B&MR would build down from Dowlais to Deri Junction. There would be a limited mutual exchange of running powers. At Bargoed the Rhymney Railway and the B&MR trains exercising running powers were on the west side of the valley, and the B&MR from its Rhymney station was on the east side. A north-west to south-east diagonal connection was built as part of the work. The location of the stations at Dowlais was determined by the through lines on which they were sited, and in 1865 the B&MR had obtained powers to make a short branch to a central location in Dowlais. It opened from Pant on 23 June 1869. The Dowlais station, at Lloyd Street, was later (in 1924) renamed Dowlais Central. LNWR connections The London and North Western Railway was encroaching from the east by means of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway which it had acquired, and it was obvious that it sought to reach Dowlais and Merthyr. In an Act of 15 July 1867 it obtained authority to make junctions with the B&MR near Dowlais Top and near Dowlais (Central), where its new alignment would bring the two railways close together. The LNWR line was to pass Dowlais heading north, in tunnel under Pant station, curving west and south to join the B&MR line at Morlais Junction. The connections were made on 1 January 1873. The connection at Dowlais Top was used for the exchange of goods and mineral traffic, and was removed about 1933. The connection near the B&MR central station at Dowlais was made by curving from northward to join the B&MR southward at Ivor Junction just outside the B&MR station; LNWR trains used the B&MR station from that time. On 4 May 1885 the LNWR opened a station at Dowlais High Street, somewhat to the east of Dowlais, and from that date transferred its passenger calls to that station. The goods traffic of the LNWR (and its successors) continued to be exchanged at Dowlais (Central) B&MR station until 22 November 1954, from which date such traffic ran via . The LNWR still wanted good access to Merthyr and in 1874 promoted a Bill for a new line getting access to the town. The B&MR opposed this in Parliament, but a compromise was reached by which the B&MR's own Merthyr line would be made joint with the LNWR in consideration of the LNWR refunding half