Station to Station Publication 2025 by USW Photography

2020 - 2025 STATION TO STATION

STATIONTOSTATION 2020-2025

Station to Station is a celebration of the railways of the South Wales Valleys, and the people that live and work around them. Since 2020, students from our course have travelled the network each year for an intense three-day immersion into the communities residing there. This publication showcases a selection of the outstanding work that has been produced during these assignments.

Mentored by a team of professional photographers, students have travelled the Rhymney, Treherbert, and Merthyr Tydfil lines in search of stories, venturing out on bright sunny days, as well as braving downpours and dramatic storms. By creating this collective body of work, the students offer an insight into the rich tapestry of contemporary life in the valleys.

The rail network itself has seen a dramatic transformation over the course of the project. The Arriva Trains Wales contract came to an end, and a new, publicly owned organisation - Transport for Wales - took its place. Station to Station thus documents the arrival of new trains, the renewal of station infrastructure, and the electrification of the network. In the most recent edition of the project, students were given unprecedented access to the new tramtrain depot in Taff’s Well, witnessing the delivery of new locomotives.

Over the five years that Station to Station has run, community and industry enthusiasm has continued to grow. Transport for Wales has been an important partner, providing assignments offering students industry experience, as well as supporting project logistics and funding. We have also begun fruitful collaborations with the Arts Development teams from Caerphilly County Borough Council and Rhondda Cynon Taf Council which have been instrumental in greatly expanding the range of topics represented in this archive.

Station to Station is a nod to David Bowie’s 1967 song and album of the same name, but also to the remarkable history of community engagement by Documentary Photography students past and present. It is a direct descendant of the Newport Survey, a groundbreaking social documentary project undertaken by the course during the 1980s.

Station to Station: What’s next? Get involved!

We are looking for schools and colleges to collaborate on future versions of the project. Get in touch if you run a photography, media, sociology, or art course and would like to participate.

We are also looking for businesses, individuals, clubs, societies, and organisations to come on board. Be part of the next phase of the project, benefit from exposure on social media, be included in this historic archive, and receive pictures in return.

David Barnes & Karin Bareman, Lecturers

BA (Hons) Documentary Photography

University of South Wales

Dathliad o reilffyrdd Cymoedd De Cymru yn ogystal â’r bobl sydd yn gweithio ac yn byw o’u cwmpas yw Station to Station. Ers 2020, bob blwyddyn mae myfyrwyr o’n cwrs wedi teithio’r rwydwaith am drochiad dri-diwrnod dwys i’r cymunedau sy’n byw yno. Mae’r cyhoeddiad hwn yn arddangos detholiad o’r gwaith ragorol sydd wedi ei gynhyrchu drwy’r aseiniadau hon.

Wedi mentora gan dîm o ffotograffwyr proffesiynol, mae myfyrywr wedi teithio’r llinellau Rhymni, Treherbert a Merthyr Tudful yn chwilio am straeon, gan fentro allan ar ddiwrnodau claer, ond hefyd yn wynebu pistylliadau a stormiau dramatig. Drwy creu’r corff gyfunol o waith hon, mae’r myfyrwyr yn cynnig mewnwelediad i dapestri gyfoethog bywyd gyfoes yn y cymoedd.

Mae’r rwydwaith trenau ei hun wedi gweld trawsnewidiad dros gwrs y prosiect. Daeth contract Arriva Trains Wales i ben, a gymerodd corff cyhoeddus newydd - Trafnidiaeth Cymru - ei le. Dogfennir Station to Station felly cyrhaeddiad trenau newydd, adnewyddiad isadeileddau gorsafoedd, a thrydaneiddio’r rwydwaith. Yn argraffiad fwyaf ddiweddar y prosiect, cafodd fyfyrwyr fynediad ddigynsail i’r depo tram-trenau newydd yn Ffynnon Taf, gan dystio ddosbarthiad locomotifau newydd.

Dros y pum mlynedd mae Station to Station wedi rhedeg, mae brwdfrydedd gymunedol a diwydiannol wedi parhau i dyfu. Mae Trafnidiaeth Cymru wedi profi i fod yn bartner bwysig gan ddarparu aseiniadau sydd wedi cynnig profiad diwydiant i fyfyrwyr, yn ogystal â chefnogi logisteg ac ariannu’r prosiect. Rydym ni hefyd wedi dechrau cydweithrediad ffrwythlon gyda timau Datblygiad Celfyddydau Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili a Chyngor Rhondda Cynon Taf sydd wedi bod yn gyfryngol i ehangu’r cyfres eang o bynciau yn yr archif hon.

Mae Station to Station yn gyfeiriant i gân ac albwm 1967 David Bowie o’r un enw, ond hefyd i’r hanes nodedig o ymrwymiad gymunedol gan fyfyrwyr Ffotograffiaeth Ddogfennol yn hanesyddol ac yn bresennol. Mae’n ddisgynydd uniongyrchol o’r Newport Survey, prosiect ddogfen cymdeithasol arloesol rhedwyd gan y cwrs drwy’r 1980au.

Station to Station: Beth sydd nesaf? Cymerwch ran!

Rydym ni’n edrych am ysgolion a cholegau i gydweithio ar fersiynau dyfodol y prosiect. Cysylltwch â ni os ydych chi’n rhedeg cwrs ffotograffiaeth, cyfryngau, cymdeithaseg neu celf ac eisiau cymeryd rhan.

Rydym ni hefyd yn edrych am fusnesau, unigolion, clybiau, cymdeithasau a sefydliadau i ddod ar fwrdd. Byddwch yn ran o gydwedd nesaf y prosiect, elwa o sylw ar gyfryngau cymdeithasol, cael eich cynnwys yn yr archif hanesyddol hon, ac yn derbyn ffotograffiau.

David Barnes & Karin Bareman, Darlithwyr BA (Anrh) Ffotograffiaeth Ddogfennol Prifysgol De Cymru

Transport for Wales (TfW) aspires to be Wales’ favourite way to travel, creating one network, one timetable, one ticket, and one team as its mission, helping people travel in ways that are good for the planet, good for the pocket and good for real life.

Our story starts in 2016, when TfW was first set up as a not-for-profit organisation by the Welsh Government to change the way Wales travels, setting the trajectory of transformation from rail, to bus and to active travel ever since. Alongside this, as a named public body under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, we are driving to improve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales.

Transport has played a crucial role in shaping the diverse history of Wales, connecting people and places. Our heritage influences regional, local, and cultural identity and makes a significant contribution to quality of life, including access, accessibility, and social inclusion. It contributes to knowledge, education, understanding, and the local and regional economy. It provides recreation opportunities and employment, and is a powerful force in sustainable development.

Wales has been a world leader in transport for over 200 years, and 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway; a British innovation, with its early sparks forged in Wales, that has had a global impact. Through a year-long series of activities and events, the Railway 200 celebration explores how rail has shaped our world and how it might do so in future.

The railways, the people surrounding them, the diverse communities they connect and the opportunities they enable for work, leisure, skills and innovation form cornerstones of the cultural infrastructure our network supports. The railways have inspired countless artists, from musicians to writers and photographers, who have explored rail’s continued contribution to our cultural landscape. Never has this been more important as we look towards a sustainable future for all.

Projects like Station to Station reflect our ongoing efforts to create a more socially sustainable and culturally responsible transport network that benefits the environment, the people and communities we serve, and supports the history-makers and photographers of tomorrow. We want the people to be proud of their transport system, to be proud of using the network and to be proud of our shared heritage and culture, and aspirations for the future.

Dr Louise Moon – Technical Lead: Heritage, Legacy and Sustainable Impact, Transport for Wales.

Mae Trafnidiaeth Cymru (TrC) yn ymgeisio bod yn hoff ffurf y Cymry o deithio, gan greu un rwydwaith, un amserlen, un tocyn ac un tîm fel ei genhadaeth, yn helpu’r bobl i teithio mewn ffyrdd sydd yn dda i’r planed, dda i’r poced ac yn dda i fywyd go iawn.

Mae’n stori ni’n dechrau yn 2016, pan gafodd TrC ei sefydlu fel corff nid-er-elw gan Lywodraeth Cymru i newid y ffordd mae’r Cymry’n teithio, gan osod llwybrau i drawsnewid rheilffyrdd, bysiau a theithio actif ers hynny. Yn ogystal, fel corff cyhoeddus enwedig dan Ddeddf Llesiant Cenedlaethau’r Dyfodol (Cymru), rydym ni’n gyrru i wella llesiant economaidd, cymdeithasol, amgylcheddol a diwylliannol Cymru.

Mae trafnidiaeth wedi chwarae rôl hanfodol yn siapio hanes eang Cymru, gan gysylltu pobl a llefydd. Mae ein etifeddiaeth ni yn dylanwadu hunaniaethau ranbarthol, lleol a diwylliannol, ac yn cyfrannu’n arwyddocaol i ansawdd bywyd gan gynnwys mynediad, hygyrchedd a chynhwysiad cymdeithasol. Yn ogystal, mae’n cyfrannu i wybodaeth, addysg, dealltwriaeth, a’r economi leol a rhanbarthol. Hefyd, mae’n cynnig cyfleoedd a chyflogaeth, ac yn rym pwerus mewn datblygiad cynaliadwy.

Am dros 200 o flynyddoedd, mae Cymru wedi bod yn arweinwydd byd-eang yn nhrafnidiaeth, ac mae 2025 yn cynrychioli 200fed ben-blwydd y reilffordd modern; arloesedd Prydeinig a’i wreichion cyntaf yn tanio yng Nghymru, ac sydd wedi cael impact hollfydol. Drwy cyfres o actifeddau a ddigwyddiadau dros flwyddyn, mae’r dathliad Railway 200 yn arcwhilio sut mae’r rheilfordd wedi siapio’n byd, ac sut all hyn barhau i’r dyfodol.

Ffurfir y reilffyrdd, y bobl sy’n eu hamgylchynnu, y cymunedau amrywiol maen nhw’n eu cysylltu a’r cyfleoedd maen nhw’n cynnig i waith, hamdden, sgiliau ac arloesedd y sylfaen i’r isadeiledd diwylliannol mae’n rwydwaith ni yn ei gynnal. Mae’r reilffyrdd wedi ysbrydoli artistiad aneirif, o gerddorwyr i ysgrifennwyr a ffotograffwyr, sydd wedi archwilio cyfraniad parhaus rhail i’n tirwedd ddiwylliannol. Daiff hyn yn bwysicach nac erioed wrth i ni edrych tuag at ddyfodol cynaliadwy i bawb.

Adlewyrchir prosiectau fel Station to Station ein ymdrechion bresennol i greu rwydwaith trafnidiaeth fwy cynaliadwy yn gymdeithasol ac yn fwy gyfrifol yn ddiwylliannol, sydd yn elwa’r amgylchedd, y bobl a’r cymunedau rydym ni’n gwasanaethu, ac yn cefnogi gwneuthurwyr hanes a ffotograffwyr yfory. Rydym ni eisiau i’r bobl fod yn falch o’u system drafnidiaeth, yn falch o ddefnyddio’r rwydwaith ac yn falch o’r etifeddiaeth, diwylliant, a gobeithion am y dyfodol rydym ni’n eu rhannu.

Dr Louise Moon - Arweinydd Technegol: Etifeddiaeth, Cymyn ac Effaith Cynaliadwy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru.

This project has been developed and managed by David Barnes, Karin Bareman, Paul Reas, and Nate Davies, in close collaboration with Transport for Wales, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, Caerphilly County Borough Council, alongside mentors Janire Najera, Gareth Phillips, Sebastian Bruno, and Rhiannon Adam.

Special thanks to:

TfW: Dr Louise Moon, Jessica Clement, Alex Chung, Eleanor Crowley, and Jamie Warner. Phil Bishop, Depot Manager and the team at Taff’s Well depot. Paul Young and Chris Mabbs at Caerphilly Station ticket office. Thanks also to all station and operational staff in the area.

RCT Arts Development Team: Jesse Briton, Gemma Dobbs, Laurence Anderson-Evans.

CCBC Arts Development Team: David Chamberlain.

Caerphilly County Council Libraries service: Karen Pugh, Charlotte Thornton.

Wetherspoons: Eddie Gershon P.R.

USW:Ben Calvert, Adam Williams, Steve Wright, Sarah Sullivan, Kate Saunders, Huw Swayne, Lisa Smith, Sarah Jeremiah, Mark Durden, Russell Roberts, Paul Cabuts, Eileen Little, Peter Bobby, Ian Llewellyn, Sarah Llewellyn, Gawain Barnard, Neil Smithson, Simon Cullen, Charlotte Isherwood, Cherry Barber Mansell, Richard Summers, Lisa Lewis, Samantha Elis, Jayson Merchant, Richard Summers, Mark Jackson, Clare Smith, Chris Edwards (fabrication), Chris Edwards (schools), Darren Clinton, Isla McMail.

Offline Journal: Brian Carroll.

National Portrait Gallery: Alexandra Talbott.

Amateur Photographer Magazine: Nigel Atherton, Amy Davies.

Ffotogallery and Ffoto Cymru: Siân Addicott, Bob Gelsthorpe.

Amgueddfa Cymru: Bronwen Colquhoun, Nick Thornton.

Many thanks to Matthew Harry, Alex Campbell-Reeves, Amy D’Agorne Craghill, Matthew Keenan, Tracy Jones, Francesco Marchini, Fergus Thomas, Jude Wall, Paul Railton, Tudor Etchells, and Luke Richards for in-year picture editing, exhibition design and social media support. Thanks also to Judy Harrison Jamie MacDonald for their support.

This publication has been edited and designed by Nate Davies and David Barnes. Photography post-production by Charles Rawlins and Nate Davies.

Cafodd y prosiect hon ei ddatblygu a reoli gan David Barnes, Karin Bareman, Paul Reas, a Nate Davies, mewn cydweithrediad agos gyda Trafnidiaeth Cymru, Cyngor Rhondda Cynon Taf, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili, gyda’r mentorau Janire Najera, Gareth Phillips, Sebastian Bruno, a Rhiannon Adam.

Diolch yn fawr i:

TrC: Dr Louise Moon, Jessica Clement, Alex Chung, Eleanor Crowley, a Jamie Warner. Phil Bishop y Rheolwr Depo, a’r tîm yn nepo Fynnon Taf. Paul Young a Chris Mabbs yn swyddfa docyn Gorsaf Caerffili. Diolch hefyd i bob aelod staff gorsaf a gweithredol yr ardal.

Tîm Datblygiad Celfyddydol RCT: Jesse Briton, Gemma Dobbs, Laurence Anderson-Evans.

Tîm Datblygiad Celfyddydol CBSC: David Chamberlain.

Gwasanaeth Llyfrgelloedd Cyngor Bwrdeistref Caerffili: Karen Pugh, Charlotte Thornton.

Wetherspoons: Eddie Gershon P.R.

PDC: Ben Calvert, Adam Williams, Steve Wright, Sarah Sullivan, Kate Saunders, Huw Swayne, Lisa Smith, Sarah Jeremiah, Mark Durden, Russell Roberts, Paul Cabuts, Eileen Little, Peter Bobby, Ian Llewellyn, Sarah Llewellyn, Gawain Barnard, Neil Smithson, Simon Cullen, Charlotte Isherwood, Cherry Barber Mansell, Richard Summers, Lisa Lewis, Samantha Elis, Jayson Merchant, Richard Summers, Mark Jackson, Clare Smith, Chris Edwards (gwneuthuro), Chris Edwards (ysgolion), Darren Clinton, Isla McMail.

Offline Journal: Brian Carroll.

National Portrait Gallery: Alexandra Talbott.

Cylchgrawn Amateur Photographer: Nigel Atherton, Amy Davies.

Ffotogallery a Ffoto Cymru: Siân Addicott, Bob Gelsthorpe.

Amgueddfa Cymru: Bronwen Colquhoun, Nick Thornton.

Diolch yn fawr i Matthew Harry, Alex Campbell-Reeves, Amy D’Agorne Craghill, Matthew Keenan, Tracy Jones, Francesco Marchini, Fergus Thomas, Jude Wall, Paul Railton, Tudor Etchells, a Luke Richards am eu cymorth yn golygu ffotograffiau, arlunio arddangosfeydd ac ar gyfryngau cymdeithasol. Diolch hefyd i Judy Harrison a Jamie MacDonald am eu cefnogaeth.

Cafodd y cyhoeddiad hon ei olygu a’i arlunio gan Nate Davies a David Barnes. Ôl-gynhyrchu ffotograffiaeth gan Charles Rawlins a Nate Davies.

Photographers / Ffotograffwyr

Javed Alibhai

Mana Baoosh

Grace Barrett

Ioan Barrett

Steven Bell

Kai Bentall

Archie Bernstein

Freddie Bingham

Katy Bird

Marzia Borracci

Laurie Broughton

Ellen Budd

Owen Bullock

Francisco Gonzalez Camacho

Alex Campbell-Reeves

Noam Carklin

Finn Carlow

Alex Carnie

Eleanor Carrick

Robin Chaddah-Duke

Ally Clark

Amy D’Agorne Craghill

Tom Cronin

Aran Davies

Beth Davies

Cassie Davies

Nate Davies

Rhys Davies

Teifi Davies

Leo De Salis

Alice Durham

Ocean Elani

James Ellaway

Tudor Etchells

Eva Falk-Drake

Will Foley

Laurence Foster

David Fyfe

Callie Gale

Ross Gardner

Jack Gent

Elouisa-Jayne Germon

Sam Gillibrand

Finn Green

Liv van der Ham

Matthew Harry

Dai Harrhy

Mohamed Hassan

Kit Heap

Eleanor Hopkins

Jon Hosgood

Yasmina Hussain

Curtis Hughes

Ruby Ingleheart

Emily Jones

Madeleine Jones

Kinga Kacala

Sotirios Kapetanakis

Matthew Keenan

Connor Laing

Daisy Leslie

Chris Lord

Sadhbh Lynam

John Martin

Bella Macauley

Francesco Marchini

Zoe Marshall

Louis McAllister

Jared Morgan

Leon Morgan

Daniel Moriarty

Katy Morton

Jackson Mount

Shan O’Donnell

Curtis Peacock

Tomas Pacovsky

Rachel Pepperell

Scarlett Perkins

Paul Railton

Joseph Robertson

Zoe Rodwell

Natalie Scurlock

Sonu Sethi

Hoda al Shaibani

Bnar Sardar

Michael Tiedke

Skye Tyson

Samuel Vallet

Marco Verhoogt

Andrezza Vieira

Wshear Talib

Otis Worrell

Marta Wawrzycka

River Wells

Qiuwen Zhang

Since it was established by Magnum photographer David Hurn in 1973, the BA (Hons) Documentary Photography has become one of the leading documentary photography and photojournalism courses in the world.

Our students have a passion for issue-based storytelling in all its forms. We are a welcoming, diverse, internationally focused course with a small class size and an inclusive and informal approach to teaching. We closely mentor you to work on topics that you are passionate about; to produce powerful and visually distinctive photography. Our assignments immerse you in the worlds of fine print and photobooks, exhibition production, digital storytelling for web, documentary filmmaking, and much more.

Our students and alumni are celebrated within the photographic industry: working as photojournalists for the world’s most prestigious news agencies including Associated Press, magazines like The New York Times, National Geographic, and Time Magazine; winning major awards, featuring in international exhibitions, publishing photobooks, and producing documentary films.

Visit us at:

docphotusw.com www.southwales.ac.uk/docphotba instagram.com/docphotusw

Ers cael ei sefydlu gan ffotograffydd Magnum David Hurn yn 1973, mae’r cwrs BA Ffotograffiaeth Ddogfennol wedi datblygu i fod yn un o’r cyrsiau ffotograffiaeth ddogfennol a ffotonewyddiaduriaeth fwyaf blaenllaw y byd.

Mae ein myfyrwyr yn angerddol dros adrodd straeon am faterion cymdeithasol ymhob ffurf. Rydym yn gwrs croesawgar ac amrywiol gyda ffocws rhyngwladol. Mae’r dosbarthiadau yn fach ac mae gennym ymagwedd anffurfiol a chynhwysol tuag at addysgu. Rydym yn eich mentora’n agos a’ch annog i weithio ar bynciau rydych yn angerddol yn eu cylch; er mwyn creu delweddau pwerus a thrawiadol. Mae ein aseiniadau yn eich ymdrochi i’r byd o brint cain a ffoto-lyfrau, cynnyrch arddangosfa, adrodd stori’n ddigidol ar gyfer y we, ffilmiau dogfennol a llawer mwy.

Mae ein myfyrwyr a chyn-fyfyrwyr yn ennill clôd yn y diwydiant ffotograffiaeth; yn gweithio fel ffoto-newyddiaduron i rai o asiantaethau newyddion mwyaf blaenllaw’r byd yn cynnwys Associated Press, cylchgronau fel y New York Times, National Geographic a Time Magazine; yn ennill gwobrau nodedig; yn arddangos eu gwaith mewn arddangosfeydd rhyngwladol; yn cyhoeddi llyfrau ac yn cynhyrchu ffilmiau dogfennol.

Ymwelwch â ni: docphotusw.com

www.southwales.ac.uk/cymraeg/cyrsiau/ba-hons-documentary-photography-cy/ instagram.com/docphotusw

Font: Atkinson Hyperlegible VF

Inners: 130gsm Silk

Corff: 130gms Sidan

Covers: 250gsm Silk

Clorion: 250gms Sidan

235 x 280mm

184 Pages

184 Tudalen

Front Cover Image: John Martin

Delwedd Clawr Flaen: John Martin