We just managed to squeeze a visit to this, the second tunnel on the old Brecon Mountain Railway (after Torpantau tunnel) on the 29th December. As it was nearly dark, extremely cold, and you couldn’t get inside anyway, it’s a very short report.
Location
Right under Talyllyn, which is just east of Brecon. We parked in the village and walked back up over the hill to get to the west portal. Here is a map of the area, courtesy of streetmap.co.uk
Background and visit
I believe the tunnel was completed in 1863, the same year that the line from Brecon to Merthyr Tydfil opened. It is 674 yards long, very similar then to torpantau tunnel, but unlike Torpantau, Talyllyn is dead straight. The western portal, that we visited, is bricked up save for a door-sized gap that has thick iron bars across it. The eastern portal, and Talyllyn station that is right next to it, is in someones garden! When we visited, steam was billowing out the vented brickwork, as you can just make out on the last picture. The cutting was very wet, and the tunnel looks to be totally flooded inside. Two large brown owls came blasting out from between the bars when we arrived, so it’s probably better that we couldn’t get in as they may be nesting in there, and we don’t want to disturb them.
Photos
No admittance!
Flooded cutting
Dampness
Rising steam
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