Cefn On/ Cefn Onn halt
An abandoned railway halt, north Cardiff
(Words by Mike Slocombe, May 2005)


Summer scene in the 1950s showing a Cardiff-bound train pulling into a well kept station. Note the tall 'home' signal by the tunnel entrance, the platform oil lamps and long bench for passengers. The short platform meant that only the first three coaches could be accommodated. (Pic: S.Rickard)


Ex-GWR 0-6-2T number 6619 steams into Cefn Onn Halt with a rake of empty wagons from Crwys Sidings headed for Llanbradach Colliery. The colliery, opened in 1894, closed in 1961.

Prairie tanks on the Rhymney valley line were usually 41xx or 45/55xx, with the latter mainly used on push-pull trains which were frequent visitors to Cefn Onn.

Note the tunnel entrance obscured by smoke from an earlier Cardiff-bound train. (Pic: B.J. Miller collection)




A short freight train from Cwm Bargoed to Cardiff rumbles past the deserted Cefn Onn platforms on 31st March, 1956. (Pic: B.J. Miller collection)


A view looking north towards Cefn Onn halt and the entrance to Caerphilly tunnel. Note the signal box on the left.

Cherry Orchard Sidings and Cefn Onn Sidings (on the right) closed to goods traffic on 28th September, 1964.

There's now a private tennis club on the site. (Pic: B.J. Miller collection)




There used to be a set of sidings just past the station, leading to a large shed by Cherry Orchard.

The large shed was the final resting places for condemned wagons, where they would be broken up and sold for scrap.

In this photograph, looking south from the footbridge, you can see one of the two signal boxes used to control movements in the area. (Pic: B.J. Miller collection)


In 1984, the shed was being used as a British Gas depot before a housing development was shoehorned into the site. (Pic: B.J. Miller collection)


Picture from the footbridge in June 1962. Note the home and distant signal on the Caerphilly platform.

There also seems to be a surfeit of benches adorning the platforms!
(Pic: courtesy of John Dunlop)



urban75 is a non-profit website. If you have any photos of Cefn Onn you'd like to contribute to this feature, please drop us a line!

More information and photos available from John Hutton's excellent book, 'The Rhymney Railway - Volume One, the main line from Cardiff'
(Silver LinkBooks ISBN 1 85794 227 2, nostalgiacollection.com)