Penarth to Bargoed on new Transport for Wales class 231 Stadler Flirt - nice diesel sound effects!

This is a video of a trip I took between Penarth and Bargoed on one of Transport for Wales' new class 231 Stadler Flirts. I had originally planned to get to the current line end at Rhymney, but there were track problems, so this is the furthest north I could get. If you ever stop by in Bargoed, check out the Square Royale pub in the high street (https://www.facebook.com/thesquareroy... they serve a good range of food and were very welcoming on a cold night. You may also like to stop by Bourton's Live Music Café Bar. When I travelled on the metre gauge Brunig pass line in Switzerland, I was really impressed with the Stadler Adler (and their suburban versions) that ran this line. It occurred to me that the Swiss 1m loading gauge resulted in trains similar to the restricted UK standard gauge dimensions. I had this hope that one day we would enjoy Brunig pass style trains on our lines. Well, here we are!! The class 231 Stadler Flirt is a diesel train with a really interesting layout. It has four articulated coaches. There is a powered bogie with traction motors under each cab. In the middle of the train is a small coach on articulated bogies (which I have christened the "Flux Capcitor"!) that contains four diesel power packs to power the train (it's nearly a loco, but not quite!- it generates the power for the front and rear bogies). This has a corridor through it so that passengers can access the length of the train. This means you can enjoy electric train traction motor whine at the ends of each train, a quiet hauled coach ambience in the middle of each train half or some quite fruity diesel thrash if you sit in seat directly next to the power pack coach- . For this recording, guess where I was sitting? These trains are currently running Penarth to Rhymney services, but their final destination will be the Maesteg-Cheltenham line. Rhymney, Penarth, Barry and the Vale of Glamorgon is getting a fleet of class 756 Flirts. These have overhead line capabilities and a battery. There is a diesel pack to charge the battery, so the train can run off the wires (and they will need to do so as the Cardiff, Barry, Bridgend will not be electrified, and lines to the north will feature discontinuous electrification. These trains are being delivered, but are not in service, as the electrification is not complete. I hope they work, as there are apparently problems with the Liverpool Merseyrail battery electric class 777s (which are also from Stadler). Index points: 00:00:00 Leaving Penarth station 00:01:32 Heol Dingle / Dingle Road 00:02:42 Penarth Dock (closed 1962) 00:02:56 Cogan Junction- A4055 passes over 00:03:35 Lladough Platform (closed 1918) 00:04:04 A4232 passes over 00:04:31 Bridge over the River Ely 00:05:39 Grangetown 00:08:02 City Line diverges, S Wales Mainline joins, Canton depot (all on other side!) 00:09:14 Former Cardiff Corporation tram shed 00:09:55 River Taff bridge 00:10:06 Caerdydd Canalog / Cardiff Central 00:12:23 Cardiff Bay branch and bridge over S Wales mainline 00:13:36 Caerdydd Heol y Frenhines / Cardiff Queen Street 00:14:27 Traversing the 1928 Taff Vale / Rhymney line link 00:14:40 Passing site of Cardiff Crockherbtown / Parade- former Rhymney line passenger terminus 00:16:14 Lefel Uchel y Mynydd Bychan / Heath High Level 00:17:27 Overhead line poles being installed for discontinuous electrification 00:18:45 Llanisien / Llanishen 00:20:22 Llys-faen a'r Ddraenen / Lisvane & Thornhill (opened 1985) 00:22:00 M4 passes over 00:22:30 Cefn Onn Halt (closed 1986) 00:22:41 Caerphilly tunnel 1769m 00:23:32 Former triangular junction with line to Machen, Newport and Ebbw Vale line 00:23:52 Caerffili / Caerphilly 00:25:56 Site of west branch junction where lines to Cadoxton, Barry and Pontypridd left 00:26:34 Aber 00:27:07 Nice view over Caerphilly Castle and some fast moving clouds! 00:28:09 Site of Beddau loop junction, which linked in with lines from West Branch junction 00:28:19 The Brecon and Merthyr railway also left on the other side 00:28:59 Eneu’r-glyn a Pharc Churchill / Energlyn & Churchill Park (opened 2013) 00:30:12 Bridge over A469 00:30:26 Site of Pwll-y-Pant (closed 1893) was round here somewhere! 00:30:37 Remains of Llanbradach viaduct (which carried the Brecon and Merthyr) 00:31:25 Llanbradach 00:35:15 Goods loops for coal trains from Cymbargoed- these stopped in the summer of 2023 00:36:07 Cymbargoed branch leaves on the other side 00:36:35 Ystrad Mynach 00:37:23 Site of Cylla Junction (line to Penallta colliery) 00:38:35 GWR line to Hengoed high level and Hengoed viaduct passes over 00:38:50 Hengoed (formerly low level) 00:39:32 It is possible to glimpse Hengoed Viaduct, which still stands 00:42:14 Pengam 00:48:20 Gilfach Fargoed 00:47:24 2011 cut and cover tunnel, with Bargoed bus interchange and carpark built above 00:47:36 Bargoed 00:47:46 Stadler Flirt heads south, back to Penarth