By
the 1830s the Dowlais Ironworks in Merthyr
Tydfil was the largest in the world. Josiah Guest, who owned the
ironworks, realised that it would be an advantage to link his ironworks
with Cardiff docks. Guest joined forces
with Anthony Hill, owner of another ironworks near Merthyr
Tydfil, to form the Taff Vale Railway Company. Isambard
Brunel, a talented engineer from Bristol,
was recruited to build the railway.
The Taff Vale Railway was completed in 1841. It was now possible to
transport goods from Merthyr Tydfil to
Cardiff in less than an hour. Later, branches
were built to link the mining valleys with Welsh ports and England's
fast growing industrial towns and cities. The railway network reduced
transport costs so much that it was now profitable to export Welsh
coal to countries as far away as Argentina and India.
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