Barry Railway Company
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The Barry Railway Company was promoted by interests in coal mining and steel in the South Wales valleys as an alternative to the existing rail service to Cardiff docks in Tiger Bay. It's primary interests were always very much in transporting the commodities of its sponsors.
It was incorporated by Act of Parliament on August 14 1884, for the construction of a dock at Barry Island.
The company persuaded P and A Campbell to run steamers from a pier built alongside the dock across the Bristol Channel, but later put their own fleet on the station. Although the "Red Funnel" fleet as it became known gained a great measure of popularity, the company was dogged by legal disputes with its main competitors, P and A Campbell, legislation restricting their freedom to develop services and the legacy of the high cost of its three magnificent new steamers
Barry Railway
Starting in 1885, the company constructed 7miles of track from Cardiff, Wales, and the construction of railways of about 26miles in length from the docks to the Rhondda Valley. Additionaly, access was created to junctions with the existing and authorised railways to all the other great mineral-producing districts of South Wales." (The Railway Year Book for 1912, Railway Publishing Co Ltd). Eventually the Company’s route mileage was 66 miles, but with 140 miles of sidings: 100 miles of them were around the docks. The head office of the railway was at Barry. Apart from owning the docks themselves - which consisted of three docks entered by locks - the four main portions of the rail network were:
- the main line from Barry to Trehafod
- a branch from Cadoxton giving access to Cardiff via the Taff Vale Railway
- a branch from St Fagans via Penrhos giving access to Rhymney via the Rhymney Railway
- the Barry Island branch
- the line via Aberthaw to Bridgend, linking with the Great Western Railway. This was the Vale of Glamorgan Railway, promoted by the Barry.
The Barry Railway became a constituent part of the Great Western Railway in 1923.
Barry and Bristol Channel Steamship Company
In 1905 they started to build their own fleet of four ships, but as a railway company, parliamentary powers were required to operate steamships and the powers granted generally included provisions which limited operations to routes genuinely associated with the mother company's principal business (ie railway connections to non-accessible locations). The powers were also granted to take account of the legitimate interests of existing operators.The Company were limited to calls on the southern bank of the Channel between Weston and Ilfracombe, with additional summer excursion destinations allowed so long as the cruises started and finished at Barry. To circumvent these restrictions, the company resorted to the ploy of registering their vessels in the names of its directors and set up an operating company, the Barry and Bristol Channel Steamship Company. P and A Campbell resorted to successful legal action which ensured that by July 1907, the Barry Railway Company was required to abide by the terms of the original legislation.
Services were maintained despite deteriorating financial fortunes, but as a cost saving measure, PS Gwalia was sold to the Furness Railway Company on May 7th 1910. Five days later the remaining three steamers were sold to Bristol Channel Passenger Boats Ltd. The latter company struggled to make the business pay and after two seasons, sold out to P and A Campbell.
Paddle Steamers of the Barry and Bristol Channel Steamship Company
- PS Gwalia - 1905
- PS Devonia - 1905
- PS Westonia - second-hand 1905
- PS Barry - second-hand 1907
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