Hay Railway
The Hay Railway was a narrow gauge horse-drawn tramway in the district surrounding Hay-on-Wye in Brecknockshire, Wales. The railway connected Eardisley in Herefordshire, England, with Brecon in Wales. The Brecon terminus was Watton Wharf on the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal.
Parliamentary authorisation, construction and opening
The railway was authorised by the on 25 May 1811. Construction of its winding long route took nearly five years and the line was opened on 7 May 1816. The tramway was built to a gauge of. The railway adopted the use of cast-iron L-shaped tramroad plates in its construction. The vertical portions of the two plates were positioned inside the wheels of the tramway wagons and the plates were spiked to stone blocks for stability. The size of the stones, and their spacing, was such that the horses could operate unimpeded.Operation of the railway
From 1 May 1820, the Hay Railway was joined at its Eardisley terminus, in an end on junction, by the Kington Tramway. Together, the two lines totalled in length, comprising the longest continuous plateway to be completed in the United Kingdom.The Hay Railway operated through rural areas on the borders of England and Wales and was built to transport goods and freight. Passengers were not carried on any official basis. Although wagons were horse-drawn there was an account in 1841 of an 'ingenious' man-powered vehicle, which was propelled by means of cogs and hand winch operated by two men seated on the vehicle. They travelled from Kington to Brecon at about 5 to 6 miles per hour, loaded up with a ton of coal and returned the next day. They broke their journey for refreshments at the Hay Gas-House, during which time children played with the machine and broke one of the wheels. As a result of the damage the men had to push the machine to Eardisley, whereas they had been headed to Kington.
The Hay Railway was absorbed into the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway by virtue of the and the line was converted to standard gauge for operation by steam locomotives.