The Swansea Vale Railway (SVR) was a railway line connecting the port of Swansea in South Wales to industries and coalfields along the River Tawe on the northern margin of Swansea, by taking over a tramroad in 1846. It was extended to Brynamman in 1868. Passengers were carried from 1860, and a loop line through Morriston was built.
The company was profitable but it was always short of capital, and it looked for a larger company to buy it out. The Midland Railway did so in 1874 when it leased the network, and it absorbed it in 1876. The Midland Railway used the line to get access to Swansea, which it had long sought. After 1923 the Midland's successor transferred the through traffic to another route.
Road omnibus services abstracted much of the local passenger business, and only anthracite traffic kept the line going. When that industry declined the railway mineral traffic followed, and from 1965 closures set in. Parts of the network continued for a time, but by 1983 the entire line was closed.
Before the railway
thumb|System map of the Swansea Vale Railway in 1875
The South Wales coalfield extends to the sea at Swansea, and therefore was immediately accessible to shipping at a time, before the nineteenth century, when land transport was limited to what pack animals could carry on their backs.
At that time the extraction of copper in Cornwall became an important industry, and as a great deal of coal is required to smelt copper, it became the practice to bring the copper to Swansea by ship and smelt it there.
This specific sector of the metal industry became so dominant that Swansea was given the nickname Copperopolis. The works engaged in this industry were located on the banks of the River Tawe at first, but the construction of the Swansea Canal, opened in 1798, and the development of railways enabled allied metal industries to operate, and to be located further from water transport terminals.
Anthracite coal of high quality was available around Llansamlet, and an early wooden wagonway was built from there to a wharf on the River Tawe by George Kirkhouse; it was operational sometime after 1750. John Scott acquired control of mines on the Gwernllwynchwth Estate and after 1812 built a tram road from there to Foxhole, on the Tawe near its mouth.
In 1834 the Benson family purchased land at the Tyrllandwr Estate and as Swansea harbour developed this gave the family, led by Starling Benson, considerable wharfage land, encouraging the business of shipping coal. The needed transport and in 1839 they commissioned George Bush to survey for a railway. The west bank of the Tawe was heavily developed at this time and his scheme was on the east bank to Abercrave. Public notice was given in 1840 of the intention to build this railway, but in fact it lapsed, probably due to opposition from the Duke of Beaufort.
Nevertheless, Benson and his partners repaired and modernised the 1812 tramroad and made some extension to it over land in their possession, thus not needing Parliamentary authorisation.
Transition to a railway
In 1845 the partners transferred their interest to a joint stock company, and in 1846 the tramroad was formally purchased. The name "Swansea Vale Railway" was first used at this time. This appears to mark the change from operating as a tramroad to being a railway.
In March 1850 the construction of the South Wales Railway reached Llansamlet, and a flat crossing was made by the of the line. To optimise their own gradients they lifted the track, which was of stone block sleeper construction, and this caused a minor argument as the had not been asked for permission.
In 1855 the railway was said to be open for a distance of miles and only carrying mineral traffic; this amounted to 1,000 tons per day with an annual income exceeding £5,000.
The company obtained a further act of Parliament, the (19 & 20 Vict. c. xcv), authorising further northward extension to Ystalyfera and Ystradgynlais.
Through the period from 1856 the company seems to have had trouble raising money for capital works, and a preference share issue was authorised in 1859, although the trading position of the railway was profitable throughout this period. Late in 1860 the passenger service was extended to that place.
Revenue increased to £9512 by the middle of 1864; the increase was said to be largely due to traffic coming from Llanelly Railway and the Vale of Neath Railway (which was by now mixed gauge) via the Swansea and Neath Railway. The section probably opened for passenger traffic on 15 March 1871.
The capital of the Swansea Vale Railway at this time was £230,392, and there were loans in existence to the extent of £328,040.
The lease of the Swansea Vale Railway by the Midland was authorised by the (37 & 38 Vict. c. clxx) of 30 July 1874; the Midland actually took possession in September 1874.
From this time the Swansea Vale Railway Company was only a financial entity, receiving the lease charge. Nevertheless, considerable capital expenditure was now being undertaken by the Midland Railway on bringing the track and structures up to date, and this complicated the financial relationship. Accordingly, it was agreed that the Midland Railway Company would absorb the ; the Midland Railway (Further Powers) Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict. c. ccix) to authorise this was obtained on 11 August 1876 and the Swansea Vale Railway Company wound up its affairs and ceased to exist.
At the same time the traditional industries were by now in steep decline, and many of the anthracite mines closed down. As these were by far the dominant business of the former SVR network, it too suffered.
The Morriston Loop was severed between Glais Junction and the Mond Works just to the north of Clydach in 1956, and the section between Clydach and Morriston closed in 1965.
The Brynamman line was cut back to Gurnos in September 1964. Traffic from Ynyscedwyn ceased 1968 resulting in closure of the line north of the Imperial Smelting Works at Llansamlet, and the entire Llansamlet line closed in 1971.
Traffic to Llansamlet itself ceased in 1973; the Llansamlet line was closed formally in September 1982, having been dormant for many years. The entire line closed formally on 24 May 1983 and ceased to be a commercial railway.