Welcome to the Barry Island Railway homepage

Barry's past glories lay in Coal Export and being the host to a most wonderful sandy beach which has attracted British tourists for well over 100 Years. Had it not been for the railways back in the late 1800s and early 1900s Barry Island may never have been.

The Railway has played an integral part in the development of the town. It is only fitting that the reborn Barry Island Railway should be host to an online museum, which hopes to recreate (after a period of development) life in this major industrial region.

Plans are underway to try and recreate in virtual pc format, what it was like to be in the 19th century, as a miner or a factory worker, taking the steam train from the Rhondda to Barry, we would like to demonstrate ways in which the internet may greatly enhance your understanding behind the railways history, before you even step foot in the region. This museum is going to be added to, as time goes on.

Never mind that now! Lets set the scene, it's 105 years ago in the year 1900, this is one of Barry's busiest periods, as well as massive coal exports leaving the docks, the resort was just as busy. In Victorian Britain the everyday man had discovered leisure time, and with the affluence which was inherited by Wales mining. More money and more leisure time meant time away from the mines and factories, in those days the very best way to arrive was train. Comfortable, fast and with a relaxation that no other form of transport could ever compete....Imagine the thrill it would have been to the everyday worker finally able to take a holiday...something which could only be afforded by the rich until now.

Working from dusk till dawn, men, woman and child would suffer a great deal, with unworkable, dangerous and unsafe conditions needlessly risking their lives daily to provide the coal...At least they had a few days a year in which they could at least spend a day away from their workplaces...it gave the industrial nation a touch of paradise, a chance to actually relax.

The train singlehandedly changed the way that the everyday man travelled, the train is a very important part of Barry's History. It was the format of transport responsible for a great deal, The train was there from the start...How very reassuring it is to find that the steam train has returned to Barry. Let us all support it, and let us understand everytime that we see a steam train what a wonderful revolution it helped us create.

So lets not think of a steam train as just fun next time we see one think of the people whose lives were completely changed by its introduction, the working class and the poor, some who were just children working to an early grave. The train would have transported these people to another world, changed their outlook on life, and given new horizons to people. And remember the integral part of life it had become.

The Barry Island Railway would like to thank you for entering the website, we hope you have gained the information you need, but if this website in any way has enhanced your visit, then we have half a job done. Without knowing the importance this place had to people, how could we possibly feel its magic ourselves. If you have any interesting stories or anecdotes to do with the trains please share them, over the next few months we are compiling photographs and memories from this period, we would love to hear from you. Especially if you have any cinecam footage, converted or not.