In the 1830’s the Dowlais Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil was the largest in the world. Josiah Guest, who owned one of the ironworks, realized that it would be an advantage to link his ironworks with Cardiff docks. Guest joined forces with Anthony Hill and other owners of ironworks in the Merthyr area to create the Taff Vale Railway Company, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a talented engineer from Bristol, was recruited to build the railway. When the rail network was completed it reduced the costs of moving the coal and iron out of the valleys so it was possible to export the coal to different countries of the world through the ports of Cardiff and Barry.
