crawshay bailey was the driving force behind the development of tramroads in the nantyglo area which served to bring raw materials to and from his various ironworks. first, in 1822, he opened a plateway known as bailey's tramroad between the nantyglo ironworks and a wharf on the brecknock and abergavenny canal at govilon. here it met with the llanvihangel railway, a line opened in 1811 which stretched to llanvihangel crucorney and an end-on junction with the grosmont railway. in february 1859, crawshay and his partner thomas brown acquired the beaufort tramroad between brynmawr and its junction with the llanvihangel railway at the canal wharf in gilwern.