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Wales Online
Lifestyle
Nino Williams

The former stations visited by the Mumbles train that was once used by thousands of passengers

The world's first passenger railway began with a horse-drawn service.

Following an act of parliament in 1804, permission was granted to move limestone from the quarries of Mumbles to Swansea and to markets further afield, and three years later the first fare-paying passengers took their seats.

Horse power moved to steam locomotion, and then eventually electric, and it proved hugely popular - Dylan Thomas was a regular user and would write about his journeys on it down to the Mumbles.

Read more: The ordinary Welsh town that was once one of the most important places in Europe

But it closed in 1960, with motor cars and buses increasingly popular, which also sealed the fate of more than 2000 stations across the UK four years later, under the Beeching cuts, which sought to optimise the efficiency of the country's railway network.

But here are some examples of the stations the Mumbles train stopped at along Swansea Bay - and what they look like now

Mumbles Pier

It's one of Mumbles' top destinations for tourists, visitors and residents, but the landmark pier has changed considerably since the times it was visited by the train.

Mumbles Pier as it looks today (copyright unknown)
And as it looked with an electric train pulling away in 1932 (South Wales Evening Post)

Southend

BSouthend doesn't look too different to the days when the train passed through.

Southend, pictured today, was another stop for the Mumbles train (Google Maps)

Oystermouth

These days Mumbles Square is a car park, despite a number of development plans mooted over the years, but it was once the destination for the eponymous railway service.

The site still enjoys the views for which Mumbles is famous for (Google Maps)

West Cross

The halfway point between town saw the train pull up at West Cross, close to where the popular West Cross Inn stands today

West Cross was another stop en route to Mumbles (Google Maps)

Blackpill

The lido halfway between Swansea and Mumbles is today a popular tourist attraction, with a busy cafe, but the building was once a station house

The former station building at Blackpill (Google Maps)
Blackpill Lido is home to a play area as well as a splash pool (Jonathan Myers)

Brynmill

Just a short distance from St Helens, the Brynmill station served passengers who were visiting Singleton or Brynmill Parks, or a different stretch of Swansea Bay

The site of the Brynmill stop has changed little in the past 70 years (Google Maps)

St Helens

Situated next to St Helen's rugby and cricket ground, the station was ideal for sports fans

The view from the site of the former station forecourt at St Helens (Google Maps)

Bay View

The Bay View remains a popular pub and restaurant on Oystermouth Road, but at the height of the Mumbles train it was a major stopping off point for travellers, known as The Slip, who would come in their thousands to enjoy the sand and sea

The Bay View on Oystermouth Road (Google Maps)
The Mumbles Train passes the Bay View on a summer's day in 1963 (david roberts)

Swansea Victoria

At the other end of the bay to Mumbles stood Swansea Victoria station. One of the victims of Beeching's axe, it was the site of what is now the LC

Swansea LC's impressive exterior view (Adrian White)
The former Swansea Victoria station (South Wales Evening Post archives)

Rutland Street

The service would terminate at Rutland Street, which was formerly located adjacent to St Mary’s Church, but disappeared under part of the former St David’s shopping centre when it was built in the early 1980s.

(Google Maps)

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