Before the work on the building of
the system of dams in the Elan and Claerwen valleys could start, it was
necessary to 
build
a large private steam railway system.
This was needed to carry the heavy and bulky supplies of stone, cement
and timber over the huge area of the two valleys.
The Elan Valley Railway was connected to the main Cambrian Railway network
near Rhayader station.
Work on the railway started in October
1893, and as soon as the railway line
reached a dam site, then work could begin on the foundations of that particular
dam.
The line was extended to the site of the farthest dam at Craig Goch by
July 1896. There is a
map showing this line on another page.
The
building of this last section of the track was held up for months because
the route was blocked by solid rock. The
navvies working on the line called this 'Devil's
Gulch', and it looked very similar to the narrow passes through
the rocks which were used for ambushes in many Wild West stories ! 
