The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was a British railway company that built a line between
Oswestry in
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 ...
and
Newtown Montgomeryshire
, HQ= Montgomery
, Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996)
, Origin=
, Status=
, Start=
, End= ...
, now
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
. The line opened in stages in 1860 and 1861. It was conceived to open up the area to rail transport, when local opinion formed the view that the trunk railway companies would not do so. Subscription money for the construction proved very difficult to generate. It was the action of a contractor partnership, Davies and Savin, in agreeing to accept shares as the majority of their payment for construction work, that saved the company from failure.
Forming a local network with other local concerns, the O&NR amalgamated with them, forming the
Cambrian Railways, in 1863. The industry in the area was not buoyant and hoped-for long-distance traffic did not materialise, although the development of
Aberystwyth as a resort provided a useful benefit. The railway connected to the emerging national network at Oswestry, but the later connection of the
Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway
The Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway (S&WR) is a standard gauge railway which connects the towns of Shrewsbury and Welshpool. It opened in 1861 and the majority of the railway continues in use.
History
Incorporation
The S&WR was incorporated ...
abstracted traffic from the northern part of the system. A grim event took place in 1921 near
Abermule, when there was
a head-on collision on the single line, due to slack operating disciplines. The collision resulted in seventeen deaths.
As social and travel habits changed in the 1960s, the line's remaining core income was badly reduced, and for a time widespread closure was a possibility. In fact the connection to and the
coastal line to were retained, but the section from to closed in 1965. The main line from Buttington to Newtown continues in use as part of a passenger connection to Aberystwyth and the coast.
Conception
The
Shrewsbury and Chester Railway opened in two stages, in 1846 and 1848. Its route passed through and there was a branch from Gobowen to
Oswestry, which opened in 1848. On 1 September 1854 the
Great Western Railway (GWR) acquired the S&CR, furthering its strategy of making a through link from London to
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
. The eastern border of Wales was therefore secured to the GWR, while the north Wales coast was controlled by the
London and North Western Railway (LNWR), which approached from . Both these companies looked toward the interior of
mid Wales, and were rivals of one another.
Newtown and
Llanidloes were important centres of
flannel
Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, ...
manufacture;
Welshpool
Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...
too was involved, although it was much less important, and declining. It was well understood that an industry operating in a location remote from its market needed a railway connection. For a time in the 1830s it had appeared that a trunk railway would be built through the area, but this plan fell through. In 1852 a Montgomeryshire Railways Company was proposed, sponsored by the LNWR, but the LNWR changed the route and then cancelled the scheme. In frustration local people promoted a
Llanidloes and Newtown Railway, which received its authorising
Act in 1853; however the line was not planned to connect to any existing railway.
[
Plainly an isolated railway was of limited value, and a railway from Oswestry to Newtown was promoted in 1854. It was submitted to Parliament as the , but the reference to ]Welshpool
Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...
was generally omitted subsequently, and the company was referred to as the Oswestry and Newtown Railway. It was authorised by Act of 26 June 1855, with capital of £250,000. The connection to the national railway network at Oswestry led to the O&NR being allied to the Great Western Railway.
Construction
Contractors had been appointed before the Act was granted, but for some time there was no money to pay them. Over two years after the Act another firm of contractors was appointed. The O&NR found the raising of share subscriptions to be extremely difficult, and negotiations to obtain land were continually frustrating. Ann Owen, owner of an estate at Glansevern, near Berriew
Berriew ( cy, Aberriw) is a village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. It is on the Montgomeryshire Canal and the Afon Rhiw, near the confluence (Welsh: ''aber'') with the River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren)
at , 79 miles (128 k ...
, now refused to permit the line to pass near the estate: the route had to be diverted to the eastern bank of the River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
. In addition, there were disagreements between the company, the GWR and Oswestry town council about the location of a joint station there. In early 1858 the contractors, Davidson & Oughterson, became bankrupt; only 11 of 30 miles ( of ) of the line had been started.
The directors negotiated with a partnership of local contractors, David Davies and Thomas Savin, and they took over the contract. This proved to be a turning point, as Davies and Savin reinvigorated the construction process. The company was heavily indebted, but Davies and Savin paid off £45,000 to get work on the line restarted. They agreed to complete the line in exchange for unissued preference shares and debentures and earnings up to 1 January 1861. In fact the first work undertaken by Davies and Savin was the doubling of the section between Buttington Junction and Welshpool, started on 30 October 1859. This had been urged by the London and North Western Railway, which planned a connection to the line at Buttington, and the O&NR was anxious to keep the LNWR on side. The LNWR had been contemplating building its own parallel route, but now that it could see that the O&NR was taking realistic steps, it acquiesced in accepting running powers to Welshpool over the O&NR, for which it paid £25,000, as well as half the maintenance costs of Welshpool station.[
]
Opening
The first sixteen miles from Oswestry to Pool Quay
Pool Quay ( cy, Cei'r Trallwng) is a small village in Powys, Mid Wales.
Location
It is situated on the A483 road, between the towns of Welshpool and Oswestry right on the banks of the river Severn.
Attractions & amenities
Although only a s ...
was opened on 1 May 1860, as a single line on double-line formation. Two more sections were opened on 14 August 1860: from Pool Quay to Welshpool, and an isolated five-mile stretch from Abermule to Newtown, where a joint station was made with the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway. Abermule to Welshpool opened on 10 June 1861. By this time there had been a serious rupture in the partnership between Davies and Savin, and it was the latter who undertook the working of trains on the O&NR; he did so by agreement of 26 July 1861, for 55% of gross receipts.[
The ]Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway
The Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway (S&WR) is a standard gauge railway which connects the towns of Shrewsbury and Welshpool. It opened in 1861 and the majority of the railway continues in use.
History
Incorporation
The S&WR was incorporated ...
, sponsored at first by the LNWR, was opened throughout on 27 January 1862. This formed a shorter route from Newtown to the Midlands and London, and abstracted traffic from the O&NR. The S&WR was worked by the LNWR, and the GWR had running powers; in 1865 the two larger companies took ownership control of the line jointly.[
]
Branch lines
Porthywaen branch
The Porthywaen branch was authorised by Act of 3 July 1860; it was opened on 1 May 1861. It was a short mineral line from near Llynclys station, to quarries at Porthywaen and Whitehaven, operated by T and J Savin. It had a maximum gradient of 1 in 63, and ran alongside the Crickheath Tramway
The Crickheath Tramway was a 1.5-mile-long, narrow gauge industrial railway connecting the Porth-y-waen lime quarries near Llanymynech to the Crickheath Wharf (near Pant, Shropshire) on the Ellesmere Canal
The Ellesmere Canal was a waterway ...
. There was a branch from the Porthywaen line to Savin's New British Coal Pit at Coed-y-go; this was built privately by the Savin Brothers, opening on 31 March 1863. About twenty coal wagons were worked daily each way until the pit closed in 1869.[
]
Kerry branch
The next branch to open was the Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...
branch; it had been authorised on 17 May 1861. It ran just under four miles through the Mule Gorge in the hills from Abermule. It was built largely on the initiative of a prosperous farmer, John Wilkes. He agitated strongly for a line to serve the hills as the O&NR was under construction and, on 26 September 1861, Savin agreed to build the branch on the same terms as the main line. Money for the construction of the branch was always short. Once the line opened, business was in short supply also, and after three years the situation got so critical that it went before the O&NR board on 24 December 1866, with a view to deciding whether to close the branch. In fact a decision was put off, and the branch continued in operation. Later a general improvement in trade brought more traffic to the branch.[
The line climbed steeply from Abermule, on the main line, to a terminus about short of Kerry village. There was a siding at Middle Mill, near Abermule, and much later the Great Western Railway had taken over and built halts, without buildings, at Ffronfraith and ]Goitre
A goitre, or goiter, is a swelling in the neck resulting from an enlarged thyroid gland. A goitre can be associated with a thyroid that is not functioning properly.
Worldwide, over 90% of goitre cases are caused by iodine deficiency. The term is ...
in 1923. The line included of incline at a gradient of 1 in 43; this became the steepest standard gauge gradient on which the Cambrian worked passenger trains. Kerry had a station with a long single platform and cottage-type buildings. There was no intermediate loop on the single line.[ From 1888 a narrow-gauge tramway continued from Kerry station, engaged with the timber trade. The passenger service had consisted of seven trains per day each way at its peak, but it was discontinued in 1931.][
]
Llanfyllin branch
There were many small communities in isolated locations in the general area, and in the Llanfyllin
Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means ''church or ...
area, a solicitor named John Pugh focussed pressure on the company to provide a branch line. The O&NR arranged a meeting at Llanfyllin in 1860 to discuss a branch from Llanymynech. This was agreed upon; it would cost about £60,000. The O&NR decided to get powers for a branch, and also for a line to Llanymynech Lime Rocks, provided subscriptions were forthcoming locally. An Act was obtained on 17 May 1861. The following July, Benjamin Piercy (as engineer) started planning the route and also that to Kerry, and two months later Savin agreed to build the line.[
The first sod of the branch was cut at Llwyn, near Llanfyllin, on 20 September 1861, and Savin, then in partnership with his brother-in-law John Ward, quickly built the line. The were straightforward to construct, but the gradients were steep. Leaving Llanymynech, the line had to climb to cross the nearby Shropshire Union Canal; trains used a short bay at the north end of the station, and were propelled to a ]reversing siding
Reverse or reversing may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001
* ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005
* ''Reverse'' ...
alongside the main line but at a higher level. After reversing, they crossed the canal and continued alongside Rock Siding, which served lime kiln
A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is
: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2
This reaction can take p ...
s. Further on, the branch crossed two of the narrow-gauge tramways from Llanymynech Hill to the canal and also the Nantmawr
Nantmawr is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located about 5 miles south west of Oswestry and close to the Welsh border. The Offa's Dyke Path runs through the village.
Like many of the towns in the Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches ( c ...
branch. The first trains ran on 10 April 1863 and there were occasional workings prior to the official opening excursion on 17 July. This was a 23-coach special run to , which gave many of the 600 passengers from the hilly valley their first view of the sea.[
Llansantffraid was the only intermediate station in O&NR days. Another was planned at Llanfechain but difficulties in getting possession of the land delayed opening of the station until January 1866, followed a month later by one at Brongwyn (later ]Bryngwyn
Bryngwyn is a village and rural location in Monmouthshire, south east Wales.
Location
Bryngwyn is located two miles to the west of Raglan in Monmouthshire.
History and amenities
Bryngwyn is a rural areclose to Raglan Castle and with ea ...
). It was unstaffed, and passengers operated a signal if they wanted a train to stop. There was one intermediate loop at Llansantffraid.[
Although passenger traffic hardly developed, there was a boost in heavy goods traffic when ]Liverpool Corporation
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards.
The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor J ...
decided to build a big reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
at Lake Vyrnwy
, image = Lakevyrnwysummer.jpg
, caption = View overlooking Lake Vyrnwy showing the full extent of the lake
, image_bathymetry =
, pushpin_map=Wales Powys
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Wales
, c ...
about 1880. In February 1881, the Corporation proposed to construct a narrow-gauge tramway alongside the road to bring in construction materials, but this was not done. When work on the dam started in June 1881, cement for the dam and pipes for the aqueduct to Liverpool were shipped to Aberdovey and conveyed by rail to Llanfyllin, and taken onward by horse and cart transport. A new siding and storage shed was provided at Llanfyllin, and stables for 95 horses were set up in the station yard. When the lake was eventually completed on 16 March 1910 it was the biggest in Wales.[
The awkward access to the branch, involving reversal in a ]headshunt
A headshunt (or escape track in the United States) is a short length of track provided to release locomotives at terminal platforms, or to allow shunting to take place clear of main lines.
Terminal headshunt
A 'terminal headshunt' is a short le ...
at Llanymynech, was simplified on 27 January 1896 when a spur was opened; this connected the Llanfyllin branch to the Nantmawr branch of the Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway. This branch line entered Llanymynech directly from the south; it had been built about 1866 and operated passenger trains from 1870. It closed in 1880 when the Potteries Railway failed, but the Cambrian Railways adopted it in 1881 and worked it. By now it was disused once again; the track was relaid for the purpose.
Amalgamation
For some time there had been close cooperation between the four companies which owned the lines between Whitchurch and 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 ...
. In 1864 the decision was taken to amalgamate, resulting in a Bill in Parliament in 1864 to enable the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway
The Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway was a railway company that constructed a line from Whitchurch via Ellesmere to Oswestry. Most of the line was in Shropshire but part entered Flintshire, now Wrexham County Borough. It was seen as ...
, the Oswestry and Newtown Railway, the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway and the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway
The Newtown and Machynlleth Railway was a railway company in Wales. It built a line from a junction with the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway near Caersws to the market town of Machynlleth; the line opened in 1862. Newtown had become the hub of ...
to amalgamate as the Cambrian Railways. The title took the plural from the first negotiations. The Bill was passed on 25 July 1864, despite strong opposition from the Great Western Railway. The Act protected the position of two other big Welsh companies which were not involved in the amalgamation: the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway
The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway company, running a line along the west coast of Wales.
The railway was planned to run between Anglicised place name spellings were used during most of the history of the line ...
and 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 i ...
. The Cambrian Railways Company was to give the MWR full interchange after its imminent opening from Llanidloes to Talyllyn.[
]
Cambrian Railways and the GWR
The Cambrian Railways as a larger company had greater resources than the numerous small companies, although it never became financially successful. The majority of its system was single track through sparsely populated rural areas, and earlier ambitions that the routes might develop major trunk flows were never realised. As Aberystwyth in particular grew in importance, the passenger flow from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth dominated; goods traffic remained mainly agricultural. Local mineral traffic continued, but in small quantities. During World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
heavy coal traffic was routed through and over the O&NR line, making a transit from South Wales collieries to Grangemouth, destined for bunkering coal-burning vessels supporting the Grand Fleet
The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
History
Formed in August 1914 from the F ...
.[The capital ships of the ]Grand Fleet
The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
History
Formed in August 1914 from the F ...
were oil-fuelled, and the flow of coal was for older support vessels, and for shore plant.
On 25 March 1922 the Cambrian Railways company was absorbed by the Great Western Railway.[
The line between and was doubled by the GWR in 1925.][
]
Abermule collision
Towards the end of Cambrian Railways' control of the former O&NR line, a devastating collision took place between and on 26 January 1921, in which 17 people died and 36 were injured. Most of the Cambrian Railways system was single track, and the electric train token system was in operation. At the time this was considered to be a safe system of operation of single lines, but public confidence was severely shaken by the event.
In the electric train token system, a single line section between two stations is controlled by token instruments. One is at each of the stations at the ends of the section; they are electrically connected; when a train required to enter the section, a token (then usually a substantial metal disc, sometimes referred to as a tablet) was removed from one of the instruments, which were then automatically locked until the token was placed in the instrument at the other end of the section, after the train had passed through, or restored to the original instrument if the train did not proceed. A token could only be released by the cooperative action of the signalmen at each end of the section, and of course the token was only valid for the relevant section. A driver was forbidden to let his train enter the single line section unless he was in possession of a token for that section, and he was required to examine the token he was given to ascertain that it was actually the correct token for the section. Only the signalman or station master was allowed to handle the token and deliver it to the train driver.
Because of improper working at Abermule, other staff were in the habit of handling the tokens and releasing them from the token instrument. At the time in question, a train had arrived at Abermule, and its driver surrendered the token for the section his train had just traversed, to a member of the station staff. The token was passed to another man, who wrongly assumed it was the newly released token for the onward section, and handed it to the driver. The driver failed to check that he had been given the token for the onward section, and he started his train. Another train was in the section, approaching from the other end, and its driver was in possession of the proper token: the head-on collision was thus inevitable.
Decline
After nationalisation in 1948, the financial situation of the Cambrian lines, already difficult, became much worse due to changing economics and habits. The Kerry branch, long reduced to goods-only, closed on 1 May 1956.[ The northern part of the main line between Oswestry and Buttington was closed to passenger traffic on 18 January 1965.][ The Llanfyllin branch closed on the same day, goods and mineral traffic on it having already stopped in 1964.][ The Llynclys quarry traffic, chiefly railway track ballast towards the end, ceased after 28 October 1988.][
, passenger service consists of typically two-hourly trains from to and , dividing at , with some variations and additional trains.][Great Britain National Rail Timetable, December 2019, electronic edition] Only the joint station at remains in use among the original O&NR stations, with the addition of under Heritage Railway restoration. The original station at is now a retail outlet.
Station list
Main line
* ; opened 1 May 1860; closed 7 November 1966: reopened 17 August 2014
* Llynclys Junction; divergence of Porthywaen branch 1861–1992;
* ; opened 1 May 1860; closed 18 January 1965;
* ; opened February 1862; renamed Pant Salop 1 July 1924; closed 18 January 1965;
* ; opened 1 May 1860; closed 18 January 1965; convergence of line from Llanfyllin (by backshunt); convergence of Shropshire & Montgomeryshire line; divergence of Nantmawr branch;
* ; opened 1 May 1860; closed 18 January 1965;
* ; opened February 1862; renamed Arddleen Halt 1954; closed 18 January 1965;
* ; opened 1 May 1860; closed 18 January 1965;
* Cefn; opened November 1860; renamed December 1860; closed 12 September 1960; convergence of Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway from Shrewsbury;
* ; opened 14 August 1860; re-sited to east for road scheme 18 May 1992; still open; sometimes spelt Welchpool;
* ; opened 10 June 1861; closed 14 June 1965;
* ; opened 10 June 1861; a permanent station was opened 1872–73; closed 14 June 1965;
* ; opened 10 June 1861; closed 14 June 1965; convergence of Kerry branch 1863–1968;
* ; opened 10 June 1861; still open; end-on connection with Llanidloes and Newtown Railway.
Porthywaen branch
* Llynclys Junction; above;
* Dolgoch Quarry;
* Porthywaen branch junction; divergence of Tanat Valley line;
* .
Llanfyllin branch
* ; above;
* ''reverse'';
* ''Rock siding'';
* ''junction''; convergence of Cambrian Railways spur from PS&NWR line;
* Llansaintffraid; opened July 1863; renamed 1921; closed 18 January 1965;
* ; opened 1 July 1865; closed 18 January 1965;
* ; opened May 1865; named Brongwyn at first; closed 18 January 1965;
* ; opened 1 July 1863; closed 18 January 1965.
Kerry branch
* ; above;
* ; opened 9 July 1923; closed 9 February 1931; often spelt Fronfraith;
* ; opened 9 July 1923; closed 9 February 1931;
* ; opened 1 July 1863; closed 9 February 1931; Sunday School excursions used the line until 1939.
Notes
References
{{Historical Welsh railway companies
Cambrian Railways
Railway companies established in 1855
Railway lines opened in 1860
Rail transport in Shropshire
Pre-grouping British railway companies
British companies established in 1855