Pwll Du Tunnel, Hill's Tramroad, Blaenavon, Wales - Abandoned Train Tunnels on Waymarking.com

Hill's Tramroad was a 2ft guage horse drawn tramroad connecting the Tyla quarry on Gilwern Hill with the Blaenavon Ironworks, and also providing a route past the Garnddyrys forge in Cwm Llanwenarth to the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal at Llanfoist.

On a tramroad, unlike a modern railroad, the rails were flanged and the wheels were smooth. See reference [2] for some great pictures

Reference [1] gives the opening date of the tunnel as being about 1815, and says that a pre-existing mine working from the Blaenavon (S) end formed the basis, reference [5] says 1818-21. The original date of the mine workings is given as 1782 [3]. The closing date is just as hard to determine. Hill's Tramroad stopped running through to Llanfoist in 1860 [1], but the tunnel continued in use until 1926, with limestone being hauled through the tunnel by stationary engines positioned at either end [3,5].

Reference [4] gives the length as 2400m (7874ft) and states it was he longest tunnel on any British horse drawn railroad. However, reference [3] gives a length of only 2000m. Reference [5] says just over 2km and notes that there is a height rise of some 21 metres (70 feet) from Blaenavon (the opposite end to the co-ordinates given here) to Pwll Du.

Reference [2] has some superb pictures by the artist Michael Blackmore reconstructing the tunnel in its original form, for instance, the images below. Reference [5] contains a wealth of information about the tunnel (and more pictures by Michael Blackmore)

The tramroad continues around the head of Cwm Llanwenarth, around the Blorenge, and down a steep incline to the Brecon and Abergavenny canal at Llanfoist.

1. Tramroads of the Brecknock & Abergavenny Canal by Gordon Rattenbury. 1980. (Oakham: Railway and Canal Historical Society) ISBN: 9780901461247
2. COST A27 Cultural parks and cultural landscapes: Blaenavon
3. Welsh Mines Society Newsletter 41, November 1999
4. Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Blaenavon Ironworks and Upper Brick Yard
5. Ghosts of Pwll Du The Secret Bottletop Production Company
6. World Heritage Site BlaenavonThomas Hill's Tram Road
WM8QTW Bolorenge Tunnel