The Cambrian Railways owned of
track over a large area of
mid Wales
Mid Wales ( cy, Canolbarth Cymru or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands") or Central Wales refers to a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd ...
. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
, and the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and r ...
for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...
. The name is continued today in the route known as the
Cambrian Line.
History
Creation of the Cambrian Railways: 1864
The Cambrian Railways Company was created on 25 July 1864 when the Cambrian Railways
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament be ...
received
Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
. The company was formed by amalgamating most of the railway companies in mid Wales: the
Oswestry and Newtown Railway, the
Llanidloes and Newtown Railway
The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (L&NR) was a railway company between Llanidloes and Newtown, Powys, Newtown in Montgomeryshire, Wales. It was promoted locally when plans for trunk railways passing through the locality were cancelled; local peo ...
, the
Newtown and Machynlleth Railway and the
Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway. The shareholders of these constituent companies became the shareholders in the new Cambrian Railways Company. The was not included in the amalgamation because it was still under construction. In all, the new company had lines totalling in length.
As well as incorporating existing railways, the new company had agreements to share traffic with the
Mid-Wales Railway
The Mid-Wales Railway was conceived as a trunk route through Wales connecting industrial areas in north west England with sea ports in south west Wales. The company was prevented from reaching its goal by competing proposals in Parliament, and ...
, the
Manchester and Milford Railway
The Manchester and Milford Railway was a Welsh railway company, intended to connect Manchester and the industrial areas of Northwest England with a deep-water port on Milford Haven, giving an alternative to the Port of Liverpool.
Despite the ti ...
and the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and r ...
. This allowed it to control the transportation of goods and passengers across mid Wales.
Early years: 1864–1869
The Cambrian Railways system
Constituent railways
The earliest section of the Cambrian was the section from
Three Cocks
Three Cocks or () is a village near Glasbury in Powys, Wales. The Welsh name refers to the mouth of the Afon Llynfi which enters the River Wye a mile from the village. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye some 5 miles (8.5 km) to the North Eas ...
to
Talyllyn Junction
Talyllyn Junction was a railway junction located east of Brecon, Powys, opened in 1869. The junction was triangular, with north, east and west chords, station platforms being sited at the western junction and also, until 1878, at the eastern ...
. This had been opened in 1816 as part of the Hay Railway, a
tramroad worked by horses connecting the town of
Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye ( cy, Y Gelli Gandryll), simply known locally as "Hay" ( cy, Y Gelli), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales; it was historically in the county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the ...
with the
Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal
The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ( cy, Camlas Sir Fynwy a Brycheiniog) is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park, and its present rural ch ...
at
Brecon
Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the count ...
. The western section was sold to the
Brecon and Merthyr Railway; the eastern section became part of the
Mid-Wales Railway
The Mid-Wales Railway was conceived as a trunk route through Wales connecting industrial areas in north west England with sea ports in south west Wales. The company was prevented from reaching its goal by competing proposals in Parliament, and ...
.
In the following list the dates are: date of incorporation; opening date
*
Oswestry and Newtown Railway : 6 June 1855; 1860–61
*
Llanidloes and Newtown Railway
The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (L&NR) was a railway company between Llanidloes and Newtown, Powys, Newtown in Montgomeryshire, Wales. It was promoted locally when plans for trunk railways passing through the locality were cancelled; local peo ...
: 4 August 1853; 1859. Until 1861 this section of the line was isolated
*
Newtown and Machynlleth Railway : 27 July 1857; 1863
*
Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway : 1 August 1861; 1863–1864
* : 26 July 1861; 1863–1869
*
Mid-Wales Railway
The Mid-Wales Railway was conceived as a trunk route through Wales connecting industrial areas in north west England with sea ports in south west Wales. The company was prevented from reaching its goal by competing proposals in Parliament, and ...
: 1 August 1859; 1 September 1864. This railway was independent of the Cambrian until 1 January 1888, when the latter took over working the line. On 1 July 1904 the two railways amalgamated.
*
Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway
The Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway was a railway line that ran from Wrexham in North Wales, to Ellesmere in Shropshire, England. The line opened in 1895 and closed in 1962, except for a residual goods service which itself closed in 1981.
The line ...
; opened in 1895.
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...
was the largest town served by the Cambrian.
*
Van Railway
The Van Railway was a standard gauge railway in mid Wales. The line was built in 1871 to link the highly productive lead mines at Van, near Llanidloes to the main Cambrian line at Caersws. The mines closed in 1920, but the railway remained open ...
(serving lead mines) : built 1871
*
Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway (W&LLR) ( cy, Rheilffordd y Trallwng a Llanfair Caereinion) is a narrow gauge heritage railway in Powys, Wales. The line is around long and runs westwards from the town of Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) ...
: gauge: opened 4 April 1903; closed to all traffic on 5 November 1956: reopened as a
heritage railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
.
*
Tanat Valley Light Railway
The Tanat Valley Light Railway (TVLR) was a long standard gauge light railway. It ran westwards from Llanyblodwel in Shropshire, about 5 miles or 8 km south-west of Oswestry. It crossed the Wales–England border and continued up the Tanat va ...
(
Llynclys to
Llangynog
Llangynog (; ) is a village and community at the confluence of the Afon Eirth and the Afon Tanat at the foot of the Berwyn range in north Powys (previously Montgomeryshire), Wales.
It lies at the foot of the Milltir Cerrig mountain pass on ...
) : opened 5 January 1904: closed to passengers 1951
*
Mawddwy Railway : incorporated 5 July 1865: closed to passengers 1931; closed 1951
*
Vale of Rheidol Railway
The Vale of Rheidol Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Cwm Rheidol) is a narrow gauge heritage railway in Ceredigion, Wales, between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge; a journey of .
It opened in 1902, and from the withdrawal of main line steam on Brit ...
:
gauge: built 1902, absorbed 1913.
Branch lines
*
Abermule to
Kerry
*
Barmouth Junction to Dolgellau
*
Llanymynech
Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the ...
to
Llanfyllin Branch
(The information in this section was taken largely from ''The Railway Year Book 1912''.)
Feeder lines
The Cambrian had connections with many independent lines, including:
Narrow gauge
*
Corris Railway
The Corris Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Corris) is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales.
The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, runni ...
, at
Machynlleth
Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a pop ...
*
Hendre-Ddu Tramway
The Hendre-Ddu Tramway was a narrow gauge industrial railway built in 1874 in Mid-Wales to connect the Hendre-Ddu slate quarry to Aberangell station on the Mawddwy Railway. It consisted of a main line long and several branch lines and sp ...
, at
Aberangell
*
Festiniog Railway, at
Minffordd
Minffordd (''roadside'' in Welsh) is a village within the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It is situated on the A487 road between Porthmadog and Penrhyndeudraeth, and in the community of the latter.
The village has two adjacent railway stations, w ...
*
Kerry Tramway, at
Kerry
*
Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway
The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway was a gauge narrow gauge railway in Cardiganshire (now Ceredigion) in Mid Wales. It ran from (later renamed ''Llandre station'') on the Cambrian Line, through the village of Tal-y-bont and the valley of the ...
, at Llanfihangel (later Llandre)
*
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 1 ...
, at
Tywyn
Tywyn ( Welsh: ; in English often ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the lo ...
Standard gauge
*
Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway (later
Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway
The Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales, with a branch to Criggion. It was promoted by Holman Fred Stephens, better known as Colonel Stephens, proprietor of several u ...
), at
Llanymynech
Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the ...
*
Manchester & Milford Railway (later part of the
GWR) at Aberystwyth
Railway operations
The headquarters of the Cambrian Railways was at
Oswestry railway station
Oswestry railway station is a Grade II listed heritage railway station in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was closed when passenger services were withdrawn in 1966. The station building today is used as commercial premises although the Cambri ...
in Shropshire. The building still stands today, although detached from modern network main railway lines, and was in use for commercial purposes until 2004. After restoration in 2005, this building was reopened as the Cambrian Visitor Centre in June 2006; but on 11 January 2008 closed due to the terms of the lease not being settled. It has since reopened and, amongst other things, is being used as the headquarters for the newly formed
Cambrian Heritage Railways (CHR) restoration project.
The largest station premises on the line were at (part of which has been restored and reopened as a
J D Wetherspoon
J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It op ...
in the mid-2000s).
Locomotives
On vesting its headquarters in July 1865 in Oswestry, the company built the
Cambrian railways works to the north of the station on Gobowen Road. Its construction hastened Oswestry's boom as a
railway town
A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site.
North America
During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, tempor ...
, from a population of 5,500 in 1861, to nearly 10,000 in 1901.
Built of local
red brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
and costing £28,000,
[ the locomotive erecting shop had a central traverser which was hand-operated, serving 12 roads on each side.][ On the far north end of the works, 11 sidings accessed a carriage and wagon works.][ Power to the machines was provided by a large steam engine via overhead shafting and belts. The chimney is still a local landmark.] Whilst many carriages and wagons were built in the workshops, only two locomotives were actually constructed at Oswestry, though many were rebuilt there. After the Cambrian Railways was taken over by the GWR on grouping in 1923, the GWR kept the works open as a regional carriage and wagon works, and locomotive repair shop for the associated locomotive shed
The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...
.
In 1911 there were 91 locomotives and one rail motor car in the Cambrian's rolling stock. At grouping in 1922, 94 standard-gauge engines and five narrow-gauge engines were transferred to the GWR, identified by type and builder at Locomotives of the Great Western Railway.
After becoming part of the London Midland Region
The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irel ...
in 1963, the depot closed in January 1965, the works in early 1966. A Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
, the works today is an antiques centre, small business hub and document storage centre.[
]
Accidents
*On 1 January 1883, a passenger train was struck by a landslide at Friog, Merionethshire
, HQ= Dolgellau
, Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974)
, Origin=
, Status=
, Start= 1284
, End=
, Code= MER
, CodeName= ...
. The locomotive and its tender were pushed into the sea. Both crew were killed.
*On 11 June 1897, a passenger train was derailed at Welshampton, Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
due to a combination of defective track and excessive speed. Twelve people were killed.
*On 17 January 1918, two freight trains were in a head-on collision at Parkhall, Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
due to irregular operation of tablet instruments by signalmen at Oswestry North and Ellesmere Junction signal boxes. The design of the circuitry connecting the instruments and the weather were contributory factors.
* A head-on collision occurred at Abermule on 26 January 1921, killing 15 passengers, including Lord Herbert Vane-Tempest, chairman of the company and son of the fifth Marquess of Londonderry
Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland.
History
The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...
. The accident was caused by a confusion amongst the staff at Abermule whereby the driver of the train in the station was given back the token
Token may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Token, a game piece or counter, used in some games
* The Tokens, a vocal music group
* Tolkien Black, a recurring character on the animated television series ''South Park,'' formerly known as ...
he had just handed over, for the section of track he had just travelled over – it would not have been possible to give him the token for the next section. The driver did not check which token he had and set off. He soon collided with the Aberystwyth to Manchester express coming the other way, which had the token for that section.
Legacy today
A registered museum dedicated to the history of the Cambrian Railways is run by Cambrian Heritage Railways in Oswestry.
A selection of original Cambrian Railways coaches have survived into the present day. Coaches 4, 251 and an unidentified saloon/brake car all stand in private residence. No. 9 is in private storage. No. 110 is being restored to service on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway. No. 238 and an unidentified six-wheel brake resides with the National Museums & Galleries of Wales. No. 247 is currently being used as the café at Chinnor station on the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway
The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway with its headquarters and main station at Chinnor in South Oxfordshire, England. It runs along the foot of the Chilterns escarpment. Although a few fi ...
and No. 250 as a museum on the neighbouring Cholsey and Wallingford Railway having formerly been the Wallingford station café. Both No. 247 and No. 250 are grounded bodies. An unidentified first class passenger body also stands on the Tanat Valley Light Railway
The Tanat Valley Light Railway (TVLR) was a long standard gauge light railway. It ran westwards from Llanyblodwel in Shropshire, about 5 miles or 8 km south-west of Oswestry. It crossed the Wales–England border and continued up the Tanat va ...
. A full brake car, No. 104, was recovered in August 2018 and currently resides on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway awaiting restoration.
No Cambrian standard-gauge locomotives
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the us ...
still exist.
A road in Brecon
Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the count ...
which runs off the B4601 and over a part of the former line is known as Cambrian Way in commemoration of it.
See also
* Railways of Shropshire
* Cambrian Heritage Railways
* The Old Bell Museum, Montgomery, Powys
Montgomery ( cy, Trefaldwyn; translates to ''the town of Baldwin'') is a town and community in Powys, Wales. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Montgomeryshire to which it gives its name and is within the Welsh Marches ...
References
External links
Cambrian Heritage Railways
The official Tanat Valley Light Railway Company Ltd
Corris Railway
*
The Story of the Cambrian
', by C. P. Gasquoine, 1922, from Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libra ...
{{Authority control
Pre-grouping British railway companies
Great Western Railway constituents
Vale of Rheidol Railway
Railway companies established in 1864
Railway companies disestablished in 1922