Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway

Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway

Welsh Marches Line Shrewsbury to Chester Line Shrewsbury Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line Shrewsbury Abbey Coleham Severn Valley Railway Welsh Marches Line Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway Hanwood Minsterley branch line Yockleton Westbury (Salop) Plas-y-Court Halt England Wales border Breidden Oswestry and Newtown Railway Buttington Welshpool (1st station) Welshpool Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway River Severn Cambrian Line

The Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway (S&WR) was a standard gauge railway which connected the towns of Shrewsbury and Welshpool. It opened in 1861 and the majority of the railway continues in use.

The S&WR was incorporated in an Act of Parliament in 1856. Although initially an independent company, the line was to be operated and maintained by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR).

Construction under the Act began in 1859, and by 1861 the line from Shrewsbury to Minsterley was completed, and opened on 14 February 1861. Construction of the main line to Welshpool was completed later in 1861 and officially opened on 27 January 1862.

The Minsterley branch served the agricultural communities of the area, but its main purpose was to carry lead from the mines along the Stiperstones hills. These mines were connected to the S&WR at Pontesbury by the 2 ft 4 in (711 mm) narrow gauge Snailbeach District Railways which opened in 1873 and closed in 1959. The Minsterley branch closed for passenger service in 1951 and for freight traffic in the mid 1960s.

The main line of the S&WR continued in use as the main route from Shrewsbury to Welshpool and, via the ex-Cambrian Railways main line, to mid-Wales and Machynlleth. The railway was jointly operated by the LNWR and the Great Western Railway until nationalisation, when it became part of British Railways.

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