Duffryn/ Troedyrhiw Continued
By the 1820’s the company was getting its coal from numerous mountainside
levels and some shallow shafts. As iron output grew from the furnaces more
coal was needed and deeper shafts were sunk. Along the line of the tramroad
between the Plymouth Furnaces and Dyffryn the company sunk over ten pits.
Shallow ones near the Plymouth works the deeper toward Dyffryn. Ultimately
when the ironworks declined the collieries continued to produce large
tonnages of coal. Coking and house coal was mined from the Saron and Taldwyn
levels, good dry-steam coal from the deeper seams in Graig and South Duffryn
Pits which continued to work until the 1930’s.
There have been many changes along the route of the Tramroad between
Pentrebach and Troedyrhiw as a result of landscaping which took place in the
early 1970’s. These erased the last ruins of ironworks and collieries and
provided a large plateau, on which the Linde factory has been constructed.
The course of the tramroad is regained on entering Troedyrhiw, running to
the rear of Chapel Street and along Mount Pleasant. These cottages, most
modernized, are some of the oldest now left in the Merthyr area and
originally would have provided accommodation for colliers and ironworkers.
To the west across the valley, we can also see the huge tip (now
landscaped), the only remains of the Castle Colliery that belonged to the
Cyfarthfa ironworks. Sunk in 1867 the single shaft reached a depth of over
400metres to mine the excellent quality seams on the west side of the Taff.
At King’s Hill the Tramroad would have crossed the Turnpike Road before
passing in front of an ancient stone built cottage, which is still standing.
Unfortunately this part of its course is in private ownership so the modern
route has been forced to follow the pathway alongside the road, leaving it
at a point near to the site of Dan-y-deri Colliery.
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