Situated North of Tredegar on the Breconshire border, Trefil was instrumental in the development of the "Iron Belt" area as a major industrial centre.
It was here that limestone, an essential part of the ironmaking (and later steelmaking) process, was quarried and transported to the ever hungry furnaces which dominated the region from the early days of the 19th century.
The Trefil Rail Road Company opened a series of lines around 1797 enabling the quarry products to be transported to local ironworks at Ebbw Vale, Beaufort and Sirhowy.
The Trefil Tram Road began operations in 1805, sanctioned under the same 1802 Act which gave birth to the Sirhowy Tram Road.
This new four mile link was now able to connect directly with the new and fast-expanding Tredegar Ironworks and beyond to the docks at Newport.
Horse power was eventually replaced by narrow gauge locomotives in the 1880's and in 1890 at peak output, over 35,000 tons of limestone was transported.
The line closed in 1920 and during its lifetime carried some 3 million tons of limestone as well as many thousands of tons of coal and iron ore.
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