By Karl-James Langford

The footsteps along the roadway to Barry Island; the Harbour Road, is an iconic journey which most of us have taken. The roadway was not always there; in fact this stretch of access to Barry Island was first done by train.

The Barry and District has been dominated by a train network that was far more extensive than it is today.

I have been asked many times: "Karl-James Langford was Barry Island ever an island?"

Yes, of course. In fact it's been less than 140 years that Barry Island has been united with the mainland.

Railways fascinate me, and I need to do many more such sites in my weekly column. It was amazing to work with Brian Keitch, who is a bank of knowledge on the subject of railways in the Barry and District.

We broadcast on my YouTube channel his last journey on the Sully line on the 4th May 1968, the day the line that headed to the Barry Pierhead station closed. This Pierhead station was accessed through a tunnel passing and stopping at this weeks image, 'Barry Island station' (we credit my young explorer for this image Peter Sampson).

The station at Barry Island with two fronting gable bays, that have two dressed stone carvings with lettering. The left hand gable has two letters carved: B R, of course this means British Rail? Actually this would a wrong assumption, B R refers to 'Barry Railway'.

And for the date on the other gable: 1896. Finally the holiday makers could now arrive in luxury. But, of all the stations they met on route in the Barry and District in the late Victorian period only Barry Island holds its original station housing with platforms.

The embankment heading from the site of the old ship hotel, which is now under the roadway affront of the new Ship Hotel, and junction for Harbour Road, St. Nicholas Road and The Parade, didn't really arrive until 1894. The work on the docks had completed Dock 1, by 1889, and there was no direct passenger access to Barry Island. The Barry Company in 1894 was close to seeing its dream of two docks at Barry nearing completion, now it was the time of mass holiday making.

Parliament passed an act for the railway embankment to be completed; with opposition from ships captains who still used the harbourage at the Old Harbour. The railway was completed by 1896. But with no direct road access growing alongside it (that's another story). The very powerful Barry Company opened its Barry Railway, Barry Island station on the 3rd of August 1896. And then mass holiday making entered the history of Barry Island.

Holiday makers would be met with the red brick and detailed Portland stone windows, doors etc. The Barry island station was and still is a grand expression of the direction that Barry Island would continue to take, well after the golden days of the Barry Port had come and gone.

The platform however has seen better days, with ongoing work to replace ironwork at the site, but the main building has remained Victorian in nature since 1896. This building is well worth a visit.

More from our Barry and District next week.