Porthcawl railway station

Rail activity began in Porthcawl in 1825, when the Duffryn Llynfi & Porthcawl Railway began construction, opening in 1828. Built to a gauge of four feet and seven inches and using rails based on stone sleepers, it was intended for it to serve a projected new port for the transfer of minerals from South Wales. It ran from Duffryn Llynfi near Maesteg via Tondu and Pyle. It was extended to Bridgend in 1834. The South Wales Railway, which passed through both Bridgend and Pyle, opened in 1850. The Llynfi Valley Railway took over the original company in 1847, and upgraded both the former tramway branches, reopening them as broad gauge railways on 10 August 1861. Porthcawl station opened 1 August 1865. The Llynfi Valley Railway merged with the Ogmore Valley Railway in 1866, creating the Llynfi & Ogmore Railway. Despite the conversion to a railway, trains on the Porthcawl branch continued to be drawn by horses until 1868, when the system was altered again, this time to standard gauge. The new Llynfi & Ogmore Railway was taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1873.

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