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THE MUMBLES TRAIN

The Oystermouth Railway was built in 1804 to move limestone from the quarries of Mumbles, iron ore from a mine near Knab Rock and coal from the Clyne Valley to Swansea and to the markets beyond. It carried the world's first fare-paying railway passengers in 1807 and later became the Swansea and Mumbles Railway.

The first carriages were hauled on tracks by horses but a turnpike road was established alongside the railway in the mid 1820s that deprived it of much of its business, and the passenger service ceased in 1827. The track was relaid with conventional rails in 1855 and the horse-drawn passenger service was reinstated between Swansea and the Dunns, Oystermouth.

Steam-powered locomotives were introduced in 1877 and the line was extended to Southend in 1893 and to the pier in 1898. From 1900 to the 1920s the railway usually carried up to 1800 passengers each single journey, another world record at the time, but the enormous load meant a maximum speed of 5mph.

The pier was built in 1898 and, at 225m long, is a fine example of Victorian architecture. It was the western terminus for the Mumbles Train, linking it with the White Funnel paddle steamers that carried passengers on routes along the River Severn and the Bristol Channel.