The Hereford, Hay-on-Wye and Brecon railway

This line was built up the Wye Valley in stages, but was finally opened at Hereford in September 1864. The line linked up with the Mid Wales Railway and the Brecon & Merthyr Railway.

The first section of the Hereford, Hay-on-Wye & Brecon Railway opened between Hereford and Moorhampton to goods traffic on 24th October 1862, to Eardisley for goods and passengers on 30th June 1863 and reached Hay-on-Wye on 11th July 1864.

The line reached the Three Cocks Junction on 19th September 1864, and the remainder of the line to Brecon had been taken over by different railway companies before construction had even begun. The section from Three Cocks to Talyllyn became part of the Mid Wales Railway and the Talyllyn to Brecon section was part of the Brecon & Merthyr Railway.

The line could be used to get to Swansea, a journey which took four hours to cover the 79 miles and stopped at 24 different stations on the way.

The Hereford, Hay-on-Wye & Brecon Railway later suffered difficulties and was taken over by the Midland Railway in 1874, which had been running a goods service to Hereford via Worcester since 1868. It saw the line as a convenient way to gain access to South Wales.

The railway came to be known as the "Egg and Bacon Railway" because of the farm produce that it used to bring into Hereford, especially on market day.

The line eventually closed to passengers on 31st December 1962, and one of the last trains was provided by the Stephenson Locomotive Society, when almost 400 enthusiasts travelled on the line for the last time and were given photographic souvenirs. In 1964 the line was closed to goods traffic as well between Eardisley and Three Cocks Junction, and later the same year the line was closed completely.

Most of the stations along this line have disappeared entirely: Hay-on-Wye station has been completely demolished and the site is now in use by Hay and Brecon Farmers at Old Station Yard.

[Extract from Herefordshire Through Time]