When was Joe Camel introduced?

In late 1987, RJR created "Joe Camel" as a brand mascot. In 1991, the American Medical Association published a report stating that 5- and 6-year olds could more easily recognize Joe Camel than Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Bugs Bunny or even Barbie. This led the association to ask RJR to terminate the Joe Camel campaign. RJR declined, but further appeals followed in 1993 and 1994. On July 10, 1997, the Joe Camel campaign was retired and replaced with a more adult campaign which appealed to the desires of its mid twenties target market. Camel paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits accusing them of using Joe Camel to market smoking to children.

Camel (cigarette)

Camel is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and by Japan Tobacco outside of the United States.

Most current Camel cigarettes contain a blend of Turkish tobacco and Virginia tobacco. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the city where R.J. Reynolds was founded, is nicknamed "Camel City" because of the brand's popularity.

In 1913, Richard Joshua "R. J." Reynolds, founder of the company that still bears his name, innovated the packaged cigarette. Prior cigarette smokers had rolled their own, which tended to obscure the potential for a national market for a pre-packaged product. Reynolds worked to develop a more appealing flavor, creating the Camel cigarette, which he so named because it used Turkish tobacco in imitation of then-fashionable Egyptian cigarettes. Reynolds priced them below competitors, and within a year, he had sold 425 million packs.

Camel cigarettes were originally blended to have a milder taste than established brands. They were advance-promoted by a careful advertising campaign that included "teasers" simply stating "the Camels are coming", a play on the old Scottish folk song "The Campbells Are Coming". This marketing style was a prototype for subsequent attempts to sway public opinion into backing the United States's entry into World War I, and later World War II. Another promotion was "Old Joe", a circus camel driven through towns used to attract attention and distribute free cigarettes. The brand's slogan, used for decades, was "I'd walk a mile for a Camel!"

The iconic style of Camel is the original unfiltered cigarette sold in a soft pack, known as Camel Straights or Regulars. Its popularity peaked through the brand's use by famous personalities such as news broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, whose usage of them was so heavy and so public that the smoking of a Camel no-filter became his trademark.

In Europe, Camel is also a brand of cigarette rolling papers and loose cigarette tobacco, maintaining a top 20 roll-your-own rank in Northern Europe with yearly expansion into Southern and Eastern Europe according to the European Subsidiary's annual report.

In 1999, Japan Tobacco International gained ownership of the rights to sell Camel outside the United States. The tobacco blend of the non-American Camel contains less Oriental tobacco and a higher proportion of Burley.

On July 1, 2000, an "Oriental" variety of Camel was introduced, followed by Turkish Gold, a regular cigarette, in 2000, and Turkish Jade, a menthol, in 2001. In 2005 Camel added its name on the cigarette paper and changed the filter color and design on its Oriental version, which was subsequently discontinued, but then reinstated. Also in 2005, Turkish Silvers were introduced, an ultralight version positioned in strength below Turkish Gold "lights" and "full flavor" Turkish Royal. Various Camel Crush and Camel Click cigarettes have also been created and are some of the most popular Camel variants being sold.

In 2012 Camel was surpassed by Pall Mall as R.J. Reynolds's most popular brand.

As of June 2012, Camel filters were discontinued in the United Kingdom. Camel Blue, the light version, is available from Tesco.

In 2013, Camel celebrated its 100th anniversary. Professor Robert N. Proctor of Stanford University commemorated the occasion with an editorial in the LA Times, noting that over the last century Camel sold over 4 trillion cigarettes.

The Reynolds company commissioned Fred Otto Kleesattel in 1913 to draw the original artwork. The signature scene on most Camel cigarette packs shows a single dromedary, the smallest of the three species of camel, standing on desert sand, with pyramids and palm trees in the background. The back features bazaars and mosques. On European and some other non-U.S. versions, the desert motifs have been replaced by health warnings. On others, Kleesattel included "Manneken Pis", a historical figure of Brussels.

Known as "Fritz", Kleesattel was a highly sought after graphic designer living in Louisville, Kentucky. He was hired through his company, Klee Ad Art, to design the packaging for the new Camel cigarettes' line. Klee Ad Art was also integral in devising designs for Four Roses Distillery, Heaven Hill Distilleries, and many other now immediately recognizable U.S. brands. While serving in the U.S. Army during World War I, Kleesattel worked as a camouflage artist, disguising buildings, vehicles and other potential targets by making them blend with their surroundings.

The reverse sides of many packs or boxes of Camel cigarettes display variations of the following text:

In 2008, this was changed to:

The reverse side of the five "Turkish Blend" cigarettes display this message along with a description that differs depending on the blend:

The reverse side of unfiltered "soft pack" Camel cigarettes has displayed this text for many years, a theme also used by R. J. Reynolds in its advertising as early as 1915:

Or alternatively can be seen displaying the text (later removed from some packets with the introduction of health warning messages):

The reverse side of unfiltered "soft pack" Camel cigarettes, produced by JT International reads:

Camel Wides, starting in 2008, began displaying this on the reverse side of the pack:

In 1936, Camel used the slogan "For digestion's sake - smoke Camels." The ads ran from 1936 to 1939. In 1951, over a decade after the ad campaign ended, the FTC issued a cease-and-desist order prohibiting R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) from claiming that Camels aided digestion in any respect.

In 1946, Camel advertised their cigarettes as being the favorite choice among doctors "from every branch of medicine", making smokers believe it was safe to smoke them. The slogan used was "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette", which became the mainstay of Camel advertising until 1952. This was based on a survey touted as coming from "three leading independent research organizations"; however, these surveys were conducted on behalf of RJR, who provided a complimentary carton of Camels before interviewing doctors' smoking habits.

"Camel Cash", or "C-Note", was a promotional ticket stuck to the back of filtered varieties of Camel cigarettes. It was made to vaguely resemble currency and could be exchanged for items from the Camel Cash catalog. It could not be used, however, to purchase Camel tobacco products.

The artwork changed many times over the years, and in the past included the face of Joe Camel, much in the same way as presidents are featured on American currency; later designs just used a Camel silhouette like the one on the Camel logo, after Joe Camel was discontinued. Camel Cash redemption expired on March 31, 2007, angering some smokers who had been saving up the cash for a long period of time only to find it worthless suddenly.

In 2010, R.J. Reynolds planned to sell Camel packs showing one of ten locations to be visited by the Camel mascot, including Seattle, Washington; Austin, Texas; San Francisco, Las Vegas; New Orleans; Bonneville Flats, Utah; Sturgis, South Dakota; Route 66; and the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The Winston-Salem package showed a tobacco field and the city's skyline, including the former R.J. Reynolds headquarters. During a ten-week period, visitors to a website were asked to guess which city would be next. Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, accused the company of targeting children once again, saying, "The new campaign cynically uses the names and images of trendy U.S. destinations … in an attempt to make Camel cigarettes cool again." David Howard of R.J. Reynolds emphasized the campaign was geared toward adults and pointed out only adults could access the website.

New York City health commissioner Thomas Farley and the National Association of Attorneys General both sent Reynolds letters asking that the campaign be stopped. The organization said that it violated the 1998 tobacco settlement. Reynolds denied that children were being targeted and said the campaign did not go against the settlement. Other cities and states also stated their objections including San Francisco and Seattle.

The image of the dromedary on the pack has been the object of controversy. According to a legend, the artist who drew the image of the dromedary was Belgian and did not like the marketing manager of Camel so he introduced a design of Manneken Pis (a bronze statue of a very typical urinating child from Belgium). When examined closely, the shadows on the upper part of the left leg define the image of this statue. They also claim that you can see the image of a baboon or another type of monkey on the back of the dromedary, some even say that you can see eagles near the head and a fish in the central area. It is considered unlikely that these images were drawn on purpose, rather they are the product of the shading of the drawing.

Camel was a sponsor of various Formula 1 teams over the years, either appearing as a major or a minor sponsor.

Camel sponsored the AGS team in. The logos were placed on the side of the cars, and on the drivers' helmets. In races where tobacco sponsorship was forbidden, the Camel name was replaced with the Camel logo instead.

Camel was a sponsor of the Benetton Formula 1 team in and and again from to. In the early years, Camel was a small sponsor and the logos were displayed on the side of the car and on the side of the drivers' helmets only, but from the season until the season, Camel became the main sponsor and the logos were prominently shown on the car. In races where tobacco sponsorship was forbidden, the Camel name was either replaced with blue gaps, the Camel logo or the ""Benetton"" name instead.

Camel was a sponsor of the Larrousse F1 team in the and seasons. The logos were displayed on the top of the nose section, right in the front of the driver, on the side of the car and on the drivers helmets.

Camel was a sponsor of Team Lotus from to. The logos were prominently displayed all over the car. In races where tobacco sponsorship was forbidden, the Camel name was either replaced with ""Lotus"", ""Courtaulds"" or the Camel logo instead.

Camel sponsored the Minardi F1 team in. The logos were shown on the side of the car.

Camel sponsored the Tyrrell Racing team in the and seasons. In 1988, the logos were displayed on the top of the car, on the front of the nose, on the top side of the rear wing and on the driver's helmets because it was a minor sponsor, but in 1989 Camel was the main sponsor and the logos were more prominently shown. In races where tobacco sponsorship was forbidden, the Camel name was replaced with the Camel logo instead.

Camel was a sponsor of the Williams F1 team from to. The logos were shown on top of the car, on the top and side of the nose, right in front of the driver and on the driver's helmets. In races where tobacco sponsorship was forbidden, the Camel name was replaced with either the Camel logo or with ""Williams"" instead.

Camel sponsored the ""Camel Team"" in the late 1980s to early 1990s in the Paris-Dakar Rally.

Camel organised the Camel Trophy, a vehicle-oriented competition that was held annually between 1980 and 2000. It was best known for its use of Land Rover vehicles over challenging terrain.

In the 1994 Winston Cup season of NASCAR, Camel sponsored Hut Stricklin's #23 Ford Thunderbird and from 1995 to 1997, Camel sponsored Jimmy Spencer's #23 Ford Thunderbird.

From 1972 until 1993, Camel was the title sponsor of the then-popular IMSA auto racing series, titled as Camel GT.

Camel was a sponsor of the United States Hot Rod Association. They featured the ""Camel Mud & Monster Series"", which ran from 1990 to 1994.

Camel sponsored the Sito Pons MotoGP team from 2003 until the team's departure from MotoGP racing in 2005.

In races where tobacco sponsorship was forbidden, the Camel name was replaced with ""Biaggi"", ""Ukawa"", ""Tamada"", ""Barros"", ""Bayliss"" and ""Team"" and the Camel logo was replaced with a racing bike.

Camel sponsored the Yamaha factory team in the 2006 MotoGP season, but due to European Tobacco Regulations, the company had to end their association with Yamaha at the end of the 2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.

In races where tobacco sponsorship was forbidden, the Camel name was replaced with ""Team"" and the Camel logo was replaced with a racing bike.

In the early to mid-1990s, Camel sponsored the factory Honda team in the AMA Superbike series.

Camel was a sponsor of the AMA Supercross Championship. When it was the sponsor, the series was called the ""Camel Supercross Series"".

Camel was a sponsor of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

The Camel pack is featured prominently in Tom Robbins's 1980 novel "Still Life with Woodpecker", billed as "a love story that happens inside a pack of cigarettes". The book's artwork is modeled after a pack of Camels, and the package artwork and history are discussed extensively in the book. It is also mentioned that a pack of Camels is the best friend you have in prison.

The cover of the album "Mirage" by the band Camel resembles the cigarette packaging.

A pack of Camel Filters appears amongst other paraphernalia on the cover of Brian Eno's first solo album "Here Come the Warm Jets".

A stylized drawing of the Camel cigarette pack is used as the front cover of the 1971 album "Choice Quality Stuff/Anytime" by the San Francisco psychedelic band It's a Beautiful Day.

Camel was or still is sold in the following countries:

Algeria, Egypt, Mauritius, South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco, Namibia

Turkey, Cyprus, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Israel, Syria, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Maldives, Philippines, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Kuwait, India

Croatia, Ireland, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Italy, San Marino, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Yugoslavia (then Slovenia, Serbia, and Macedonia individually), Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia

Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Mexico, United States, Canada

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay

Joe Camel (officially Old Joe) was the advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes from late 1987 to July 12, 1997, appearing in magazine advertisements, billboards, and other print media.

Joe Camel

The U.S. marketing team of R. J. Reynolds (RJR), looking for an idea to promote Camel's 75th anniversary, re-discovered Joe in the company's archives in the late 1980s.

Quoted from "The New York Times":

Joe Camel was actually born in Europe. The caricatured camel was created in 1974 by a British artist, Nicholas Price, for a French advertising campaign that subsequently ran in other countries in the 1970s. Indeed, [advertising executive John E.] O'Toole recalled a visit to France many years ago during which he glimpsed Joe Camel wearing a Foreign Legion cap. The inspiration behind Mr. Price's cartoon was the camel, named Old Joe, that has appeared on all Camel packages since the brand's initial appearance in 1913.

Joe Camel first appeared in the U.S in 1988, in materials created for the 75th anniversary of the Camel brand by Trone Advertising. Trone is a mid-size agency in Greensboro, N.C., that Reynolds used on various advertising and promotional projects.

The character lacked many typical camel traits, essentially appearing as a muscular humanoid with a camel's head. Feet were always to be covered, in footwear consistent with the rest of the outfit. The character also lacked a tail or hump. Advertising presented Joe Camel in a variety of "fun and entertaining, contemporary and fresh" situations, wearing "bold and bright" colors, blue and yellow where appropriate. His face remained the same in different advertising pieces, and images of his hands only used when necessary.

In 1991, the "Journal of the American Medical Association" published a study showing that by age six nearly as many children could correctly respond that "Joe Camel" was associated with cigarettes as could respond that the Disney Channel logo was associated with Mickey Mouse, and alleged that the "Joe Camel" campaign was targeting children, despite R. J. Reynolds' contention that the campaign had been researched only among adults and was directed only at the smokers of other brands. At that time it was also estimated that 32.8% of all cigarettes sold illegally to underage buyers were Camels, up from less than one percent. Subsequently, the American Medical Association asked R. J. Reynolds Nabisco to pull the campaign. R. J. Reynolds refused, and the Joe Camel Campaign continued. In 1991, Janet Mangini, a San Francisco-based attorney, brought a suit against R. J. Reynolds, challenging the company for targeting minors with its "Joe Camel" advertising campaign. In her complaint, Mangini alleged that teenage smokers accounted for US$476 million of Camel cigarette sales in 1992. When the Joe Camel advertisements started in 1988, that figure was only at US$6 million, "implicitly suggesting such advertisements have harmed a great many teenagers by luring them into
extended use of and addiction to tobacco products."

R. J. Reynolds has denied Joe Camel was intended to be directed at children; the company maintains that Joe Camel's target audience was 25–49-year-old males and current Marlboro smokers. In response to the criticism, R. J. Reynolds instituted "Let's Clear the Air on Smoking", a campaign of full-page magazine advertisements consisting entirely of text, typically set in large type, denying those charges, and declaring that smoking is "an adult custom".

Internal documents produced to the court in "Mangini v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company", San Francisco County Superior Court No. 959516, demonstrated the industry's interest in targeting children as future smokers. The importance of the youth market was illustrated in a 1974 presentation by RJR's Vice-President of Marketing who explained that the "young adult market... represent[s] tomorrow's cigarette business. As this 14-24 age group matures,
they will account for a key share of the total cigarette volume - for at least the next 25 years."
A 1974 memo by the R. J. Reynolds Research Department points out that capturing the young adult market is vital because "virtually all [smokers] start by the age of 25" and "most smokers begin smoking regularly and select a usual brand at or before the age of 18."

In July 1997, under pressure from the impending Mangini trial, Congress, and various public-interest groups, RJR announced it would settle out of court and voluntarily end its Joe Camel campaign. A new campaign with a more adult theme debuted: instead of Joe Camel, it had a plain image of a quadrupedal, non-anthropomorphic camel. This image is still used in advertisements for Camel today. As part of the agreement, RJR also paid $10 million to San Francisco and the other California cities and counties who
intervened in the Mangini litigation. This money was earmarked primarily to fund anti-smoking efforts targeted at youth.

Joe Camel

Quoted from "The New York Times":

In 1987, RJR resurrected the mascot for their Camel brand of cigarette, Joe Camel. Joe Camel, an anthropomorphic cartoon camel wearing sunglasses, was claimed to be a ploy to entice and interest the underaged in smoking. R.J. Reynolds maintained that Joe's "smooth character" was meant only to appeal to adult smokers.

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR), based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, is the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S. (behind Altria). RJR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., which, in turn, is owned by British American Tobacco of the United Kingdom.

The son of a tobacco farmer in Virginia, R. J. Reynolds sold his shares of his father's company in Patrick County, Virginia, and ventured to the nearest town with a railroad connection, Winston-Salem, to start his own tobacco company. He bought his first factory building from the Moravian Church and established the "little red factory" with seasonal workers. The first year, he produced 150,000 pounds of tobacco; by the 1890s, production had increased to several million pounds a year. The company's factory buildings were the largest buildings in Winston-Salem, with new technologies such as steam power and electric lights. The second primary factory building, built in 1892, is the oldest Reynolds factory still standing and was sold to Forsyth County in 1990.

At the beginning of the 1900s, Reynolds bought most of the competing tobacco factories in Winston-Salem. The company produced 25% of America's chewing tobacco. 1907's Prince Albert smoking tobacco became the company's national showcase product, which led to high-profile advertising in New York City's Union Square. The Camel cigarette became the most popular cigarette in the country. The Reynolds company imported so much French cigarette paper and Turkish tobacco for Camel cigarettes that Winston-Salem was designated by the United States federal government as an official port of entry for the United States, despite the city being inland. Winston-Salem was the eighth-largest port of entry in the United States by 1916.

In 1917, the company bought 84 acres (34 ha) of property in Winston-Salem and built 180 houses that it sold at cost to workers, to form a development called "Reynoldstown".

At the time Reynolds died in 1918 (of pancreatic cancer), his company owned 121 buildings in Winston-Salem. He was so integral to company operations that executives did not hang another chief executive's portrait next to Reynolds' in the company board room until 41 years later. Reynolds' brother William Neal Reynolds took over following Reynolds' death, and six years later Bowman Gray became the chief executive. By that time, Reynolds Co. was the top taxpayer in the state of North Carolina, paying $1 out of every $2.50 paid in income taxes in the state, and was one of the most profitable corporations in the world. It made two-thirds of the cigarettes in the state.

Reynolds Co.'s success during this period can also be measured by the concurrent success of many Winston-Salem companies that received large amounts of business from Reynolds: Wachovia National Bank became one of the largest banks in the Southeast, and the company's law firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice became the largest law firm in North Carolina.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco diversified into other areas, buying Pacific Hawaiian Products, the makers of Hawaiian Punch, in 1962, Sea-Land Service in 1969, and Del Monte Foods in 1979. Sea-Land was spun off in 1984.

Because of the company's diversification, the company changed its name to R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. in 1970. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was a subsidiary.

R.J. Reynolds Industries merged with Nabisco Brands in 1985, and the name changed to RJR Nabisco in August 1986. In 1987, a bidding war ensued between several financial firms to acquire RJR Nabisco. Finally, the private equity takeover firm Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts & Co (commonly referred to as KKR) was responsible for the 1988 leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco. This was documented in several articles in "The Wall Street Journal" by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. These articles were later used as the basis of a bestselling book, "", and then into a television movie. As a result, in February 1989, RJR Nabisco paid executive F. Ross Johnson US$53,800,000 as part of a golden handshake clause, the largest such deal in history at the time, as severance compensation for his acceptance of the KKR takeover. He used the money to open his own investment firm, RJM Group, Inc. In 1999 RJR Nabisco spun off R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, which began trading on June 15 as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc., and a year later announced it would buy Nabisco Group Holdings Inc., the company that had been RJR Nabisco. This followed the sale of Nabisco Holdings Group to Philip Morris.

In 1994, then CEO James Johnston testified under oath before Congress, saying that he didn't believe that nicotine is addictive.
In 1998, the company was part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement with 46 U.S. states, agreeing to pay smoking-related health care costs and restrict advertising in return for protection against private lawsuits.

In 1999, R.J. Reynolds was spun out of RJR Nabisco. The same year, the company sold all its non-U.S. operations to Japan Tobacco, which made those operations into its international arm, JT International. Consequently, any Camels, Winstons or Salems sold outside the United States are now actually Japanese cigarettes.

In 2002, the company was fined $15 million for handing out free cigarettes at events attended by children, and was fined $20 million for breaking the 1998 Master Agreement, which restricted targeting youth in its tobacco advertisements.

In 2001–2011, the European Union was involved in three civil suits against R.J. Reynolds in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, accusing the company of selling black market cigarettes to drug traffickers and mobsters from Italy, Russia, Colombia and the Balkans. The suits were unsuccessful.

On July 30, 2004, R.J. Reynolds merged with the U.S. operations of British American Tobacco (operating under the name of Brown & Williamson). A new parent holding company, Reynolds American Inc., was established as part of the transaction.

In May 2006 former R.J. Reynolds vice-president of sales Stan Smith pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding the Government of Canada of $1.2 billion (CDN) through a cigarette smuggling operation. Smith confessed to overseeing the 1990s operation while employed by RJR. Canadian-brand cigarettes were smuggled out of and back into Canada, or smuggled from Puerto Rico, and sold on the black market to avoid taxes. The judge referred to it as biggest fraud case in Canadian history.

Since 2006, R.J. Reynolds has been the subject of a Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) campaign to reduce the exploitative nature of its tobacco procurement system. FLOC's goal is to meet with Reynolds executives, growers, and workers in collective bargaining to improve farmworkers' pay and living conditions. Although there are many layers of subcontractors within the procurement system that seemingly absolve Reynolds of responsibility, FLOC asserts that its executives have the ability to make changes within the system due to their wealth and enormous power. Despite repeated refusals to meet from CEO Susan Ivey, FLOC continues the campaign against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

In 2010, Reynolds American announced that the company would close its manufacturing plants in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico. Production from these plants will be moved to the Tobaccoville, North Carolina, plant.

On July 15, 2014, Reynolds American agreed to buy Lorillard Tobacco Company for $27.4 billion. The deal also included the sale of the Kool, Winston, Salem, and blu brands to Imperial Tobacco for $7.1 billion.

In January 2017, Reynolds American agreed to a $49.4 billion deal to be taken over by British American Tobacco. The deal was completed July 25, 2017.

From 1972, R.J. Reynolds was a title sponsor of the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and until, the IMSA Camel GT for sportscars.

The NHRA sponsorship lasted up to 2001, before a new governing rule stated the Master Settlement Agreement, restricting R.J. Reynolds to one sponsorship of a sporting event; as a result, they chose NASCAR, which lasted up to 2003.

The Lotus Formula One team was sponsored by Camel from 1987 until 1990.

RJR brand Winston was a sponsor of the 1982 FIFA World Cup whilst fellow RJR brand Camel was a sponsor of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

In late 2005, R.J. Reynolds opened the Marshall McGearty Lounge in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago as part of a marketing strategy to promote a brand of "superpremium" cigarettes and counteract local smoking bans in restaurants and cafes that took effect in 2006. The lounge, which offers thirteen varieties of exclusive "hand-crafted" cigarette, along with alcohol and "light food", has been "well received" in the neighborhood and by the targeted upscale market, according to company officials. The lounge has since been closed due to Chicago indoor smoking restrictions.

The company planned to open a second location in Winston-Salem in the summer of 2007, but scrapped those plans within weeks of opening, citing the increasing number of smoking restrictions in public places by state and local governments.

This criticism was reinforced by a 1991 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that more children five and six years old could recognize Joe Camel than could recognize Mickey Mouse or Fred Flintstone (coincidentally, Fred Flintstone was also once used to sell R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes) and alleged that the Joe Camel advertisement campaign was targeting children, despite R.J. Reynolds' contention that the campaign had been researched only among adults and was directed only at the smokers of other brands. In response to this criticism, RJR instituted "Let's Clear the Air on Smoking," a campaign of full-page advertisements consisting entirely of large type text, which denied the charges and declared that smoking is "an adult custom."

In May 2011, a Miami-Dade Circuit jury awarded Julie Reese, an 82-year-old Cape Coral smoker represented by The Ferraro Law Firm, a total verdict of $1 million from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, after she developed laryngeal cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The jury found Reynolds to be negligent, guilty of fraud by concealment and fraud conspiracy, and guilty of placing a defective product on the market.

R.J. Reynolds brands include Newport, Camel, Doral, Eclipse, Kent and Pall Mall. Brands still manufactured but no longer receiving significant marketing support include Barclay, Belair, Capri, Carlton, GPC, Lucky Strike, Misty, Monarch, More, Now, Tareyton, Vantage, and Viceroy. The company also manufactures certain private-label brands. Five of the company's brands are among the top ten best selling cigarette brands in the United States, and it is estimated that one in three cigarettes sold in the country were manufactured by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. In 2010 R.J. Reynolds acquired the rights to the smokeless tobacco products Kodiak and Grizzly dip.

In 1990, RJ Reynolds planned to launch a new cigarette brand called Uptown, aimed primarily at African-Americans. To appeal to blacks seeking a less pronounced menthol taste (similar to Lorillard's Newport, which was gaining share), Reynolds decided against using green on the packaging, and instead used black and gold, the colors of luxury European cigarettes.

Narrowing the marketing further, Uptown cigarettes were to be packed with filters facing down, the reverse of the usual arrangement. Market research indicated that many blacks open packs from the bottom, possibly to avoid crushing the filters. It was later discovered that cigarette packs were opened from the bottom for a different reason: "This phenomenon traces back at least to World War II, when cigarettes were a valued commodity among soldiers. Often a soldier temporarily without cigarettes and without funds would "bum" a smoke from a fellow soldier. It was impolite to refuse such a request. However, there were two occasions when a refusal was not considered impolite: if there was only one cigarette left in the pack and if the pack was not yet opened. A pack opened from the bottom and resting, as it normally did, in a shirt pocket would appear unopened. Therefore, the soldier in possession of cigarettes would be able to avoid having to give too many away."

The promotional blitz was scheduled to begin on February 5, 1990, and Philadelphia was selected as the test market because of its large black population. Before it began, the campaign came under fire from religious, health and black-interest groups who expressed concerns about promoting cigarette smoking to blacks.

On January 19 Reynolds abruptly decided to cancel the cigarette, saying that the test marketing would no longer be reliable because of what it called, "the unfair and biased attention that brand has received."

The company's headquarters were located in the Reynolds Building in Winston-Salem for more than 50 years. Built in 1929, the 21-story building was designed by the same architects (Shreve & Lamb) who later designed the Empire State Building in New York City.

Built in 1961 at a cost of $32 million ($254 million in 2015 dollars), the Whitaker Park plant had 790,300 square feet of manufacturing space and was considered "the world's largest and most modern cigarette-manufacturing plant". It was announced in May 2010 that cigarette manufacturing would cease at Whitaker Park; by mid-2011, this had been done. Manufacturing formerly performed at the Whitaker Park plant was consolidated in the more-modern Tobaccoville plant. On January 7, 2015, Reynolds announced that Whitaker Park was being donated to Whitaker Park Development Authority Inc., started in April 2011 by Winston-Salem Business Inc., the Winston-Salem Alliance and Wake Forest University.

In September 1977, R.J. Reynolds Industries moved the first of 1200 headquarters employees into the not-yet-completed, $40 million, 519,000-square-foot glass and steel World Headquarters Building being built across Reynolds Boulevard from the Whitaker Park plant. At the same time, the company had plans for a new skyscraper downtown.

The current headquarters, the RJR Plaza Building, is 16 stories tall and was completed in 1982 adjacent to the original 1929 Reynolds Building. The tobacco company moved its headquarters to RJR Plaza in 1982, and the 1929 building continued to be used for some company offices until 2009; the older building stood vacant until new owners in 2014 began the process to convert it to a hotel.

With the parent company (renamed RJR Nabisco in 1985 after merging with Nabisco) planning to move its headquarters to Atlanta in September 1987, the company donated the World Headquarters Building to Wake Forest University in January 1987, and in July of that year, the company voted to move its Planters-Life Savers division to one-third of that building. In 2010, the building's tenants were Aon Corporation, BB&T, and PepsiCo. On November 1 of that year, Pepsi announced 195 new jobs and a $7.5 million expansion of University Corporate Center, with BB&T moving two of its operations to Reynolds Business Center. Aon and Pepsi remained the primary occupants in 2015.
R.J. Reynolds' largest plant, Tobaccoville, a 2-million-square-foot (190,000 m²) facility constructed in 1986, is located in the town of Tobaccoville, North Carolina near Winston-Salem.

Macon manufacturing, located in Macon, Ga., resides in a 1.4 million square foot (130,000 m²) facility built in 1974. This manufacturing plant was formerly known as Brown & Williamson, which was purchased by Reynolds and eventually closed in 2006.

R.J. Reynolds has a tobacco-sheet manufacturing operation in Winston-Salem. The sheet manufacturing operation in Chester, Va. was closed in 2006. Also, there are leaf operations in Wilson, N.C.; tobacco-storage facilities in Blacksburg, S.C. and Richmond, Va.; and a significant research-and-development facility in Winston-Salem.

A manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico was closed in 2010.

Among these facilities, R.J. Reynolds employs approximately 6,800 people.

R.J. Reynolds' subsidiary R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Foreign Sales Corporation is established in the British Virgin Islands to minimize its tax liability.


When did the Taff Vale Junction Railway get made?

In time the Canal became overwhelmed by the volume of traffic, and encouraged by the successful opening of railways with more advanced technology than the horse tramways of previous years, the Taff Vale Railway was promoted. It was authorised by Parliament in 1836 and it opened between Merthyr and Cardiff docks in 1841. The line passed close to the Maesmawr workings but did not make a connection.

The Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway was a railway company that constructed a standard gauge line in South Wales, connecting Llantrisant and the Taff Vale Railway near Treforest. It ran through thinly populated country, and linked to a number of iron mines, collieries and other mineral sites. It opened in stages in 1863 and 1864. In 1865 through passenger trains from the Cowbridge Railway ran over the line, to Pontypridd, although for some time there were no passenger stations on its own network. At the Llantrisant end, it was reliant on broad gauge railway companies which were not always friendly to it. The company leased its line to the Taff Vale Railway in 1870.

In 1866 it seemed likely that coal from the Ogmore Valley would be conveyed on a new line across the L&TVJR area, and powers were obtained to build the line, but the opportunity passed and when the line was finally built, in 1886, but its potential traffic had almost vanished.

The Treferig Railway opened its line in 1883 branching off the L&TVJR to serve mineral sites in Nant Mychydd. Also short of money, it leased its line to the Taff Vale Railway in 1884.

In 1952 the passenger traffic on the line was discontinued, and as the mineral activity in the area declined, so did the use of the line. It closed completely in 1987.

The iron industries of Dowlais and Merthyr needed transport systems to take their products to market, and to bring raw materials to them. At first the raw materials were found locally, and brought in on the backs of animals, and later by primitive mineral tramroads. The conveyance of their output away mostly involved getting it to Cardiff for coastal shipping, and at first this was done by animal power too.

The Glamorganshire Canal was opened in stages between 1792 and 1794, and its authorising Act of Parliament included a general permission to build tramroads as feeders from mines within four miles of the canal: the so-called "four-mile clause", which did much to foster mineral working in the area.

There was workable coal south of Treforest and by 1810 a tramroad had been made from the canal at Pont Maesmawr to Maesbach. From Pont Maesmawr it ran east, immediately crossing the River Taff by a floating bridge, that is, a ferry, at the ford just below Upper Boat. The pit had mixed fortunes but by 1842 it had enlarged considerably, employing 157 persons.

Thomas Powell had extensive colliery interests in Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire, and he needed to get a transport link to pits he owned at Llantwit Fardre. Failing to generate interest elsewhere, he determined to build a railway himself to the Glamorganshire Canal at Maesmawr from Llantwit Fardre. This was known as the Dihewyd Railway or the Llantwit Fardre Railway. It was completed by 28 December 1843 and a connection to the Taff Vale Railway was opened on 25 April 1844, when a train of Powell's coal was taken to Cardiff. His line climbed out of Maesmawr on a 297-yard self-acting incline at a gradient of 1 in 6.6. The line was later extended to Ystradbarwig colliery.

A trunk railway came to the area when the South Wales Railway opened between Chepstow and Swansea on 18 June 1850; it was a broad gauge line allied to the Great Western Railway.ma A Llantrisant station was opened on the line, although it was located nearly two miles from the town. The town of Cowbridge, which had been on the route of a mail coach for many years, felt the disadvantage of being by-passed keenly, and there was much discussion of how a branch line railway might be built; these talks were not fruitful for some years, however.

On the north side of the South Wales Railway route matters were more successful, for in 1857 the Ely Valley Railway was incorporated by Act of Parliament. This railway was primarily intended to reach the mineral districts close to Llantrisant, with branches to Glanmychydd (or Castellau), and Gellyrhaidd, near Hendreforgan. In 1858 further authority was obtained to build a branch to Mwyndy and Broviskin (Brofiscin). These were broad gauge lines, allied to the South Wales Railway, but this proved to be a considerable disadvantage, frustrating easy access to Cardiff Docks and the ironworks of Merthyr and Dowlais.

The "Ely Tidal Harbour and Railway" had been incorporated in 1856, and the following year it changed its name to the "Penarth Harbour Dock and Railway," on getting authority to construct a dock at Penarth. It was constructing a railway from the Taff Vale Railway at Radyr; the intention was to provide an alternative to Cardiff Docks and the railways approaching them, which were exceedingly congested. The railway part of this was complete on 18 July 1859, although the dock construction took considerably longer. In January 1859 the Penarth company, seeing a commercial opportunity, approached the Ely Valley Railway proposing a physical connection between their lines, enabling Ely Valley production to be shipped at Penarth. Under this scheme, the Ely Valley Company would convert its gauge to narrow (standard) gauge.

The Ely Valley company found favour in the proposals; the cheapest way to make the physical connection would be over the South Wales Railway main line between Llantrisant and a point immediately west of Cardiff station, joining the Penarth line there. The talks seemed to be progressing well, but were abandoned by the Ely Valley company abruptly, and shortly afterwards the Great Western Railway (not the South Wales Railway) leased the Ely Valley line, in order to secure access to its locomotive coal colliery at Gyfeillon. Daniel Gooch wrote, "Our object in taking the line would be chiefly for getting a connection to our own colliery and also to get, some day, into the steam coal not yet opened out." The lease was effective from 1 January 1861. On 2 August 1860 the Ely Valley Railway had opened its main line from Llantrisant to Penrhiwfer.

The issue of conveyance of the iron ore of the district to market remained unresolved, and on 12 September 1860, a Merthyr solicitor named W Simons approached the Taff Vale Railway board. He said that he had acquired the Llantwit Vardre tramroad for £9,000, and was prepared to make that the core of a new railway from Llantrisant to the Taff Vale line. He wanted a premium for his trouble, and to be appointed solicitor to the scheme. The TVR General Superintendent, George Fisher, was instructed to investigate the matter; he found that the idea was plausible, although not all of the Llantwit Vardre line was required, and a new junction with the TVR north of the tramroad junction would need to be made, avoiding the steep incline. The cost of the line would be £30,000.

If a new company, the "Llantrissant and Taff Vale Junction Railway", were authorised, the TVR would contribute £10,000 to the share issue. Mwyndy to Merthyr would be 19 miles, one-third of the route via Neath currently in use, and easy access to Penarth Docks would be available. In fact Simons' title to the Llantwit Vardre Tramroad turned out to be defective, but the L&TVJR scheme went ahead anyway. The capital requirement was increased to £40,000 now that acquisition of some of the land was more difficult. One third of the sum would be subscribed by the TVR; and Simons was invited to sever his connection with the L&TVJR.

In November 1860 plans were deposited for the Parliamentary Bill. The main line would run from a junction somewhat to the north of the Llantwit Vardre connection to the TVR near Treforest, with a line closely paralleling the Tramroad connection alongside the incline also available as an alternative. The main line ran to a junction with the Ely Valley Railway near Cross Inn; the junction was to become Maesaraul Junction. There were also a Mine Works Branch to the Bute iron ore mine, and the Llantrisant Common Branch to pits there.

Powell was still the apparent owner of the Llantwit Vardre Railway, and although he opposed the L&TVJR Bill in Parliament, afterwards he offered to sell the line to the L&TVJR, and this was agreed. In Committee, the Mine Works Branch was removed from the powers, and use of the Ely Valley Railway's Mwyndy branch was inserted, with running powers for the L&TVJR and of course mixed gauge installed. At this stage there were no running powers into Llantrisant station: these were added through negotiation concerning the Cowbridge Railway, on the south side of the South Wales Main Line, by agreement dated 9 January 1864.

The Llantrissant and Taff Vale Junction Railway was incorporated by Act of 7 June 1861; it was to acquire the Llantwit Vardre Railway; capital was set at £40,000, and the Company could arrange for the Taff Vale Railway to work its line.

On 17 September 1863 the line was opened between Llantrisant Junction (near Treforest) and the Llantwit collieries. By 29 January 1864 the line was extended to a new colliery to the west of Llantwit, and on to Llantwit Dynevor Colliery and Cross Inn, just short of Maesaraul Junction. The provision of mixed gauge on the Mwyndy branch was much delayed by the GWR, only being ready on 5 December 1864, from which date the majority of the iron ore traffic was able to take the new route.

The residents of Cowbridge had long yearned for a railway connection, and on 29 July 1862 the Cowbridge Railway was authorised. The Taff Vale Railway was to contribute £10,000 to the subscription list. The Cowbridge Railway was to cross the South Wales Railway main line and come north as far as Maesaraul junction, joining the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway there. However it became obvious that the Cowbridge company was going to have serious trouble securing the capital it needed, and a compromise was reached. It would build its line between Cowbridge and Llantrisant only, and the Great Western Railway would mix the gauge on the section of the Ely Valley line between Llantrisant and Maesaraul Junction. This would enable the Cowbridge narrow (standard) gauge trains to run through to Pontypridd over the L&TVJR and the Taff Vale Railway.

The approval of the Board of Trade inspecting officer was required to open the line for passenger traffic, and there were a succession of shortcomings in the arrangements at Maesaraul and on the Cowbridge Railway. Nevertheless, by 16 January 1865 a Taff Vale engine was run through from Pontypridd to Cowbridge and a revenue-earning mineral train ran through on 30 January 1865. The Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway was passed for passenger traffic on 29 August 1865.

There was now a through passenger service between Cowbridge and Pontypridd, but there was no station on the L&TVJR line, causing criticism. Succumbing to the pressure, the Company opened a station at Llantwit Fardre, ready by January 1867. Cross Inn station followed on 6 September 1869, this being intended to be the station for Llantrisant. (The South Wales Railway station was some distance away.)

The Cowbridge Railway had been built to a shoddy standard and was desperately short of money before and after opening. The Taff Vale Railway was working the line and became concerned that it would suffer in the event of an accident, and it pressed the Cowbridge company to undertake improvement work, which it could not afford. Under pressure, the Cowbridge company gave notice that it would operate the line itself, which it did from 4 April 1870.

The L&TVJR had been working the trains, but did not have powers to operate over the Ely Valley line, having done so as agent for the Cowbridge company only. A legalistic impasse seemed to be developing, but in fact the L&TVJR ran its trains into the Cowbridge Railway station at Llantrisant, paying a rental of £200 annually to the GWR for using the line from Maesaraul Junction, and £70 for the share of station expenses at Llantrisant. The through working from Pontypridd to Cowbridge could not, for the time being, continue.

The change of working did nothing to improve the physical state of the Cowbridge Railway, and its financial situation worsened. In desperation, in 1875 the Company was obliged to ask the Taff Vale Railway to take it over, on the TVR's terms. This was done, and through working of passenger trains from Cowbridge to Pontypridd was resumed.

The L&TVJR had always been a dependency of the Taff Vale Railway, and in 1870 this was formalised, when an Act of 20 June 1870 authorised the lease of the line to the Taff Vale for 999 years. (The residual L&TVJR company was absorbed by the Taff Vale Railway by Act of 26 August 1889.)

In 1863 John Brogden and Son leased extensive coal bearing areas in the Ogmore Valley, to the north-west of Llantrisant; the intention was to export the bituminous coal through Porthcawl Harbour. However the harbour there was seriously deficient in its capacity, notwithstanding improvement works costing £250,000 in 1867. In any case the principal market for the mineral output was at the ironworks at Merthyr, Dowlais and nearby. The Ogmore Valley Railway was opened in 1865 to convey the minerals to Tondu, joining there the Llynvi Valley Railway; the two railways combined to form the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway in 1866. The Ogmore Valley Railway had been built as a narrow (standard) gauge line, and the Llynvi line and other nearby lines were broad gauge lines. The OVR urgently needed a narrow gauge connection, and the Taff Vale was the obvious partner to supply it. However relations were not friendly, and competing Parliamentary Bills were presented in successive sessions, also by the Great Western Railway and the Ely Valley Railway.

The L&TVJR won this battle, securing its New Lines Act on 23 July 1866. It would build a new line on a north-west to south-east diagonal, from the Ely Valley Railway at Ynysmaerdy to Waterhall Junction south of Radyr.

The GWR had given an assurance in the Parliamentary Committee that the company would install mixed gauge between Hendreforgan, where there was a junction with the Ogmore Valley Railway, and Ynysmaerdy (Llantrisant Common Junction) and so OVR trains could reach the L&TVJR from the north-west.

Waterhall Junction was to be built on the line of the Penarth Harbour Dock and Railway, giving direct access to Penarth Harbour. (The Waterhall Junction was originally planned to be triangular, allowing trains to turn north and reach the lower part of the Taff Vale Railway system, but this was not built.)

This new diagonal line would pass through the Common Branch, and at Common Branch Junction the trains would also be able turn north to reach Pontypridd.

This looked like excellent business for the L&TVJR: a new heavy flow of minerals from Ogmore Valley to Penarth and to Pontypridd would pass right across its system. In fact there was a serious financial crisis in 1866 – 1867, and construction work had to be suspended for the time being. The time allowed for construction expired, and the company had to go to Parliament for an extension of time; it had to undertake to haul minerals via Llantrisant Junction (near Treforest) at the same rate (to traders) as if the Waterhall line had actually been built.

Further obstructive manoeuvering frustrated early completion of the through route, and eventually it was the gauge conversion of the Great Western Railway lines that unblocked the difficulty.

The broad gauge group of railways in South Wales converted their gauge to narrow (standard) gauge in May 1872, bringing to an end the need for transshipment of goods and minerals at Llantrisant.

This had significant implications for the New Lines diagonal route. It had been conceived to carry the Ogmore coal to Penarth, but now that the South Wales Main Line was standard gauge, the traffic went by that route, and it was clear that if the diagonal route to Waterhall Junction were built, it would not carry much traffic. The TVR wished to abandon the construction of it, but there were heavy penalty clauses in the authorising Act in this event; moreover a new colliery had been opened on the route and it was likely that the proprietor would successfully seek compensation if the line was not built.

Perhaps the most important factor was that the presumed construction of the line was important in negotiating apportionment (as between the TVR group of railways and the GWR group) of through rates for the mineral traffic from the Ogmore Valley.

An extension of time for construction of Railway No 1 (the Waterhall Junction line) was obtained in 1877 and the intention was to return to Parliament the following year and apply for abandonment. In fact the negotiations on rate apportionment dragged on, and a further extension of time for construction of Railway No 1 had to be obtained in 1880.

In 1880 however, the picture began to change; a new branch line, the Treferig Railway, was being planned and it might bring traffic to the line. The west curve at Common Branch Junction had been lifted, probably without ever having passed a train over it, and a new junction to the future Railway No 1 was made. Nevertheless progress was very slow on the new line; the application to form Waterhall Junction was only submitted in 1886, and the line was opened on 11 September 1886.

Very little traffic used the new line; in 1910 the General manager of the TVR said "There is very little traffic on it and it need never have been constructed."

Nant Mychydd extends north-westwards from Llantrisant Common, and appeared to have potential for mining coal, and in 1823 a primitive tramroad was built to convey the output to market. This project had only limited success, but in the mid-1870s Glyn Colliery was established near Tonyrefeil.

The proprietor and others in the valley promoted the Treferig Railway, which was to join the L&TVJR's Common Branch. A Parliamentary Bill was deposited in November 1878. As the line was close to the Ely Valley lines of the Great Western Railway, it became important to the TVR and the GWR to attract the new railway to their own group. This led to the Bill being opposed in Parliament by both of the larger railways, but the Treferig promoters agreed to a clause in their Bill banning discrimination in freight rates against either party. Accordingly the Treferig Railway Act was passed on 21 July 1879, with capital of £15,000.

The Treferig Railway found it almost impossible to raise funds for its construction, and the TVR, thinking the line had potential, agreed to guarantee 4% on the line's capital. This was objected to by the GWR, but an accommodation was reached with them. The Treferig still found it difficult to get all the money it needed for the construction, and the TVR provided a loan. There was some urgency as a stockpile of coal was accumulating at Glyn Colliery, waiting for transport away. The steep gradients meant that trains were always propelled up the branch.

The line opened by 30 August 1883, but although business was brisk (due to the Glyn backlog) the company still lacked money for ordinary operational purposes, and a lease to the TVR was discussed. The talks proved successful, and a lease was authorised by Act of 14 July 1884, ratifying the effective date of 5 May 1884.

Full absorption was evidently sensible, and this was authorised by Act of 26 August 1889; the takeover was effective from 1 July 1889. Glyn Colliery was the only significant development in the valley, and even its aspirations for expansion were in vain.

In 1892 the management of the Glyn Colliery on the Treferig branch approached the TVR, asking for a workmen's train service to be run by contract. This was operated from April 1892, without obtaining the sanction of the Board of Trade for passenger operation. The trains ran to and from Treferig Junction; there was no platform and the miners walked to and from Llantrisant, a mile away, though later the trains were extended to run from Common Road bridge.

In 1898 the miners' train derailed at Treferig and a passenger was injured; this brought the Board of Trade into the picture, but the feared (by the TVR) major enhancement of safety measures was not insisted on, when the TVR gave an assurance that the service would be run with proper regard to safety of the passengers.

The thinly populated terrain through which the L&TVJR line passed had gradually been built up, and pressure arose for additional stations. This was generally resisted by the Taff Vale company, but on 1 October 1887 a new station at Church Village was opened.

In 1892 a moderate increase in the passenger service on the main line took place, with five trains each way; six ran each way from 1893.

The west curve of the triangle at Common Branch Junction had been abolished ion the early days, never having seen much traffic. Now the mineral trains from Glyn Colliery to Penarth and Newport required the missing link: without it they had to be routed via Llantrisant Junction at Treforest. In late 1894 and again in 1898 it was proposed that the curve be reinstated, but this seems not have been done. Chapman is ambiguous about this, page 49: "[The TVR Traffic Manager] asked that facilities be provided at Common Branch Junction to enable trains to make use of the direct route. Nothing was done, however, until 12th June, 1894, when substantial alterations were authorised at Common Branch Junction…" "These [alterations] involved the abolition of Common Branch Junction West, with Llantrisant No. 1 Railway being extended to run parallel to the main Llantrisant branch to Common Branch Junction East, where a new loop was provided."

The reference to Common Branch Junction West refers to the signal box at the Llantrisant apex; there was no physical junction there at this time. Llantrisant No. 1 Railway was the line from Waterhall Junction and Penarth; and "the main Llantrisant branch" really means the main line. Evidently the West Curve was not reinstated for Chapman says on page 81 that in 1898 the TVR "accepted a recommendation to restore the west curve at Common Branch Junction, but, in the event, the new work was restricted to a dead-end siding off the Common branch, and the connection with the Llantrisant branch [that is, the main line] at the site of Common Branch Junction West was not restored."

At the turn of the century the passenger stations on the main line were at Church Village, Llantwit and Cross Inn.

In 1903 the Taff Vale Railway experimented with what it called "motor cars"—railmotors, that is, single passenger coaches with an integrated small steam engine. The intention was to provide a passenger service in remote areas by setting up low-cost stopping places; these were generally 40-feet long timber platforms without shelter or any other facility. After trials on the Penarth branch the system was adopted throughout the TVR system, and from 1 May 1905 the motor cars operated most of the passenger services in an enhanced timetable between Pontypridd and Aberthaw, reversing at Llantrisant and continuing over the Cowbridge Railway and the Cowbridge and Aberthaw Railway. A new motor car platform was provided at Tonteg. The motor cars could not convey tail traffic so some conventional trains were run, but they could not call at the motor car platforms.

Beddau Platform was opened in July 1910, and both it and Tonteg were lengthened subsequently to allow two-coach conventional trains to call.

The Government passed the Railways Act 1921 which mandated the "grouping" of most of the railways of Great Britain into one or other of four new large companies. In fact in the area the Great Western Railway name continued; the old Great Western Railway was of course the largest constituent of it, but the Taff Vale Railway was a significant constituent company. Although the grouping is generally considered to have taken place at the beginning of 1923, the necessary negotiations resulted in the Taff Vale's transfer to the new GWR effective from January 1922.

In this period bus competition became exceptionally fierce and there was a catastrophic collapse of use of the passenger trains. At first this was not matched by service reductions. At the same time some of the largest collieries on the line closed, and although there was still considerable colliery activity, volumes reduced.

The upper end of the Trefreig branch had long been dormant, and it was successively cut back to Castellau siding by 1933, and closing completely in 1935. The eastern end of the Common Branch closed with it, leaving only a stub at the extreme western end, used as a wagon storage siding. (That closed on 1 July 1951.)

The Barry Railway had opened its line from Trehafod (in the Rhondda Valley) through its own station at Pontypridd, to Barry in 1889. Near Tonteg this line ran close to the former L&TVJR line from Llantrisant Junction (Treforest). The Great Western Railway took the opportunity to simplify the railway arrangements there: the Barry Railway line would be closed between Trehafod and Tonteg, and trains from Pontypridd would travel on a new connecting line between the TVR line and the Barry line. The old L&TVJR line would also be closed at this point, with the Llantrisant trains being routed over the new connection to Tonteg, there diverging from the Barry line. This connection was more gently graded at 1 in 69 than the 1 in 40 of the original. A new Tonteg Halt to replace the old one was built at the junction with the Barry line. Llantrisant line trains started to run on the new line from 5 May 1930; the Barry line trains transferred on 10 July 1930.

On 1 January 1948 the network of the Great Western Railway passed into national ownership, under British Railways. Passenger business on the L&TVJR system was extremely poor, while the parallel bus service operated at a 30 minute frequency. With no prospect of a recovery, the passenger service was withdrawn from 31 March 1952. Porthcawl excursions ran over the line until 1959. In the following years the ordinary goods service collapsed also, being discontinued by 1964.

Only two sources of traffic now remained on the system: Creigiau Quarry, on Llantrisant No 1 Railway, served from Radyr via Waterhall Junction, and Cwm Colliery, served from Treforest. Common Branch Junction to Creigiau had no traffic and was closed from 17 June 1963.

A reorganisation of the mineral workings, now based on Llantrisant, resulted in Creigiau being served from there, with the Waterhall Junction end of that line now closing, and the western end being re-opened. These changes took place on 28 September 1964. Both the remaining branches were worked as long sidings.

The Creigiau line ceased to carry traffic on 31 January 1978, although it was held dormant until 1 January 1981. The final mineral train from Cwm Colliery ran on 2 March 1987, although an enthusiasts' special passenger train ran on the line on 11 April 1987. The railway use of the former Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway was at an end.