Joined: 13 May 2019 Gender: Male Posts: 14,696 Location: .
17 Aug 2024, 5:52 am
Yes. I am fascinated by railway history in certain areas of the UK. (I kind of limit it to certain areas as it is easier for me to remember and research etc as I can picture it well in my mind. Areas I don't know as I have not explored are harder to remember as I have no personal visual reference points if that makes sense? Though I do love the history of transportation especially the railway lines!)
But here is the next part of the M4 (I know this part well as have travelled along the western part a lot.
The area near Margam Steelworks that he shows lots of track used to be Europes largest hump shunting yard. The steelworks is also the largest in Europe and was kept open both for the German car industry who insisted they had the best quality steel (Their car industry was subsidized by EU and UK taxpayers and the UK car industry was not after the EU took control which is why the UK car industry could not compete and also why they had to use lower grades of steel which rusted quicker), but also this steel was the only steel that NASA could use when building the space shuttles, as they have exceptional grades of iron ore and top quality anthracite (Is like black glass!) in the area.. The reason why the steelworks was kept open for so long. The steelworks is huge, and it takes a long time to pass it if one goes by train (Railway runs alongside the steelworks). The railway lines themselves from here heading east are built from the deepest profile rail one will ever come across, as the iron ore trains were heavy! (In years gone by it took three class 37 siesel locos to pull the 40 or so iron ore waggons, as the trains were not that long but the ore was VERY HEAVY!
Moving towards the end of the short film where the guys pronounciations are all over the place and way out! He mentions anthrax. The anthrax was not used where he was standing but was used on a long golden sandy beach on the Gower. Just off from that beach into the estuary are the remains of a cast iron lighthouse which is one of only two ever built like this in the world.
17 Aug 2024, 5:28 am
