The Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway and the Bridgend Railway were simply horse-operated tramroads using primitive stone-block sleepers and cast iron rails, and as the volume of mineral activity increased, they were overwhelmed by the business offered. By the mid 1840s railway technology had advanced considerably; the South Wales Railway had been projected for some years and obtained its authorising Act of Parliament in 1845, so that soon the area would be connected by a trunk railway to the British network. Local businesspeople decided to promote a new railway to modernise the DL&PR and Bridgend Railway networks.