Cymmer Station

A Memory of Cymmer.

This photo brings back many fond memories for me as my grandfather Arthur Stanley Walker, was the foreman on Cymmer station right up to the time it closed in the early years of the 1970's. My uncle, Thomas John Walker was the local shunter. I couldn't wait until the school holidays came around as I always spent them with my grand parents who lived in 6 Coronation Avenue where I was born. My first port of call was always to my grandad's office on the station. Then it was down to Dai Jones' signalbox on the Maesteg platform for a haircut, then up on one of the the local shunting engines for a trip up to Glyncorrwg, or down to Duffryn Rhondda. With either coal empties or to pick up a loaded coal train Cymmer Afan as it was known in those days, was a busy junction. My grandad Stan as he was known to everyone, bought the station buildings when it closed and demolished it selling the materials off for salvage. He died a few years later and is buried in Cymmer cemetary. Tom his son the shunter died in 1994 and is buried with his parents, he remained a single man all his life. My grandad had an allotment by the side of the Abergwynfi branch by Gwilliam Jones' farm [now long demolished], where he grew enough vegetables to feed the family for the whole year. How times have changed. I spent many happy holidays in Cymmer and have many fond memories of it .Ii still visit the cemetary to place flowers on my grandparents graves and still have old friends there. I now live in Cefn Cribwr