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cunningcorgi Senior Member Posts : 71 Location : Status : Offline |
The Miler - October 2011 Explored with Brandy, the semi cunning corgi.History - Not a lot I'm afraid but I'll include what I do know. The Miler or Morlais Tunnel was opened in 1874. It would appear to have been built to link Brecon with Merthyr Tydfil and the London & North Western Railway. It would have been operated by Merthyr & Brecon Railways or as they were called locally, Murder & Breakneck Railways (due to their accident record). The last train ran through the Miler in 1964. The tunnel is 1,040 yards long, portal to portal and has three airshafts at regular intervals. Morlais Quarry was situated just to the west of the tunnel as you walk through and today, remnants of old station buildings and trackbeds can be seen along with a myriad of spoil heaps and tracks. To the east as you walk, is Pant Station which today is the terminus of the restored Brecon Mountain Railway. The tunnel is very, very wide (it was double tracked) and in excellent condition but can be wet in places as you will see. I apologise in advance for the quality of some of the photos but this is due to a number of reasons : 1) The tunnel, as I said is very wide and a lot bigger than most of the South Wales tunnels (most are single track) and as a consequence, is a illegitimate person to light. 2) Both portals have been bricked up which means that natural light is very much lacking after about 40 yards at both ends. 3) I had to explore alone (apart from the dog but he is useless with regards to lighting help !). Ideally you need at least two, if not three people to explore and light this tunnel. Even with two 3 million candle power lamps and numerous hand torches, this one (on my own) proved tricky. I couldn't for example, get any decent pics of the abandoned cars or the reinforcements that have been added. I hope to return soon though with a bit of help and will update the post when I do. Anyway, on with the photos ! The Northern Portal in 1958 
The Northern Portal today from the Taff Trail (fellow explorer in foreground !) 
The portal has been bricked up over the years but in typical Valleys tradition, where there is a will, there is a way ! 
Unfortunatly, years of neglect and the growth of trees and moss means the brickwork has been covered over. 
A view from inside the northern portal looking out. 
Looking down the trackbed as the tunnel curves gently to the right. 
A worker refuge of which there are plenty on both sides of tunnel every 30 yards or so. 
Air shaft no. 1 complete with a deluge of water which soaks you as you walk under it. 
Air shaft no. 2 which is relatively dry. The dog was sitting in the light when I started the exposure but unfortunatly something caught his attention ! 
The southern appears a long way off in the distance. 
View back towards the northern portal (now hidden by the bend). An abandoned car can be seen on the trackbed in the distance. 
Another view back north. 
I like their taste in music. Punk is not dead ! 
Approaching the southern portal with dog finding plenty to keep him occupied in the foreground. 
The Southern portal. Again bricked but again breeched. 
View back along the now overgrown trackbed towards the southern portal. 
Air shaft no. 1 above ground (the one with the deluge pouring through it). This is situated beside Pant station (now the Brecon Mountain Railway). 
Air shaft no. 1 again. The rumour is that all the water is actually from the bogs of the station ! 
Air shaft no. 2 above ground. 
A distant view of air shaft no. 3 which is located on private land. 
And its goodbye from him ! 
Thanks for looking and any comments / critisism welcome (to help me improve the old camera skills !) ---------------------- |
 Sat 22 Oct 2011 @ 15:08
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ratty Admin Posts : 96 Location : Pontypridd Status : Offline |
Nice shots. I'll have to visit it again some time although there doesn't look too many places to hide my wifes body 
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Wed 26 Oct 2011 @ 17:59
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