YESTERDAYS 1974
A FOUR-COACH diesel train travelling from Cardiff to Crewe jumped the rails on a section of track near Pontypool, but none of the six people on board was injured.
The six people on board – the driver, second man, guard and three passengers – were shaken but managed to hold on to their seats when the train lurched off the track.
The passengers were later taken to Abergavenny from Pontypool by bus and joined another train there to continue their journey.
The crew – driver Mr. George Gould of Elfed Green, Fairwater, second man Mr. Philip Bolts, and guard Mr. K. Patel are all from Cardiff.
They later took over another train and completed their morning shift.
Mr. Gould said: “It was a nasty experience and we were all shaken.”
The accident occurred on a lonely stretch of the link line one-and-a-half miles north of Pontypool Road, near Little Mill. The line at this point is straight, but at least 60 yards of it was ripped up by the train.
Two of the four coaches were pushed off the track and were leaning against a railway hut.
A nearby telegraph pole was also hit.
A breakdown crew lifted the diesel train back on to the track and engineers were examining the damaged section of the line to discover the cause of the accident.
It was likely to be 24 hours before track was replaced and ready for operation again.
The train was on a regular run. No other trains were affected directly by the derailment because the link line via Hereford and Abergavenny to Crewe is quiet at that time of the morning.
A special bus service was taking passengers from Pontypool to Abergavenny where they could board another train which would take them to Crewe.
“We cannot say when the line will be reopened but we are hoping to get a single line system operating as soon as possible,” said a British Railways spokesman. TWENTY greyhounds who were threatened with destruction found new homes in South Wales due to the efforts of a local animal-lover.
Mrs. Jill Rees, of Flat Holm, Penylan, Bassaleg, distributed more than 2,000 leaflets in a bid to save 50 greyhounds who were due to be destroyed at the Animal Welfare Trust’s retired greyhound kennels in Essex.
After her appeal was published in the South Wales Echo offers rolled in and her husband, Tom, was travelling to London to collect the dogs and bring them back to new homes in South Wales.
The problem of placing retired dogs as pets had become more acute during the recent ban on greyhound racing imposed by the Government because of the fuel crisis.
The two-month lay-off was disastrous for owners who had become almost desperate under the pressure of feeding several greyhounds with no race money coming in and no chance of side-bets.
“My wife has travelled all over South Wales checking out offers of homes,” said Mr. Rees. “The response has been wonderful, and when she rang the Animal Trust to tell them she had found home for 20 of the dogs, they could scarcely believe her.”
The Greyhound Racing Association at Arms Park Stadium in Cardiff were playing an important part in completing the mercy mission. They offered their greyhound transporter van – it was being used to take up to 48 dogs from kennels to track – free of charge for the trip to Essex and back.
“It is a wonderful gesture. Quite frankly I don’t see how we could have managed otherwise,” said Mr. Rees. “The dogs have to be kept apart, and, of course, this is the kind of transport they are used to. Now we are hoping the new owners will be at Bassaleg to meet the dogs tomorrow.”
Mrs. Rees received replies from all over the country, including a letter from a 45-year-old greyhound-lover, containing past experiences with greyhounds. One merchant man rang up from Yorkshire and was referred to the London address. AN IRONMONGERY and hardware store in Clifton Street, Cardiff, was