Chronology of Welsh Railways

• 1697 First tramway, in Neath, built by Humphrey Mackworth

• Earliest known use of the word tramroad was in the minutes of the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal Company.

• 1801 The Penrhyn Railway, the first railway of any sort in North Wales, is opened between Penrhyn Quarries, Bethesda and Port Penrhyn, Bangor by Lord Penrhyn.

• 1804 World's first steam locomotive ran for 15 and a half kilometers between Penydarren, Merthyr Tydfil and Abercynon, carrying 10 tons of iron and 70 passengers, at 8 km/hr.

• 1807 The world's first fare-paying passenger railway, the horse-drawn Oystermouth and Mumbles Railway.

• 1815 A tramway tunnel of about 1.6 kms. is cut at Blaenafon, the longest in Britain at the time.

• 1816 A tramway is used to transport soldiers to a disturbance in Newport, the first such use of a railway.

• 1829 Railway build at Saundersfoot to carry coal

• In 1839 a decision was made to develop Holyhead as a port for railway connections to Ireland. >>>>>>Holyhead won by one vote over its rival, Morfa Nefyn /Porthdinllaen in the Lleyn Peninsula.

• 1848 The oldest named train in the world the Irish Mail is inaugurated, from London Euston to Bangor. In 1850 it is extended to Holyhead.

• 1850 Brittania Bridge, the world's first tubular bridge. The world's largest span bridge at the time. The greatest weight ever lifted in Britain before the 20. Century - 4 large girders 1,250 tons each, were jacked into place (in 1826, Telford's Suspension Bridge had been the longest iron bridge in world at the time with a span of 176.5m).

  Railway reaches Swansea

• 1857 Crumlin Viaduct opened. Highest viaduct in Britain at 61m.

• 1861 The deepest rock cutting in the world, at the time, was made at Talerddig, Powys on the Newtown-Machynlleth line.

• 1863 Torpantau Tunnel opened. At 400m. the highest tunnel in Britain.

• 1867 Barmouth BRidge opened. With a length of 243.8m, this is the longest estuarine bridge in the world.

• 1872All Broad gauge lines in Wales had,by now, been converted to standard gauge.

• 1885 First electric tram, in Neath.

• 1886 Severn Tunnel opened, 7 kms long.

• 1924 Last horse-drawn tram on the British mainland closed - the Pwllheli and Llanbedrog, because of storm damage.

• 1927 The narrow-gauge railway built to service construction of the Grwyne Fawr reservoir, Powys becomes the highest railway in Britain at 549 m (that is, highest conventional railway)

• 1956 Llandudno to Colwyn Bay tramway closed.

• 1960 Mumbles Railway closed, the only elctrified railway in Wales.

• 1980 Britannia bridge re-opened after fire.