was a landing, about halfway down in each of the Britannia shafts (North and South) from which it was possible to access Pengam pit bottom. The official entrance to Pengam colliery was adjacent to Pengam (Mon) station, on High Street previously known as Waunborfa Road. Pengam at one time had two railway stations – one in Glamorgan and one in Monmouthshire. The line in Pengam (Mon) belonged to the Brecon and Merthyr Railway. Construction began in 1825 and it was opened in 1836, mainly to cater to the needs of the small pits and levels, and then increasingly for the collieries when they were sunk at the start of the century. It also accommodated the desire for more mobility by the rapidly growing population of the valley, when the steam locomotives pulled the passenger carriages up and down the line. The railway track from Newport to Brecon, or Tredegar, branched at Machen, the line going from there to Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil. The line branched behind Britannia Colliery for Brecon, or carried straight on to Tredegar where the line terminated. The locomotives hauling the coal trains along this line were pannier-tank type steam engines. The station, and stationmaster's house were directly adjacent to Pengam pit. This closed in 1962. The other in Glamorgan was opened in 1858 by the Rhymney Railway and remains open as Pengam railway station. Pengam was the location of the Austin Junior Car Factory set up by Leonard Lord, managing Director of the Austin Motor Company, to employ disabled Welsh miners making children's pedal cars. More than 30,000 J40 pedal cars were built between 1949 and 1962. Apart from a few managers and trainers from Longbridge, the factory was considered unique in the world at the time for having a workforce that was 100% disabled – 60% of whom suffered from Complicated Pneumoconiosis. External links Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni Lewis School Pengam www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pengam and surrounding area Welsh Coal Mines - all the pits, all the histories Notes Villages in Caerphilly County Borough