End of The Line

In October 1958, 90% of the shares of the Mumbles Railway Ltd. passed into the hands of the South Wales Transport Company (SWTC). The SWTC ran much of the local bus services within the Swansea area.
During this time, the Mumbles Railway was apparently making a loss of £8250 a year. An investment of £260000 was needed to ensure the continued running of the line. These sums of money were disputed.
It was decided that the line was to close.

This picture shows a Mumbles Train alongside a South Wales double-decker bus. The route number of the bus was '77' which ran between Morriston Cross and Mumbles Pier. This bus service was to replace the Mumbles Train.

Did you know that the Number '77' route ran from Pontlasse Cross, through Morriston, Plasmarl, Landore, High Street Swansea, Mumbles Road, West Cross, Oystermouth, Southend, Mumbles and Limeslade? What do you notice about this route?

The Mumbles Railway finally closed on the 5th January 1960. The last train entered the Rutland Street terminus at 12:20 am.

This film shows the last journey ever made by the Mumbles Train. The song at the beginning of the film was written by John Davies and Billy Jewel and performed by John Davies himself. Notice the way in which the train has been decorated for the occasion and the large crowds who gathered to watch the death of the Mumbles Railway. The 'Number 77' bus took over the route and can be clearly seen in the video.

The pictures show the last service run at Southend and Rutland Street. Notice the way in which the train has been decorated.

Did you know that the 'Last Wake' train was privately hired by Mrs. Barrington of Queen's Road, Mumbles?
The charges quoted by South Wales Transport Co. Ltd. for this hire were:
£3. 3s. 0d. per single train
£5. 5s. 0d. per double train
(3 and 5 guineas respectively)

Most of the rolling stock of the Mumbles Railway was scrapped, as the picture on the right shows.
One train was taken to Middleton, near Leeds. The picture below shows the train being hauled by a diesel locomotive at Middleton. This train was eventually destroyed in a fire.

Click on the projector icon. The film shows a Mumbles Train being dismantled before being taken to Leeds. The workers are using pulleys to remove the top section of the tramcar. The bridge they are using to support the upper deck no longer exists, but was originally at the bottom of today's Wind Street in Swansea. Listen carefully to the commentary. What was the eventual fate of this tramcar?

Did you know that the Mumbles Railway opened two years after the Battle of Trafalgar during the reign of George III?

When it closed in 1960, during the reign of Elizabeth II, it was the oldest passenger railway in the world.
In 1976 a Society was formed to bring back the Historic Railway and create interest through lectures and exhibitions.