Share. black, red seal. No 337. Folds. This must be the earliest Welsh railway share ever seen and, more importantly, it is among the very first railways worldwide. The narrow gauge horse tramway received parliamentary authorisation on 25 May 1811. The company capital was £50,000. Between 1811 and 1816, it built a mountainous line from a wharf on the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal at Brecon to Parton Cross in Herefordshire, 24-miles long. The tramway was built to a gauge of 3 ft 6 in. From a technical perspective, the railway was used cast iron 'L'-shaped tramroad plates in its construction. From 1 May 1820, the Hay Railway was joined at its Eardisley terminus, in an end on junction, by the Kington Tramway (est. 1818). Together, the two lines totalled 36 miles in length, comprising the longest continuous plateway to be completed in the United Kingdom. The Hay Railway operated through rural areas on the borders of England and Wales and was built to transport goods and freight. Passengers were not carried on any official basis. In 1865 the line was acquired - since 1860 as part of the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway - by the Brecon and MerthyrTydfil Railway and was leased to the Midland Railway in 1874. The line was also converted to standard gauge for operation by steam locomotives. Only 428 shares were issued, and only 4 (numbers 337-340) have survived to today. Large format, in remarkable condition, with red wax seal. This share was first sold by us in 2015. Due to a shift in collecting interests,we can present it here again. Top piece.