103-438: (Wales hath been, and Wales shall be) The Taff Vale Railway ( TVR ) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales , built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff . It was opened in stages in 1840 and 1841. In the railway's first years, the coal mining industries expanded considerably and branches were soon opened in
206-751: A cupola , but in modern applications, it is more often melted in electric induction furnaces or electric arc furnaces. After melting is complete, the molten cast iron is poured into a holding furnace or ladle. Cast iron's properties are changed by adding various alloying elements, or alloyants . Next to carbon , silicon is the most important alloyant because it forces carbon out of solution. A low percentage of silicon allows carbon to remain in solution, forming iron carbide and producing white cast iron. A high percentage of silicon forces carbon out of solution, forming graphite and producing grey cast iron. Other alloying agents, manganese , chromium , molybdenum , titanium , and vanadium counteract silicon, and promote
309-464: A 10-tonne impeller) to be sand cast, as the chromium reduces cooling rate required to produce carbides through the greater thicknesses of material. Chromium also produces carbides with impressive abrasion resistance. These high-chromium alloys attribute their superior hardness to the presence of chromium carbides. The main form of these carbides are the eutectic or primary M 7 C 3 carbides, where "M" represents iron or chromium and can vary depending on
412-649: A country (for example, 1,440 mm or 4 ft 8 + 11 ⁄ 16 in to 1,445 mm or 4 ft 8 + 7 ⁄ 8 in in France). The first tracks in Austria and in the Netherlands had other gauges ( 1,000 mm or 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in in Austria for the Donau Moldau line and 1,945 mm or 6 ft 4 + 9 ⁄ 16 in in
515-601: A parliamentary bill in the 1836 session. The Glamorganshire Canal Company opposed the bill, but it was passed and obtained royal assent on 21 June 1836 as the Taff Vale Railway Act 1836 ( 6 & 7 Will. 4 . c. lxxxii). The TVR Company was incorporated with capital of £300,000. The directors were Josiah Guest (who became its first chairman), Walter Coffin, Edward Lee, Thomas Guest, Thomas Guppy, Thomas Powell, Christopher James, Thomas Carlisle, Henry Rudhall, William Wait, William Watson, and Peter Maze. However, at
618-600: A personal friend, to estimate the cost of building a railway from Merthyr to Bute Docks in Cardiff. Brunel's estimate was £190,649. However, by the following year Brunel had revised his estimate upwards, to £286,031, to accommodate improved gradients, mineral branches and shipping staithes . In October 1835 a meeting of 'the Proprietors of Iron Works, Collieries, and others interested in the Minfral and other Property of
721-563: A rule of mixtures. In any case, they offer hardness at the expense of toughness . Since carbide makes up a large fraction of the material, white cast iron could reasonably be classified as a cermet . White iron is too brittle for use in many structural components, but with good hardness and abrasion resistance and relatively low cost, it finds use in such applications as the wear surfaces ( impeller and volute ) of slurry pumps , shell liners and lifter bars in ball mills and autogenous grinding mills , balls and rings in coal pulverisers . It
824-424: A spongy steel without the stress concentration effects that flakes of graphite would produce. The carbon percentage present is 3-4% and percentage of silicon is 1.8-2.8%.Tiny amounts of 0.02 to 0.1% magnesium , and only 0.02 to 0.04% cerium added to these alloys slow the growth of graphite precipitates by bonding to the edges of the graphite planes. Along with careful control of other elements and timing, this allows
927-510: A standard gauge of 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ), and those in Ireland to a new standard gauge of 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ). In Great Britain, Stephenson's gauge was chosen on the grounds that existing lines of this gauge were eight times longer than those of the rival 7 ft or 2,134 mm (later 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in or 2,140 mm ) gauge adopted principally by
1030-578: A stationary engine even though increasing volumes of output were putting a strain on the capacity of the system. At this stage the Pwllyrhebog branch served two collieries, Cwm Clydach and Blaenclydach, but in 1871 Thomas, Riches & Co sank an important new pit further up the Clydach Valley at Clydach Vale . In November 1871 the TVR agreed to extend the Pwllyrhebog branch to the new pit; in fact
1133-423: A time-consuming and expensive process. The result was the adoption throughout a large part of the world of a "standard gauge" of 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ), allowing interconnectivity and interoperability. A popular legend that has circulated since at least 1937 traces the origin of the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge even further back than
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#17327721484551236-559: A week. The line was single throughout with passing places at the stations. On double track sections and at crossing loops, right-hand running was employed for several years. A mineral branch from Pontypridd to Dinas Rhondda opened in June 1841. The Llancaiach Branch was authorised in the original Taff Vale Railway Act 1836 ( 6 & 7 Will. 4 . c. lxxxii). It opened on 25 November 1841 for mineral traffic only, from Stormstown south of Abercynon to three adjacent collieries at Llancaiach. There
1339-417: A wide range of applications and are used in pipes , machines and automotive industry parts, such as cylinder heads , cylinder blocks and gearbox cases. Some alloys are resistant to damage by oxidation . In general, cast iron is notoriously difficult to weld . The earliest cast-iron artefacts date to the 5th century BC, and were discovered by archaeologists in what is now Jiangsu , China. Cast iron
1442-399: A year after it was opened. The Dee bridge disaster was caused by excessive loading at the centre of the beam by a passing train, and many similar bridges had to be demolished and rebuilt, often in wrought iron . The bridge had been badly designed, being trussed with wrought iron straps, which were wrongly thought to reinforce the structure. The centres of the beams were put into bending, with
1545-438: Is added in the ladle or in the furnace, on the order of 0.5–2.5%, to decrease chill, refine graphite, and increase fluidity. Molybdenum is added on the order of 0.3–1% to increase chill and refine the graphite and pearlite structure; it is often added in conjunction with nickel, copper, and chromium to form high strength irons. Titanium is added as a degasser and deoxidizer, but it also increases fluidity. Vanadium at 0.15–0.5%
1648-439: Is added to cast iron to stabilize cementite, increase hardness, and increase resistance to wear and heat. Zirconium at 0.1–0.3% helps to form graphite, deoxidize, and increase fluidity. In malleable iron melts, bismuth is added at 0.002–0.01% to increase how much silicon can be added. In white iron, boron is added to aid in the production of malleable iron; it also reduces the coarsening effect of bismuth. Grey cast iron
1751-420: Is characterised by its graphitic microstructure, which causes fractures of the material to have a grey appearance. It is the most commonly used cast iron and the most widely used cast material based on weight. Most cast irons have a chemical composition of 2.5–4.0% carbon, 1–3% silicon, and the remainder iron. Grey cast iron has less tensile strength and shock resistance than steel, but its compressive strength
1854-485: Is comparable to low- and medium-carbon steel. These mechanical properties are controlled by the size and shape of the graphite flakes present in the microstructure and can be characterised according to the guidelines given by the ASTM . White cast iron displays white fractured surfaces due to the presence of an iron carbide precipitate called cementite. With a lower silicon content (graphitizing agent) and faster cooling rate,
1957-766: Is currently operated by the Ghana Railway Company Limited . Kojokrom-Sekondi Railway Line (The Kojokrom-Sekondi line is a branch line that joins the Western Railway Line at Kojokrom ) Indian nationwide rail system ( Indian Railways ) uses 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ) broad gauge. 96% of the broad gauge network is electrified. The railway tracks of Java and Sumatra use 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ). Planned and under construction high-speed railways to use 1,668 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 21 ⁄ 32 in ) to maintain interoperability with
2060-480: Is defined in U.S. customary / Imperial units as exactly "four feet eight and one half inches", which is equivalent to 1,435.1 mm. As railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge (the distance, or width, between the inner sides of the rails) to be used. Different railways used different gauges, and where rails of different gauge met – a " gauge break " – loads had to be unloaded from one set of rail cars and reloaded onto another,
2163-453: Is difficult to cool thick castings fast enough to solidify the melt as white cast iron all the way through. However, rapid cooling can be used to solidify a shell of white cast iron, after which the remainder cools more slowly to form a core of grey cast iron. The resulting casting, called a chilled casting , has the benefits of a hard surface with a somewhat tougher interior. High-chromium white iron alloys allow massive castings (for example,
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#17327721484552266-605: Is known as the Iron Bridge in Shropshire , England. Cast iron was also used in the construction of buildings . Cast iron is made from pig iron , which is the product of melting iron ore in a blast furnace . Cast iron can be made directly from the molten pig iron or by re-melting pig iron, often along with substantial quantities of iron, steel, limestone, carbon (coke) and taking various steps to remove undesirable contaminants. Phosphorus and sulfur may be burnt out of
2369-433: Is one of the most common alloying elements, because it refines the pearlite and graphite structures, improves toughness, and evens out hardness differences between section thicknesses. Chromium is added in small amounts to reduce free graphite, produce chill, and because it is a powerful carbide stabilizer; nickel is often added in conjunction. A small amount of tin can be added as a substitute for 0.5% chromium. Copper
2472-571: Is the most widely used track gauge around the world, with about 55% of the lines in the world using it. All high-speed rail lines use standard gauge except those in Russia , Finland , Uzbekistan , and some line sections in Spain . The distance between the inside edges of the rails is defined to be 1,435 mm except in the United States, Canada, and on some heritage British lines, where it
2575-755: Is very hard, but brittle, as it allows cracks to pass straight through; grey cast iron has graphite flakes which deflect a passing crack and initiate countless new cracks as the material breaks, and ductile cast iron has spherical graphite "nodules" which stop the crack from further progressing. Carbon (C), ranging from 1.8 to 4 wt%, and silicon (Si), 1–3 wt%, are the main alloying elements of cast iron. Iron alloys with lower carbon content are known as steel . Cast iron tends to be brittle , except for malleable cast irons . With its relatively low melting point, good fluidity, castability , excellent machinability , resistance to deformation and wear resistance , cast irons have become an engineering material with
2678-698: The Chirk Aqueduct and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct , both of which remain in use following the recent restorations. The best way of using cast iron for bridge construction was by using arches , so that all the material is in compression. Cast iron, again like masonry, is very strong in compression. Wrought iron, like most other kinds of iron and indeed like most metals in general, is strong in tension, and also tough – resistant to fracturing. The relationship between wrought iron and cast iron, for structural purposes, may be thought of as analogous to
2781-527: The Congo region of the Central African forest, blacksmiths invented sophisticated furnaces capable of high temperatures over 1000 years ago. There are countless examples of welding, soldering, and cast iron created in crucibles and poured into molds. These techniques were employed for the use of composite tools and weapons with cast iron or steel blades and soft, flexible wrought iron interiors. Iron wire
2884-608: The Liverpool and Manchester Railway , authorised in 1826 and opened 30 September 1830. The extra half inch was not regarded at first as very significant, and some early trains ran on both gauges daily without compromising safety. The success of this project led to Stephenson and his son Robert being employed to engineer several other larger railway projects. Thus the 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) gauge became widespread and dominant in Britain. Robert
2987-608: The Rhondda valleys and the Cynon Valley . The conveyance of coal for export and for transport away from South Wales began to dominate and the docks in Cardiff and the approach railway became extremely congested. Alternatives were sought and competing railway companies were encouraged to enter the trade. In the following decades further branch lines were built and the TVR used " motor cars " (steam railway passenger coaches) from 1903 to encourage local passenger travel. From 1922
3090-565: The River Rhondda , and the second bridges the Taff valley between Goetre-coed and Quakers Yard. As well as the avoiding the use of broad gauge , Brunel adopted a different form of track for the line: "parallel rails" weighing 55 pounds per yard (27 kg/m), fixed in chairs with compressed wooden keys. The chairs were fixed to transverse sleepers by screws inserted prior to laying, "ensuring accuracy of gauge". A ceremonial opening of
3193-542: The Warring States period . This is based on an analysis of the artifact's microstructures. Because cast iron is comparatively brittle, it is not suitable for purposes where a sharp edge or flexibility is required. It is strong under compression, but not under tension. Cast iron was invented in China in the 5th century BC and poured into molds to make ploughshares and pots as well as weapons and pagodas. Although steel
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3296-403: The surface tension to form the graphite into spheroidal particles rather than flakes. Due to their lower aspect ratio , the spheroids are relatively short and far from one another, and have a lower cross section vis-a-vis a propagating crack or phonon . They also have blunt boundaries, as opposed to flakes, which alleviates the stress concentration problems found in grey cast iron. In general,
3399-707: The 13th century and other travellers subsequently noted an iron industry in the Alburz Mountains to the south of the Caspian Sea . This is close to the silk route , thus the use of cast-iron technology being derived from China is conceivable. Upon its introduction to the West in the 15th century it was used for cannon and shot . Henry VIII (reigned 1509–1547) initiated the casting of cannon in England. Soon, English iron workers using blast furnaces developed
3502-478: The 1720s and 1730s by a small number of other coke -fired blast furnaces. Application of the steam engine to power blast bellows (indirectly by pumping water to a waterwheel) in Britain, beginning in 1743 and increasing in the 1750s, was a key factor in increasing the production of cast iron, which surged in the following decades. In addition to overcoming the limitation on water power, the steam-pumped-water powered blast gave higher furnace temperatures which allowed
3605-400: The 18th century; it was encouraged by the plentiful availability of coal, at first at a shallow depth; timber (for pit props and for charcoal ); and limestone (for fluxing ). The coal was primarily used in iron production and it was only gradually that surplus coal began to be used for power (in industrial stationary steam engines) and for domestic use. In time coke replaced charcoal in
3708-913: The Great Western Railway. It allowed the broad-gauge companies in Great Britain to continue with their tracks and expand their networks within the "Limits of Deviation" and the exceptions defined in the Act. After an intervening period of mixed-gauge operation (tracks were laid with three rails), the Great Western Railway finally completed the conversion of its network to standard gauge in 1892. In North East England, some early lines in colliery ( coal mining ) areas were 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ), while in Scotland some early lines were 4 ft 6 in ( 1,372 mm ). The British gauges converged starting from 1846 as
3811-647: The Netherlands for the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij ), but for interoperability reasons (the first rail service between Paris and Berlin began in 1849, first Chaix timetable) Germany adopted standard gauges, as did most other European countries. The modern method of measuring rail gauge was agreed in the first Berne rail convention of 1886. Several lines were initially built as standard gauge but were later converted to another gauge for cost or for compatibility reasons. 2,295 km (1,426 mi) Victoria built
3914-473: The TVR was a constituent of the new Great Western Railway (GWR) at the grouping of the railways , imposing its own character on the larger organisation. The decline in the coal and iron industries took its toll on the mainstay of the network, but passenger trains still operate on most of the main line sections. Coal mining and iron smelting had been carried out on a small scale in South Wales down to
4017-1068: The Vallies [ sic ] of the Taff, Rhondda, Cynon, Bargoed, and other adjacent places, and the Trade of the Town of Merthyr Tydvil and Port of Cardiff' was held at the Castle Inn in Merthyr Tydfil, chaired by John Josiah Guest , the MP for Merthyr. The meeting resolved to form "The Taff Vale Railway Company" and a provisional committee was appointed, consisting of J. J. Guest, W. Thompson, T. R. Guest , Richard Hill, Anthony Hill, William Forman, Walter Coffin , E. I. Hutchins, Edward Morgan, Robert Beaumont, Thomas Powell , W. Thomas, D. W. James, David Evans, George Insole , W. Jones, Henry Charles, and David Davis . The promoters agreed to go forward with
4120-645: The advantages of equipment interchange became increasingly apparent. By the 1890s, the entire network was converted to standard gauge. The Royal Commission made no comment about small lines narrower than standard gauge (to be called "narrow gauge"), such as the Ffestiniog Railway . Thus it permitted a future multiplicity of narrow gauges in the UK. It also made no comments about future gauges in British colonies, which allowed various gauges to be adopted across
4223-488: The alloy's composition. The eutectic carbides form as bundles of hollow hexagonal rods and grow perpendicular to the hexagonal basal plane. The hardness of these carbides are within the range of 1500-1800HV. Malleable iron starts as a white iron casting that is then heat treated for a day or two at about 950 °C (1,740 °F) and then cooled over a day or two. As a result, the carbon in iron carbide transforms into graphite and ferrite plus carbon. The slow process allows
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4326-403: The area of the ironworks was the tramroad . Wooden railways had been extensively used elsewhere, but seem not to have been much used in South Wales. The local tramroads were almost all short-distance plateways (in which the rails are L-shaped plates, carrying wagons with plain wheels) and in many cases were simple extensions of plateways used underground in mines. Canals were built down some of
4429-429: The benefit of what is called precipitation hardening (as in some steels, where much smaller cementite precipitates might inhibit [plastic deformation] by impeding the movement of dislocations through the pure iron ferrite matrix). Rather, they increase the bulk hardness of the cast iron simply by virtue of their own very high hardness and their substantial volume fraction, such that the bulk hardness can be approximated by
4532-537: The blast furnaces at Coalbrookdale. Other inventions followed, including one patented by Thomas Paine . Cast-iron bridges became commonplace as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace. Thomas Telford adopted the material for his bridge upstream at Buildwas , and then for Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct , a canal trough aqueduct at Longdon-on-Tern on the Shrewsbury Canal . It was followed by
4635-539: The bolt holes were also cast and not drilled. Thus, because of casting's draft angle, the tension from the tie bars was placed on the hole's edge rather than being spread over the length of the hole. The replacement bridge was built in wrought iron and steel. Further bridge collapses occurred, however, culminating in the Norwood Junction rail accident of 1891. Thousands of cast-iron rail underbridges were eventually replaced by steel equivalents by 1900 owing to
4738-522: The carbon in white cast iron precipitates out of the melt as the metastable phase cementite , Fe 3 C, rather than graphite. The cementite which precipitates from the melt forms as relatively large particles. As the iron carbide precipitates out, it withdraws carbon from the original melt, moving the mixture toward one that is closer to eutectic , and the remaining phase is the lower iron-carbon austenite (which on cooling might transform to martensite ). These eutectic carbides are much too large to provide
4841-439: The carbon to separate as spheroidal particles as the material solidifies. The properties are similar to malleable iron, but parts can be cast with larger sections. Cast iron and wrought iron can be produced unintentionally when smelting copper using iron ore as a flux. The earliest cast-iron artifacts date to the 5th century BC, and were discovered by archaeologists in what is now modern Luhe County , Jiangsu in China during
4944-483: The coal mines of County Durham . He favoured 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ) for wagonways in Northumberland and Durham , and used it on his Killingworth line. The Hetton and Springwell wagonways also used this gauge. Stephenson's Stockton and Darlington railway (S&DR) was built primarily to transport coal from mines near Shildon to the port at Stockton-on-Tees . Opening in 1825,
5047-493: The coalfields of northern England, pointing to the evidence of rutted roads marked by chariot wheels dating from the Roman Empire . Snopes categorised this legend as "false", but commented that it "is perhaps more fairly labeled as 'Partly true, but for trivial and unremarkable reasons. ' " The historical tendency to place the wheels of horse-drawn vehicles around 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) apart probably derives from
5150-487: The collieries called Dinas had been opened in 1841 which stimulated interest in mining in the valley. Spurred by the threat of a possible broad-gauge line from Ely , the TVR obtained authorisation on 26 August 1846 for the Rhondda Fawr Valley Extension, in time reaching what is now Treherbert , opening to there on 7 August 1856. Passenger services were not started until 7 January 1863. In 1849
5253-429: The colliery company built the line and transferred it when completed to the TVR. The company also undertook to send all their traffic out via the TVR. The new pit was at a much higher altitude even than the previous connections so a zigzag arrangement immediately above the Pwllyrhebog incline was necessary to gain further height. The Taff Vale Railway Act 1899 ( 62 & 63 Vict. c. cii) 13 July 1899 formalised
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#17327721484555356-534: The colonies. Parts of the United States, mainly in the Northeast, adopted the same gauge, because some early trains were purchased from Britain. The American gauges converged, as the advantages of equipment interchange became increasingly apparent. Notably, all the 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) broad gauge track in the South was converted to "almost standard" gauge 4 ft 9 in ( 1,448 mm ) over
5459-692: The coming of modern railways. 200,000 tons of coal were brought down by the canal in 1839 to the dock that became Bute West Dock . In 1802 the Merthyr Tramroad was opened, connecting the Dowlais and other ironworks with the Glamorganshire Canal. Richard Trevithick was employed at Penydarren Ironworks , served by the tramroad, and he built a steam locomotive engine. In 1804 a demonstration run took place in which 10 tons of iron and 70 people were transported 9 miles (14 km). This
5562-524: The company offered a £500 premium for proving the existence of deep-seam coal in the Treherbert area. At the same time a 77-chain (1.5 km) extension from Porth to Ynyshir was opened for mineral traffic; that stub was extended to Ferndale in 1856 and later to Maerdy , which at 900 feet (270 m) above sea level was the most elevated location on the TVR system. In 1854 the Eirw Branch
5665-480: The company's first general meeting on 16 September 1836 the following were appointed as directors: J. J. Guest, Walter Coffin, T. R. Guest, Thomas Powell, T. Carlisle, E. H. Lee, Henry Rudhall, C. E. Bernard, Chris. James, W. K. Wait, Elijah Waring , and R. H. Webb. The act authorised a railway from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff , to be known as the Taff Vale Railway, with several branches: to connect with
5768-627: The cotton, hemp , or wool being spun. As a result, textile mills had an alarming propensity to burn down. The solution was to build them completely of non-combustible materials, and it was found convenient to provide the building with an iron frame, largely of cast iron, replacing flammable wood. The first such building was at Ditherington in Shrewsbury , Shropshire. Many other warehouses were built using cast-iron columns and beams, although faulty designs, flawed beams or overloading sometimes caused building collapses and structural failures. During
5871-459: The course of two days beginning on 31 May 1886. See Track gauge in the United States . In continental Europe, France and Belgium adopted a 1,500 mm ( 4 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 16 in ) gauge (measured between the midpoints of each rail's profile ) for their early railways. The gauge between the interior edges of the rails (the measurement adopted from 1844) differed slightly between countries, and even between networks within
5974-536: The development of steel-framed skyscrapers. Cast iron was also used sometimes for decorative facades, especially in the United States, and the Soho district of New York has numerous examples. It was also used occasionally for complete prefabricated buildings, such as the historic Iron Building in Watervliet, New York . Another important use was in textile mills . The air in the mills contained flammable fibres from
6077-520: The effects of sulfur, manganese is added, because the two form into manganese sulfide instead of iron sulfide. The manganese sulfide is lighter than the melt, so it tends to float out of the melt and into the slag . The amount of manganese required to neutralize sulfur is 1.7 × sulfur content + 0.3%. If more than this amount of manganese is added, then manganese carbide forms, which increases hardness and chilling , except in grey iron, where up to 1% of manganese increases strength and density. Nickel
6180-426: The first connection with the rest of the standard-gauge railway network; the TVR reviewed its policy of right-hand running and decided to change to left-hand running in preparation for the connection. The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway reached Quakers Yard on 11 January 1858, making a connection with the TVR there. This gave a route for minerals from the TVR network to reach much further afield, but reduced
6283-740: The first railways to the 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) Irish broad gauge. New South Wales then built to the standard gauge, so trains had to stop on the border and passengers transferred, which was only rectified in the 1960s. Queensland still runs on a narrow gauge but there is a standard gauge line from NSW to Brisbane. NMBS/SNCB 3,619 km (2,249 mi) Brussels Metro 40 km (25 mi) Trams in Brussels 140 km (87 mi) 1,032 km (641 mi) The Toronto Transit Commission uses 4 ft 10 + 7 ⁄ 8 in ( 1,495 mm ) gauge on its streetcar and subway lines. Takoradi to Sekondi Route,
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#17327721484556386-693: The haul length on the TVR system. The Taff Vale Extension Railway was later extended to Middle Duffryn , near Aberdare , opening in April 1864. The extension crossed the Llancaiach colliery sections of the TVR on the level and Llancaiach coal was transported via Quakers Yard on the TVER in preference to using the Llancaiach line inclined plane. The coalfield around Aberdare was proving to have abundant resources of high-quality coal. The Taff Vale Extension line
6489-466: The inclined section was 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) in length with gradients of 1 in 19 and 1 in 22. Locomotives did not ascend the incline. There was a 1 in 13 gradient on the Pwllyrhebog branch, near Tonypandy ; it too was rope-worked with special locomotives. Inevitably there were some stiff gradients elsewhere. There were two stone viaducts on the route: the first, at Pontypridd , crosses
6592-429: The initial gauge of 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ) was set to accommodate the existing gauge of hundreds of horse-drawn chaldron wagons that were already in use on the wagonways in the mines. The railway used this gauge for 15 years before a change was made, debuting around 1850, to the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge. The historic Mount Washington Cog Railway ,
6695-651: The line between Cardiff and Navigation House, Abercynon , took place on 8 October 1840, when the directors and shareholders travelled on the line; the full public opening of that section was on 9 October 1840. On 20 April 1841 the line was inspected by Sir Frederick Smith for the Board of Trade , and on 21 April 1841 the main line was opened throughout to Merthyr. Passenger stations were at Cardiff , Llandaff , Pentyrch (later Radyr ), Taffs Well , Newbridge (later Pontypridd ), Navigation House , Troed-y-rhiw and Merthyr . There were two passenger trains each way daily, seven days
6798-539: The lower edge in tension, where cast iron, like masonry , is very weak. Nevertheless, cast iron continued to be used in inappropriate structural ways, until the Tay Rail Bridge disaster of 1879 cast serious doubt on the use of the material. Crucial lugs for holding tie bars and struts in the Tay Bridge had been cast integral with the columns, and they failed in the early stages of the accident. In addition,
6901-406: The molten iron, but this also burns out the carbon, which must be replaced. Depending on the application, carbon and silicon content are adjusted to the desired levels, which may be anywhere from 2–3.5% and 1–3%, respectively. If desired, other elements are then added to the melt before the final form is produced by casting . Cast iron is sometimes melted in a special type of blast furnace known as
7004-460: The nature of the ground render unavoidable would be unfit for a wider gauge… The construction of the line posed no great engineering challenges as its course followed the valley of the River Taff. The line was 24 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (39 km) in length. At Quakers Yard there was a sudden steep change of ground level and Brunel used 50-horsepower (37 kW) stationary winding engines;
7107-607: The old 4 ft ( 1,219 mm ) plateway was relaid to 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) so that Blenkinsop's engine could be used. Others were 4 ft 4 in ( 1,321 mm ) (in Beamish ) or 4 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,410 mm ) (in Bigges Main (in Wallsend ), Kenton , and Coxlodge ). English railway pioneer George Stephenson spent much of his early engineering career working for
7210-473: The ordinary width of 4' 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 ″. The general gradients, the inclined planes , and still more the nature and the immediate extent of the peculiar class of traffic to which the line must always be devoted, not only render high speeds unnecessary, but must almost prevent their being attempted, while the same causes operate to diminish any advantage that may be gained in reducing friction by increased diameter of carriage wheels. The curves also which
7313-580: The ownership. Writing in 1951, Casserley refers to a later time when a stationary engine had been installed: Standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ). The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson ), international gauge , UIC gauge , uniform gauge , normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It
7416-416: The primitive road network made reaching the coast expensive and difficult; and the limestone, plentiful as it was, was located some distance north of the location of the ironworks. In 1767, Anthony Bacon of Cyfarthfa persuaded his fellow ironmasters to join in a scheme to build a trunk roadway from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff. He used mule -hauled trains. A solution to the difficulty of local transport around
7519-418: The properties of malleable cast iron are more like those of mild steel . There is a limit to how large a part can be cast in malleable iron, as it is made from white cast iron. Developed in 1948, nodular or ductile cast iron has its graphite in the form of very tiny nodules with the graphite in the form of concentric layers forming the nodules. As a result, the properties of ductile cast iron are that of
7622-436: The rails is better, thus the minimum distance between the wheels (and, by extension, the inside faces of the rail heads ) was the important one. A standard gauge for horse railways never existed, but rough groupings were used; in the north of England none was less than 4 ft ( 1,219 mm ). Wylam colliery's system, built before 1763, was 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ), as was John Blenkinsop 's Middleton Railway ;
7725-706: The relationship between wood and stone. Cast-iron beam bridges were used widely by the early railways, such as the Water Street Bridge in 1830 at the Manchester terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway , but problems with its use became all too apparent when a new bridge carrying the Chester and Holyhead Railway across the River Dee in Chester collapsed killing five people in May 1847, less than
7828-411: The rest of the network. All other railways use 1,668 mm ( 5 ft 5 + 21 ⁄ 32 in ) ( broad gauge ) and/or 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) metre gauge . BLS , Rigi Railways (rack railway) 449 km Several states in the United States had laws requiring road vehicles to have a consistent gauge to allow them to follow ruts in
7931-475: The retention of carbon and the formation of those carbides. Nickel and copper increase strength and machinability, but do not change the amount of graphite formed. Carbon as graphite produces a softer iron, reduces shrinkage, lowers strength, and decreases density. Sulfur , largely a contaminant when present, forms iron sulfide , which prevents the formation of graphite and increases hardness . Sulfur makes molten cast iron viscous, which causes defects. To counter
8034-435: The road. Those gauges were similar to railway standard gauge. Cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron – carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its carbon appears: white cast iron has its carbon combined into an iron carbide named cementite , which
8137-513: The sea and the proprietors of the TVR responded by sponsoring the Aberdare Railway, a nominally independent company. The Aberdare Railway was incorporated on 31 July 1845 to make a 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (12 km) branch from Navigation House to Aberdare . It was worked by the TVR from the outset and leased to it from 1 January 1847. It opened for passenger and goods and mineral traffic on 6 August 1846. Navigation House station
8240-542: The smelting process. The availability of the raw materials at the heads of the South Wales valleys led to a number of ironworks being founded there between 1750 and 1800; these included the Cyfarthfa Ironworks , Plymouth Ironworks , and Dowlais Ironworks in the Merthyr Tydfil area. A major difficulty was transport; conveying the finished product away to market was effected by coastal shipping, but
8343-553: The speed of the trains on the line to 12 mph (19 km/h), with stiff penalties for any speeding. (These two clauses were repealed by the Taff Vale Railway Act 1840 ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. cx)) Locomotive operation and the carriage of passengers were permitted by the act of 1836. The Merthyr terminus was to be on an open space south of the town, between the River Taff and Cardiff Road. The Cardiff terminal
8446-501: The technique of producing cast-iron cannons, which, while heavier than the prevailing bronze cannons, were much cheaper and enabled England to arm her navy better. Cast-iron pots were made at many English blast furnaces at the time. In 1707, Abraham Darby patented a new method of making pots (and kettles) thinner and hence cheaper than those made by traditional methods. This meant that his Coalbrookdale furnaces became dominant as suppliers of pots, an activity in which they were joined in
8549-492: The term "narrow gauge" for gauges less than standard did not arise for many years, until the first such locomotive-hauled passenger railway, the Ffestiniog Railway , was built. In 1845, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , a Royal Commission on Railway Gauges reported in favour of a standard gauge. The subsequent Gauge Act ruled that new passenger-carrying railways in Great Britain should be built to
8652-461: The tramroad to Dowlais and other ironworks nearby; to collieries at Llancaiach ; to the tramroad serving Dinas collieries (in the Rhondda ); and to Cogan Pill . Company profits were limited to 7%; this could be augmented to 9% if the tolls for use of the line were substantially reduced. Independent carriers as well as the Company itself were potentially able to use the line. The act also limited
8755-620: The turnpike road. Edge railways , evolved directly from earlier wooden railways, had continued in use in Northumberland and elsewhere in the country; the Stockton and Darlington Railway of 1825 and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830 demonstrated the capabilities of the current technology. Early in 1835, Anthony Hill , owner of the Plymouth Ironworks at Merthyr, asked the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel ,
8858-566: The use of higher lime ratios, enabling the conversion from charcoal (supplies of wood for which were inadequate) to coke. The ironmasters of the Weald continued producing cast irons until the 1760s, and armament was one of the main uses of irons after the Restoration . The use of cast iron for structural purposes began in the late 1770s, when Abraham Darby III built The Iron Bridge , although short beams had already been used, such as in
8961-422: The valleys, to bring the iron down to the coast for shipping elsewhere. The Glamorganshire Canal was opened in 1794; it ran from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff , a distance of 25 miles (40 km). Local mine owners within 4 miles (6 km) of the canal were authorised to build tramroads to connect to the canal. About 350 miles (560 km) of tramroad were built in South Wales under this and similar arrangements before
9064-518: The widespread concern about cast iron under bridges on the rail network in Britain. Cast-iron columns , pioneered in mill buildings, enabled architects to build multi-storey buildings without the enormously thick walls required for masonry buildings of any height. They also opened up floor spaces in factories, and sight lines in churches and auditoriums. By the mid 19th century, cast iron columns were common in warehouse and industrial buildings, combined with wrought or cast iron beams, eventually leading to
9167-479: The width needed to fit a carthorse in between the shafts. Research, however, has been undertaken to support the hypothesis that "the origin of the standard gauge of the railway might result from an interval of wheel ruts of prehistoric ancient carriages". In addition, while road-travelling vehicles are typically measured from the outermost portions of the wheel rims, it became apparent that for vehicles travelling on rails, having main wheel flanges that fit inside
9270-426: The world's first mountain -climbing rack railway , is still in operation in the 21st century, and has used the earlier 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ) gauge since its inauguration in 1868. George Stephenson introduced the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge (including a belated extra 1 ⁄ 2 in (13 mm) of free movement to reduce binding on curves ) for
9373-483: Was a self-acting rope-worked incline 600 yards (550 m) long on a 1 in 8 gradient. Use of the line was less than expected, traders finding that the charges on the canal were substantially lower. The TVR hesitated to build the authorised branch to the tramroad to Dowlais and the clause in the act enabled the Dowlais Iron Company to take over the construction and the branch, which they did. The line
9476-487: Was able to take the output direct to London (via Hereford —the South Wales Main Line was still broad gauge at this time) and to the ports at Birkenhead and Southampton , where bunkering of seafaring ships was an important market. The Rhondda valleys also began to be the source of excellent coal and that trade started to exceed that of Merthyr. The branch line from Pontypridd to the tramroad leading to
9579-461: Was also produced. Numerous testimonies were made by early European missionaries of the Luba people pouring cast iron into molds to make hoes. These technological innovations were accomplished without the invention of the blast furnace which was the prerequisite for the deployment of such innovations in Europe and Asia. The technology of cast iron was transferred to the West from China. Al-Qazvini in
9682-535: Was authorised in 1857 to reach into Cwm Clydach from Tonypandy. Its actual construction was much delayed, a contract being let in December 1861; it was opened early in 1863. It climbed away from the Rhondda very steeply, on a 1 in 13 gradient for 3 ⁄ 4 mile (1.2 km) and then on to Blaenclydach . At first, the Pwllyrhebog incline was worked on the balanced load system but the TVR refused to install
9785-520: Was completed to Merthyr in 1862. The original purpose of the TVR had been deeply connected with the ironworks of Merthyr. In the years immediately following the railway's authorisation, the rich seams of high-quality coal in the Aberdare area came into prominence and began to outshine the Merthyr trade. Sixteen steam coalpits were sunk there between 1840 and 1853. Those collieries required transport to
9888-410: Was more desirable, cast iron was cheaper and thus was more commonly used for implements in ancient China, while wrought iron or steel was used for weapons. The Chinese developed a method of annealing cast iron by keeping hot castings in an oxidizing atmosphere for a week or longer in order to burn off some carbon near the surface in order to keep the surface layer from being too brittle. Deep within
9991-456: Was open between Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff, but almost immediately thought was given to improving the capacity of the main line and of serving the coal production of adjacent valleys. The line was originally single, except for the Quaker's Yard and Llancaiach inclines, which were double. Cardiff to Taffs Well was doubled in 1846 and through to Navigation House ( Abercynon ) in 1847. The doubling
10094-607: Was opened; under 1 mile (1.6 km) long it left the Rhondda line at Trehafod to serve nearby collieries. In 1857 the TVR board authorised the doubling of the Rhondda Fawr as far as Porth; by February 1858 eight collieries were sending their coal down the extension of the Rhondda branch. In the subsidiary Rhondda valley, the Rhondda Fach, the line was opened from Porth to Ferndale in the summer of 1876 and to Maerdy in 1889. The Pwllyrhebog branch (as it became known)
10197-596: Was renamed Aberdare Junction on the opening of the branch. There was a 49-chain (3,200 ft; 990 m) branch off the Aberdare line from Cwmbach to Abernant colliery, also opened in 1846; it crossed the River Cynon to get access. In 1847 the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway obtained powers to build its Taff Vale Extension westwards from Pontypool to connect the TVR at Quakers Yard. This would be
10300-605: Was reported to have said that if he had had a second chance to choose a gauge, he would have chosen one wider than 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ). "I would take a few inches more, but a very few". During the " gauge war " with the Great Western Railway , standard gauge was called " narrow gauge ", in contrast to the Great Western's 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) broad gauge . The modern use of
10403-459: Was the first use of a steam locomotive engine in the world. However many of the cast-iron tramplates were broken due to the weight of the engine. For the first decades of the nineteenth century, the transport situation for Merthyr and the surrounding area changed relatively little; the Glamorganshire Canal prospered, but became overwhelmed by the volume of trade. Tramways continued with horse haulage and plateway tracks. Mule trains carried iron down
10506-455: Was to be at or near the ship canal which the Marquis of Bute proposed to build. This became Bute West Dock; he had obtained powers to build it in 1830 but had held off from actually doing so. Brunel, as the engineer for the line, designed it as a standard gauge line. He told the directors, As regards the gauge or width of the rails, I see no reason in our case for deviating materially from
10609-522: Was used in ancient China to mass-produce weaponry for warfare, as well as agriculture and architecture. During the 15th century AD, cast iron became utilized for cannons and shot in Burgundy , France, and in England during the Reformation . The amounts of cast iron used for cannons required large-scale production. The first cast-iron bridge was built during the 1770s by Abraham Darby III , and
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