Volume Six - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Select Aspects - The Penarth Harbour Dock and Railway - Railway World Article - 1964 . . .

The Taff Vale Railway played a considerable part in the development of Penarth by providing a frequent service of trains to Cardiff Riverside and Clarence Road, in addition to through trains to the Valleys via Cardiff G.W.R. and Queen Street. In slack hours the Sully line was worked by steam railcars and later auto-trains as a branch from the bay platforms at Penarth, but there were also through trains from Cardiff and beyond in business hours.

The whole of the Taff Vale, Barry and Rhymney section passenger services are now worked by three and six-car diesel multiple-units on an interval basis. The Cardiff Valleys timetable was completely recast in 1953 and most of the Methyr and Treherbert trains now run to Barry Island via Dinas Powis, although a number are still routed through Penarth.

Other Penarth line trains run to and from Queen Street, Coryton and Rhymney at half-hourly to hourly intervals. Since its threatened closure the Clarence Road branch has been worked by a single diesel car on a shuttle service to and from Cardiff General. In later Taff Vale days Clarence Road - Penarth business trains were formed of 10 four-wheelers or five open bogie coaches made from converted steam railcars, hauled by Class U1, 02 or 03, 0-6-2 tanks Two-coach auto-trains were usually hauled by Class C, 4-4-2 tanks, Class 1, 4-4-0 tanks or Class M, 0-6-0 tanks; sometimes four-coach auto-trains were run with the engine in the middle. Through trains to and from the Valleys were formed mainly of bogie coaches and six-wheeled luggage vans hauled by the large Class A, 0-6-2 tanks, which occasionally took a turn on the Clarence Road service. Trains from Treherbert sometimes included Rhondda & Swansea Bay Railway coaches working through from Swansea. An interesting set of coaches that appeared at Penarth at holiday times was a set of ten four-wheelers the Taff bought from the Metropolitan District Railway when the latter became electrified.

No daily passenger trains were scheduled over the northern end of the Penarth line except during the late 1940's, when there was an evening train from Cardiff General to Treherbert non-stop to Radyr direct via North Curve and Waterhall Junction. A morning relief train ran as required non-stop form Pontypridd to Cardiff General by the same route. There have always been regular football specials to Ninian Park on Saturdays from the various valleys, including one from General and Queen Street via Llandaff and Radyr, where a reversal was required so that a double auto-set was used in steam days.