page_title: Aberdare Canal
section_title: Decline
hierarchical_section_title: Aberdare Canal / History / Decline
caption_attribution_description: Aberdare Canal, Cwbach, Wales
context_page_description: The Aberdare Canal was a canal in Glamorgan, Wales which ran from Aberdare to a junction with the Glamorganshire Canal at Abercynon. It opened in 1812, and served the iron and coal industries for almost 65 years. The arrival of railways in the area did not immediately affect its traffic, but the failure of the iron industry in 1875 and increasing subsidence due to coal mining led to it becoming uneconomic. The Marquess of Bute failed to halt its decline when he took it over in 1885, and in 1900 it was closed on safety grounds. The company continued to operate a tramway until 1944. Most of the route was buried by the construction of the A4059 road in 1923, although a short section at the head of the canal remains in water and is now a nature reserve. The company was wound up in 1955.
context_section_description: By 1897, the volume of traffic had dropped to 7,855 tons, and passage along the canal was extremely difficult, as a result of bridges and towpaths sinking. Maintenance costs kept increasing, and the decision was taken to close the canal in November 1900 on safety grounds. The company continued to operate the tramroad between Penderyn, Hirwaun and Aberdare, with the Penderyn to Hirwaun section being converted to standard gauge and linked to the Great Western Railway in 1904, and the remaining section being sold to the owners of the coal pits in 1944.
  The canal lay unused and derelict until 1923, when it was bought by Aberdare Urban District Council and Mountain Ash District Council. The Aberdare Canal Act was passed in 1924, authorising the purchase, and most of the canal bed was buried under the A4059 and B4275 roads. The Aberdare Canal Company was finally wound up in 1955.
caption: The derelict Abedare Canal at Cwmbach c.1920
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