Cambrian Railways
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The Cambrian Railways owned of track over a large area of mid Wales. 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, and the Great Western Railway 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 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 Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
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 oth ...
. The company was formed by amalgamating most of the railway companies in mid Wales: the
Oswestry and Newtown Railway The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was a British railway company that built a line between Oswestry in Shropshire and Newtown Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The line opened in stages in 1860 and 1861. It was conceived to open up the area to rail tran ...
, 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 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 ...
and 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 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 i ...
, 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. 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 j ...
. This had been opened in 1816 as part of the Hay Railway, a
tramroad A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later. Plateways consisted of "L"-shaped rails, where the flange ...
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 to ...
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 ...
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 coun ...
. 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 i ...
. In the following list the dates are: date of incorporation; opening date *
Oswestry and Newtown Railway The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was a British railway company that built a line between Oswestry in Shropshire and Newtown Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The line opened in stages in 1860 and 1861. It was conceived to open up the area to rail tran ...
: 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 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 ...
: 27 July 1857; 1863 *
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 ...
: 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 i ...
: 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 count ...
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 ...
(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. *
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 Llynclys (, )) is a small village in Shropshire, England, in the civil parish of Llanyblodwel. It lies north of Pant at the crossroads of the A483 and B4396, where there are several houses and a pub, the ''White Lion''. Etymology The name Lly ...
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 t ...
) : opened 5 January 1904: closed to passengers 1951 *
Mawddwy Railway The Mawddwy Railway was a rural line in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales that connected Dinas Mawddwy with a junction at railway station on the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway section of the Cambrian Railways. Despite being only 6 miles 63 chain ...
: 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 Briti ...
: gauge: built 1902, absorbed 1913.


Branch lines

* Abermule to
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 ...
* Barmouth Junction to Dolgellau * Llanymynech 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 spur ...
, at
Aberangell Aberangell () is a village in Gwynedd, Wales. Geography Aberangell stands at the confluence of the Afon Angell and the Afon Dyfi, and lies within Dinas Mawddwy community. On the north side of the village, the long ridge of Pen y Clipau run ...
*
Festiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park. The railway is roughly long an ...
, 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, whi ...
*
Kerry Tramway The Kerry Tramway was a narrow gauge railway built in 1887 to serve the timber workings and slab quarry to the south of the village of Kerry, near Newtown in mid Wales. Route The railway ran from the Cambrian Railways Kerry railway station at ...
, at
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 ...
*
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 t ...
, 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 17 ...
, 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 ...
), at Llanymynech * 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 Camb ...
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 The Cambrian Heritage Railways is a heritage railway company, trust and society based at both Llynclys and Oswestry in its newly restored Oswestry railway station, Shropshire, England. Formed after the 2009 merger of the Cambrian Railways S ...
(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 o ...
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, temporar ...
, 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 she ...
. 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 The first Locomotives of the Great Western Railway (GWR) were specified by Isambard Kingdom Brunel but Daniel Gooch was soon appointed as the railway's Locomotive Superintendent. He designed several different broad gauge types for the growing r ...
. 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 Irelan ...
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 Irel ...
, 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 Y Friog is a small village in North Wales, near Fairbourne. Its lake and beach are a tourist attraction to over 1,000 visitors a year. Y Friog is notable for a rockfall-prone section of railway track, scene of two fatal accidents on the Aber ...
,
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 th ...
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 th ...
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. 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 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 The Cambrian Heritage Railways is a heritage railway company, trust and society based at both Llynclys and Oswestry in its newly restored Oswestry railway station, Shropshire, England. Formed after the 2009 merger of the Cambrian Railways S ...
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 The Swindon and Cricklade Railway is a heritage railway in Wiltshire, England, that operates on a short section of the old Midland and South Western Junction Railway line between Swindon and Cricklade. Swindon and Cricklade Railway is a regis ...
. No. 238 and an unidentified six-wheel brake resides with the
National Museums & Galleries of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
. 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 The Cholsey and Wallingford Railway is a long standard gauge heritage railway in the English county of Oxfordshire. It operates along most of the length of the former Wallingford branch of the Great Western Railway (GWR), from Cholsey stat ...
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 The Swindon and Cricklade Railway is a heritage railway in Wiltshire, England, that operates on a short section of the old Midland and South Western Junction Railway line between Swindon and Cricklade. Swindon and Cricklade Railway is a regis ...
awaiting restoration. No Cambrian
standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
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 u ...
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 coun ...
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 The English county of Shropshire has a fairly large railway network, with 19 National Rail stations on various national lines; there are also a small number of heritage and freight lines, including the famous heritage Severn Valley Railway runn ...
*
Cambrian Heritage Railways The Cambrian Heritage Railways is a heritage railway company, trust and society based at both Llynclys and Oswestry in its newly restored Oswestry railway station, Shropshire, England. Formed after the 2009 merger of the Cambrian Railways S ...
*
The Old Bell Museum The Old Bell Museum is a former 16th-century inn, converted into a museum and run by volunteers from the Montgomery Civic Society of Powys. The half-timbered building contains eleven rooms of various local exhibits, including information on the a ...
,
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 RailwaysThe official Tanat Valley Light Railway Company LtdCorris Railway
*
The Story of the Cambrian
', by C. P. Gasquoine, 1922, from
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, 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 ...
{{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