Miners' service to North Rhondda and Blaencorrwg Collieries

[RichardMaund]

A service between Cymmer and a new platform North Rhondda/Blaencorrwg collieries started in March 1917. Up till now I have been blithely quoting 5 March 1917 as the start date (e.g. my letter in [i]Welsh Railways Archive[/i] Nov 2012), based on 'secondary sources', but I'd like to pin down the provenance of that start date.

The service was run by the PTR (as operator of the SWMR) on behalf of the two colliery companies. PTR minute 7024 (TNA RAIL 474/4) of 21 Feb 1917 makes clear that service hadn't yet started, but minute 7043 of 21 Mar 1917 says it "...had been put into force and [was] working satisfactorily." An indemnity signed by the two collieries (RAIL 639/19) is dated Friday 2 March 1917. So Monday 5 March 1917 is entirely plausible as the start date - but can anyone confirm that from a primary source?

[John Lewis]

By now you will probably have found this already: In his book on the PTR&D and the SWMR, Robbin Simmons says that Col Pringle inspected the line in March 1918 and the BoT's approval for its use by passenger services was issued on 30 March 1918 (The National Archives file MT/79 p.144); and that the SWMR issued a WTT showing the service on 28 March 1918 (TNA RAIL 1057/1528/225).

[RichardMaund]

Thank you. The service to which you refer, which started in 1918, and for which SWMR notice and working timetable (RAIL 1057/1545 and NRM York ALS4/138/F/5) and PTR Engineer's report of 10 Apr 1918 (RAIL 1057/1528) give 28 Mar (but PTR minutes give 27th (RAIL 574/4)), was the public service between Cymmer Corrwg and Glyncorrwg.

The service I was enquiring about was the unadvertised miner's service Cymmer - Glyncorrwg - North Rhondda / Blaencorrwg collieries which started Mar 1917. Secondary sources give 5th, while PTR minutes 7024 and 7043 (RAIL 574/4) only support an unspecified date between 21 Feb and 21 Mar - so my quest for a contemporary, primary source still remains unresolved.