04/09/2026
Ebbw Vale Works (1790 – 2002) moves into the Steam Locomotive era:
There will be no chance of our readers recognising anyone in the photos in this museum post, as we go back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution. It recounts the initial phase of the move away from Horse drawn Trams. These were initially used to move the Limestone, Coal, Iron Ore into the works and Finished Iron products to its customers, but with the rapid advancements of the Industrial Revolution, a totally new system emerged - Steam Locomotives.
Due to its difficult geographical location in a narrow valley not far off 1000 feet above sea level and 23 miles to the docks at Newport, transportation to and from Ebbw Vale Works was difficult, but that also applied to the many other works in both Eastern and Western valleys of Monmouthshire. In 1792, with backing from wealthy landowners and industrialists, such as the Duke of Beauort, Sir Charles Morgan, Thomas Hill of Blaenavon and the Harfords of Ebbw Vale, an act was passed to promote the use of canals to serve the industries of the area. Ebbw Vale needed an efficient link to the port of Newport, 20+ miles away. Therefore, the proposal to build an 11-mile canal from Newport to Crumlin was of key interest to Ebbw Vale Works. The western valleys from Beaufort, Sirhowy and Nantyglo linked were to be linked to the canal by horse tramroads. This was completed circa 1797/99, though the canal section suffered water shortages in the summer months and was later supported by a Crumlin to Newport tramroad.
South Wales had been at the forefront of the development of Steam Locos. Richard Trevithick, a Cornishman, was experimenting using high pressure steam. This was an advancement on the low-pressure steam system, used initially by James Watt in his early fixed steam engines. Trevithick used it to build a loco that made the first successful locomotive hauled railway journey on February 21st, 1804, at the Penydarren Ironworks, not far from Ebbw Vale in Merthyr. It was, however, George Stephenson of Newcastle, who built the loco, "Locomotion No. 1", for the first public railway to use steam locomotives, the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825.
Not surprisingly, this achievement created a lot of interest, including from Ironworks in South Wales, who were then using horse tramroads to move their loads to canals for onward transportation. 1n 1829 Stephenson supplied 2 steam locomotives to two Ironworks, local to Ebbw Vale, one to Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr and the other to Samuel Homfray of the Tredegar Ironworks. The loco in Tredegar, commenced working in October 1929 and reportedly once ran along the Sirhowy & Monmouthshire tramroad into Newport, a total of 28 miles.
Therefore, it was not surprising that with the development of Steam locomotion nationally and the purchase of Steam locos by local ironworks, it sparked an interest in the purchase of Steam Locos by the Ebbw Vale Ironworks. The key supplier was obviously George Stephenson, but with the nationwide interest and huge demand, waiting times were likely to be long. A more local candidate to manufacture steam locos emerged – The Neath Abbey Ironworks (1792-1886). It had been set up and managed by a Cornish consortium, actively engaged in the Tin Mining Industry that had previously exported Copper Ore to Neath by ship for refining locally, with return loads of coal sent back to Cornwall. When the Ironworks was initially opened, Pig Iron from Neath Abbey was sent to Cornwall for the manufacture of engineering items, but with the need identified for Steam pumps for the Cornish Tin Mines, the local ironmasters identified an opportunity to do the manufacture locally and ship Pumps to Cornwall rather than Iron. They worked very closely with Richard Trevithick, a fellow Cornishman, in developing the high steam pressure loco that was successful at Penydarren. The Neath Abbey Consortium were Quakers as were those setting up the Darlington & Stockton Railway. This probably accounts for a relationship between the two companies and George Stephenson, who built Locomotion for that venture, is known to have visited Neath Abbey Ironworks, to discuss the requirements for the orders for cast iron rails that Neath Abbey was to supply for that venture. It was known that Quakers often gave preferential terms to fellow Quakers in business. This relationship and previous experience with static steam engines was probably a driver to the decision to move to producing Steam Locomotives and Marine engines at Neath Abbey. Coincidentally, the Harfords of Ebbw Vale Works were also Quakers, which may have influenced the placing of orders on Ebbw Vale Ironworks to supply rail to the Stockton & Darlington Railway. It may also have been the link in the decision by Ebbw Vale Works to purchase its first Steam Locomotives from Neath Abbey Ironworks, 30 miles away. So, Cornwall and Quakers were two somewhat unlikely drivers for the decision as to where Ebbw Vale would purchase its first Steam Locos!
Similarly to Ebbw Vale Works, detailed records of Neath Abbey Ironworks have been maintained for over 200 years. Those records are stored at West Glamorgan Archives in Swansea, and these have provided details of the locos purchased by Ebbw Vale Works. Unfortunately, no locos survived, and it was before the days of photography, but a model of one of the first locos, named Industry, was constructed from the Engineering drawings that survived and is now in the collection of the National Museum of Wales. In addition, a local artist has produced a watercolour painting of a similar loco.
Records detailed in the book “Industrial Locomotives in Gwent”, show that 3 locos were purchased by Ebbw Vale Works between 1831 and 1836. The Locos were named Lark, Industry and Hawk.
By 1844, it is known that Ebbw Vale Works had 6 locos and operated on the Monmouthshire Canal Tramways until 1849, though full conversion to edge rails was not completed until 1855.
It is therefore confirmed that Ebbw Vale Works were very early purchasers of Steam Locos starting in 1831. Reliance on Steam Locos increased, with the steady move away from horse-drawn trams. Initially, this was to Steam Locos on tram roads and canals, then finally to the extensive rail network that developed in Monmouthshire, primarily linking the valleys to Newport. Extensive rail networks were also developed within Ebbw Vale Works and by the start of the 20th Century, the Works had more than 30 Steam locos.
Further details can be found in the the attached photos.
Sources:
Neath Abbey & The Industrial Revolution by Laurence Ince. 2001. Published by Tempus Publishing Ltd
Industrial Locomotives in Gwent by Geoffrey Hill & Gordon Green. Published by the Industrial Railway Society.
A History of the Development of the Ebbw Vale Works Railway System to the Docks at Newport:1790 – 2020 by Mel Warrender.
Mel Warrender is the Chairman of the Charitable Trust that oversees the Ebbw Vale Works collection, and the book can be purchased in the museum for £6.
Photos:
1.The model of one of the first Ebbw Vale Works Locos - “Industry”
2. A watercolor by a South Wales artist Stephen Hughes entitled " Locomotive made by Neath Abbey Ironworks for Ebbw Vale to Newport Tramroads"
3. Two lists of Locos produced by Neath Abbey Ironworks for Ebbw Vale Works
4. Original Engineering drawing of the Steam Loco Industry
5. Photos of Neath Abbey Ironworks showing remains of 2 Blast Furnaces and the Engine Manufactory
6. Map showing Monmouthshire Canals & Railroads.
On the next Museum post, I will endeavor to:
1. Return to more modern times &
2. Make it much shorter!
