Barry Dock and Railways
In the 1870's, demand for the 'matchless' steam coal of the Rhondda Valleys increased at an astonishing rate. The existing railway and docks were caught unprepared. The situation became progressively worse until 1880 when things came to a head. Output of steam coal depended upon two things, export demand and the transport facilities of the railways, docks and shipping. Demand seemed to be insatiable but if transport was not improved, it would only be able to expand as a slow rate.
In 1882, the Bute Trustees presented a Bill to Parliament for a new dock at Cardiff together with a proposal that the Marquis of Bute should get an extra penny for all coal shipped from his docks. Rhondda coal owners replied that if this Bill were passed then they would have to find an alternative port. They stated that in 1874 the total coal and coke exported from Cardiff and Penarth was 2,886,000 tons and this had risen to 7,774,828 tons in 1882. As there had been no extra dock accommodation, except the Roath Basin, there was frequently congestion at the dock. This resulted in 'short days' at Rhondda pits as no more coal could be sent to the ships. It was estimated that the Ocean Collieries at Cwmparc and Gelli stopped 68 times during this period. This was an average of 27 hours over a period of 10 weeks. It was further calculated that based on an average output of 370 tons of coal an hour, it meant the loss of 9,990 tons or 40,000 tons in the period of a year.
The railways also had
their problems. It regularly took a coal train 23 hours to travel from the Ocean Collieries to Cardiff dock, a journey which should take
about 3.5 hours. Also it could take something like 27 hours to get the empty wagons back to the collieries. This obviously had a knock-on
effect. It was not surprising that Rhondda Coal owners adopted a militant attitude and sought dock and railway accommodation elsewhere.
By 1914 a number of new railways had been constructed connecting the Rhondda to Barry, Port Talbot, Swansea and Newport and the
construction of this network of railways allowed for the complete industrialisation of the Rhondda Valleys.
The most important of these was the Barry Railway and Docks, built at a cost of nearly £2,000,000. The project envisaged a new dock at Barry and a railway to connect it directly to the Rhondda without having to pass through the narrow gorge at Tongwynlais. The railway opened in February 1889 and 5 months later the port with a 73 acre dock opened. On 18th July 1889 the first load of Rhondda steam coal was loaded onto a ship at Barry Dock. The port was an immediate success. In 1890-2 nearly one third as much coal passed through it as through Cardiff. By 1914 it was handling more than Cardiff and Penarth put together. A second dock of 37 acres was opened in 1898 and a third in 1914. On 16th. March 1896 the main line between Porth and Barry was opened for passenger traffic.