Stafford to Shrewsbury Line

The Stafford–Shrewsbury line was a former railway line that ran between the two county towns of Shropshire and Staffordshire via the towns of Newport and Wellington from 1849 to 1966. The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company (SUR&CC) constructed and ran one of the few railways in England which were built by a canal company. The line served the Newport and Wellington stations. The SUR&CC were solely responsible for the section from Stafford to Wellington; but the building and operation of the 10.5 mile (17 km) long Shrewsbury to Wellington section was shared with the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway.

After the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) takeover of the SUR&CC, the Shrewsbury and Wellington Railway was operated as a Joint railway by the Great Western Railway and the LNWR. The Stafford to Shrewbury Railway opened on 1 June 1849 and was 29.25 miles (47 km) in length. The London and North Western Railway leased the line from July 1847, before it was complete.

Passenger services on the Stafford to Wellington section ended on 7 September 1964. Goods services ceased between Stafford and Newport on 1 August 1966 and this branch from Wellington was cut back to Donnington on 22 November 1969. The last remaining stretch of track, from Wellington to Donnington, was lifted in 1991.

A single-track stretch of the line measuring approximately three kilometres in length was reinstated in 2008 and 2009, linking Wellington to the newly built Telford International Railfreight Park. The Shrewsbury and Wellington section is still in use today by Arriva Trains Wales.

...
Wikipedia