31 October 1860. The partners soon turned out to be insubstantial, as Johns and then Savin withdrew. Having lost their source of finance and project management,

1846-501: The United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland ). For acts passed up until 1707, see the list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see the list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts of

1917-419: The Welsh people did not move abroad in search of employment during the early modern era, and thus did not have to learn to speak English. Furthermore, migration patterns created a cultural division of labour, with national migrants tending to work in coalfields or remain in rural villages, while non-national migrants were attracted to coastal towns and cities. This preserved monocultural Welsh communities, ensuring

1988-537: The anglicisation of the Welsh culture and language. Motives for anglicising Wales included securing Protestant England against incursions from Catholic powers in Continental Europe and promoting the power of the Welsh Tudor dynasty in the rest of England. Scholars have argued that industrialisation prevented Wales from being anglicised to the extent of Ireland and Scotland, as the majority of

2059-437: The area around Llanelly , and smelting of metals was taking place locally well before the end of that century. Conveyance of heavy minerals over the primitive roads of the day was an expensive and difficult business. Alexander Raby purchased mineral-bearing lands about 1795 and constructed tramways to bring the minerals to a smelting plant he owned at Furnace, near Llanelly. The tramways were wooden waggonways, and they extended to

2130-474: The branch, one of them a mile in length. The (Great) Mountain branch opened on 6 May 1841 to goods and mineral traffic only; the route, included a half mile balanced cable incline at a gradient of 1 in 12. In 1841 the company provided a return to the Board of Trade summarising certain aspects of the line's operation; significant portions of the line were operated by horse traction only. Where locomotives were used

2201-594: The branch. These were fruitless, and the Llanelly company eventually built it, opening it in January 1859. The company now returned to the extension to Llandilo; with the financial performance improved, it was possible to seek further finance, and in 1853 it obtained the Llanelly Railway and Dock Act 1853 ( 16 & 17 Vict. c. clxix) re-authorising the Llandilo line with considerable new capital. Included

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2272-416: The company are to build wharfs, warehouses and other works necessary for the purposes of the act. The length of the railway is two miles and three hundred yards, in which distance there is a rise of 68 feet above high water-mark; the dock is two hundred yards by fifty-five at the bottom, calculated to hold twenty-one vessels of three hundred tons as mentioned above; the depth is 16 feet below high-water-mark of

2343-532: The continued prominence of the Welsh language and customs within them. However, other scholars argue that industrialisation and urbanisation led to economic decline in rural Wales, and given that the country's large towns and cities were anglicised, this led to an overall anglicisation of the nation. The Elementary Education Act 1870 and the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 introduced compulsory English-language education into

2414-653: The conversion of the lease term, and negotiations between the two companies were tense and protracted, and in July 1865 Vale of Towy shareholders rejected a draft lease that had been negotiated. Already in November 1863 the Central Wales Extension Railway had approached the Vale of Towy about a lease; this line was to connect from the north, and eventually formed part of the Central Wales line, on which

2485-431: The crossing. An exchange goods shed was built at the SWR station, served by a spur from the Llanelly Railway, opened in June 1853. The dock at Llanelly was not walled, but had unimproved sloping margins; timber jetties with shoots were erected for loading vessels. The harbour pool was gated, and from time to time the provision of a second set of gates forming a lock was considered, but not proceeded with. Hydraulic machinery

2556-434: The decline of French brought about the adoption of more values and social structures from Victorian era England. Eventually, this led to the Channel Islands's culture becoming mostly anglicised, which supplanted the traditional Norman-based culture of the Islands. From 1912, the educational system of the Channel Islands was delivered solely in English, following the norms of the English educational system . Anglicisation

2627-566: The devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act's title is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by

2698-417: The direct line from Llandilo. In 1852 a platform was opened adjacent to the newly opened South Wales Railway station, reached by a line on from the earlier station by a westward sweep close to the dock itself, then running for some distance immediately on the south side of the South Wales Railway main line, which was broad gauge at this time. The connecting line towards the SWR station was made more direct, and

2769-554: The emigration of Anglophones to Welsh-speaking villages and towns was putting the Welsh language at risk. During the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a nationwide effort in the United States to anglicise all immigrants to the US . This was carried out through methods including (but not limited to) mandating the teaching of American English and having all immigrants change their first names to English-sounding names. This movement

2840-503: The existing Garnant branch service. The Board of Trade were asked to carry out the necessary formal inspection to approve passenger working, but the proposed method of operation, by telegraph and block system, was not considered safe for passenger operation on a single line. A further inspection in March 1865 noted that the terminus station at Brynamman was to be on a gradient of 1 in 57, an arrangement also considered unsafe, and authorisation

2911-492: The harbours on Milford Haven was growing. The Llanelly company could not afford to ignore the potential of a connection to Swansea and Carmarthen, even though it would diminish the value of its own dock. Since the company was short of capital, the way forward had to include a means of financing the new lines. On successive days in October 1860, rival entrepreneurs waited on the Llanelly Board with proposals for connecting

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2982-480: The highest spring tides, and the flood-gates at the entrance are 36 feet wide. Mr. F. Foster estimated the whole at £11,736, 3s. 4d. including £8,074, 10s. the cost of the dock and other conveniences. The engineer’s estimate was subscribed for in equal portions by Messrs. D. T. Shears, J. H. Shears, T. Margrave and W. Ellwood, Jun. The act stipulated that the railway and the dock could only be opened together, not independently, and that had to be within five years. In fact

3053-403: The identity of the native Anglo-Saxons , became replaced with a single English national identity . Secondly, English communities in Wales and Ireland emphasised their English identities, which became established through the settlement of various parts of Wales and Ireland between the 11th and 17th centuries under the guidance of successive English kings. In Wales, this primarily occurred during

3124-578: The last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Acts passed from 1963 onwards are simply cited by calendar year and chapter number. All modern acts have a short title , e.g. the Local Government Act 2003. Some earlier acts also have a short title given to them by later acts, such as by the Short Titles Act 1896 . The first session of

3195-512: The line. Richard Kyrke Penson, Thomas Savin and a man named Johns proposed that the Llanelly company promote railways from Pontardulais to Swansea, from Llandilo to Carmarthen, and from Llandovery to Brecon , which they would finance. Accordingly, they would take a ten-year lease of the Llanelly Company; at the time the Llanelly Company was only earning 1% and an apparently guaranteed 4% (after five years) appeared very attractive. The following day Henry Robertson appeared proposing joint construction of

3266-704: The native Irish and Welsh, a distinction which was reinforced by government legislation such as the Statutes of Kilkenny . During the Middle Ages , Wales was gradually conquered by the English. The institutional anglicisation of Wales was finalised with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 , which fully incorporated Wales into the Kingdom of England . This not only institutionally anglicised Wales, but brought about

3337-466: The new railways; in fact would not full amalgamation be desirable? Proposals were worked up for a new line from Pontardulais to Swansea, taking a southern sweep through Dunvant , where there were said to be extensive unworked coal measures. There was to be a branch from that line to Penclawdd . A second line was to run from Llandilo back to Carmarthen, joining the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway at

3408-474: The north of England. The connection to the north of England was to be facilitated by the independent Vale of Towy Railway . In 1853 a parliamentary bill had been presented, and as it was unopposed, its passage easily led to royal assent being granted to the Vale of Towy Railway Act 1854 ( 17 & 18 Vict. c. cl) on 10 July 1854, for a line from Llandovery to Llandilo. Capital was £55,000 and mixed gauge track

3479-399: The outset. and a station was opened at Talley Road shortly after the general opening to passengers. The Llanelly Railway station at Llandilo was used by Vale of Towy trains. The Vale of Towy Railway (Leasing) Act 1858 ( 21 & 22 Vict. c. cxlvii) came into force on 2 August 1858 and authorised the Llanelly Railway and Dock Company (LR&DC) to lease the Vale of Towy line. The lease

3550-550: The passenger operation is marketed at the present time as the Heart of Wales Line . The Swansea Vale Railway had started life as a mineral line running north-east from Swansea. In 1861 it obtained an act of Parliament, the Swansea Vale Railway Extension Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. clxii), giving authorisation to extend to Brynamman, approaching from the east; this part of the line was known as

3621-476: The rest of the British Isles, the town of St Helier in the Channel Islands became a predominantly English-speaking place, though bilingualism was still common. This created a divided linguistic geography, as the people of the countryside continued to use forms of Norman French , and many did not even know English. English became seen in the Channel Islands as "the language of commercial success and moral and intellectual achievement". The growth of English and

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3692-540: The same time Llanelly Dock had stagnated, and its limitations were evident. The Swansea Vale extension line to Brynamman (aligned to the Midland Railway) and the South Wales Railway (by now absorbed by the Great Western Railway) gave easy access for local industry to Swansea, to the disadvantage of Llanelly. At the same time Carmarthen was an important centre in its own right, and the importance of

3763-415: The sea, and the dock was for the readier shipment and landing of the exports and imports to be conveyed thereon... [By the authorising act] the proprietors are incorporated under the style of "The Llanelly Railroad and Dock Company.”... The dock [is] to be so constructed as to be large enough for ships of three hundred tons burthen, with slips, poles, beacons, warping and mooring buoys, chains and capstans, and

3834-464: The seam at the St Davids pit proved more elusive than expected, and was finally found in June 1832 at a depth of 660 feet, the deepest in Wales at the time. The delay meant that the works could not be completed within the authorised time, and a second act of Parliament, the Llanelly Railway and Dock Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4 . c. lii), was obtained allowed a time extension; it also permitted

3905-408: The speed was limited to 9 miles per hour. There was stated to be "scarcely any passenger traffic, coal and mineral produce being the chief and almost only trade over the line to Llanelly". The passenger business appears to have been achieved by attaching passenger vehicles to mineral trains, without an organised timetable. Two locomotives were in use on the line from 1840. In June 1842 a further branch

3976-400: The time in which there were large influxes of immigrants from Europe to the United States and United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries, the names of many immigrants were never changed by immigration officials but only by personal choice. 3 %26 4 Will. 4 This is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the year 1833 . The first parliament of

4047-468: The use of steam locomotives on the line. The dock at Machynis, now called the New Dock, was completed in 1834, although the dock and railway appear to have been first used on 16 July 1833. It was stated to be the first public wet dock in Wales. The existence of the railway and the dock quickly led to considerable business, especially in the foreign export of coal; the East India Company was

4118-487: The year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800 is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3 c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. The modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of

4189-399: Was again postponed. Authorisation for passenger working on the Llanelly line was given on 20 March 1865; it is not recorded how the considerable gradient easement was achieved. It appears that the two companies had their Brynamman stations alongside one another. The Llanelly company announced that passenger services would start on 20 March 1865; Garnant station appears to have been closed, and

4260-483: Was authorised, as sale to the Great Western Railway or its allies was still contemplated. It opened its line to passengers on 1 April 1858, but goods trains had been running since either 17 February or 1 March. It was just over 11 miles long and had five wooden viaducts over the Towy. It was worked by the Llanelly company. There were intermediate stations at Lampeter Road (later renamed Llanwrda), Llangadog, and Glanrhyd from

4331-456: Was for an initial ten years with an option later to extend it. In fact the LR&;DC became alarmed that other railway companies were taking an interest in the Vale of Towy, and they included conversion of the lease term to perpetuity in the Llanelly Railway and Dock Act 1860 ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. clxi), which they obtained on 23 July 1860. In fact the act authorised but did not compel

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4402-464: Was formed, and concentrated on shipping from Spitty (or Yspitty) on the Loughor. However the available quays were suitable only for small vessels, and the main trade was lighterage to Llanelly Harbour for transhipment, incurring additional expense. When it was decided to develop the St Davids pit above Dafen, the opportunity to improve transport to the sea showed itself; a railway directly from Dafen to

4473-713: Was known as Americanization and is considered a subset of Anglicization due to English being the dominant language in the United States. Linguistic anglicisation is the practice of modifying foreign words, names, and phrases to make them easier to spell, pronounce or understand in English . The term commonly refers to the respelling of foreign words, often to a more drastic degree than that implied in, for example, romanisation . Non-English words may be anglicised by changing their form and/or pronunciation to something more familiar to English speakers. Some foreign place names are commonly anglicised in English. Examples include

4544-649: Was made with Ianson, Fossick and Hackworth to work and maintain the line. They operated a through passenger service between Swansea and Llandilo from May 1850, consisting of omnibuses at each end and railway transit from Pontardulais and Duffryn. The contract had been intended to operate for seven years but it was terminated by mutual consent in August 1853. In 1850 the passenger trains on the line appeared in Bradshaw's guide; stations were at Llanelly Dock, Bynea, Llangennech, Pontardulais, Cross Inn and Garnant. By this time

4615-423: Was not laid down in the South Wales Railway Act 1845 ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. cxc), and in the event of failure to agree arrangements the matter would have gone to a jury for determination. The Llanelly had experienced difficulty in obtaining subscriptions to complete its intended line to Llandilo, and for some time held out for the purchase by the SWR of its entire network for £230,000. The SWR had no wish to acquire

4686-406: Was opened, from Garnant (Cwmamman) to Brynamman . The continuing expansion of the mineral business resulted in five locomotives being in use on the line by 1847. The South Wales Railway was planning a trunk main line from near Gloucester to Fishguard . The Llanelly company attempted to sell its line to the South Wales Railway, but that approach did not bear fruit, and in January 1850 a contract

4757-414: Was provided from March 1858 by the Llanelly Dock Hydraulic Company, an entity evidently established for the purpose. With the South Wales Railway established, there was pressure to connect the dock at Llanelly to it by a broad gauge connection so as to bring business to the dock. The dock was an intrinsic part of the Llanelly company's business, but once again it engaged in attempts to get the SWR to pay for

4828-408: Was relocated "half a mile down the branch" and re-opened at the same time. The SVR was authorised to open its passenger service to Brynamman on 27 February 1868, and agreement was reached for interchange arrangements at the station. The Swansea Vale Railway was absorbed by the Midland Railway . The sequence of stations at Llanelly developed over time; the first (1839) station was close to the dock, on

4899-435: Was supported by the British government , and it was suggested that anglicisation would not only encourage loyalty and congeniality between the Channel Islands and Britain, but also provide economic prosperity and improved "general happiness". During the 19th century, there was concern over the practise of sending young Channel Islanders to France for education, as they might have brought back French culture and viewpoints back to

4970-450: Was the possibility of building it to the broad gauge and converting the existing network similarly, leaving open the option of selling the concern to the SWR. On 1 March 1855 a contract was let for the work, and the line was opened ceremonially to Llandilo on 20 January 1857, and to the public on 24 January. A local newspaper reported that it was now possible to look forward to the day when Llandilo would be connected by rail with ports in

5041-459: Was to run from the south side of the New Dock, avoiding interference with the Dafen line which ran to the north side. The main line would run through Llangennech, Pontardulais and Llandebie . There were to be thirteen branches, mostly short spurs to nearby pits but including one to Gelli Fawr and Garnant , and another to Cross Hands on Mynydd Mawr , later to be known as the Mountain Branch, or Great Mountain Branch. The line from Pontardulais to

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