Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway
Encyclopedia
The Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway, (locally known known as the 'Potts'), was a project to build a line from the PotteriesMarket Drayton
, Shropshire
, to quarries at Nantmawr and Criggion, Wales
. It was initially opened in 1866, obtaining notoriety as the most expensive non-metropolitan railway then built, but was never constructed between Shrewsbury and the Potteries.The line rapidly became very run down as a result of low revenues and poor maintainace and was closed for safety reasons in June 1880, becoming one of the few railways to close in Victorian times. Attempts to re-open the line were made in the late 1880s and the 1890s by the Shropshire Railways who took over the property but these failed. After years of lying derelict, it re-opened as the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway in 1911.
The branch from Llanymynech and Blodwel Junction to Nantmawr
which was laesed to the Cambrian Railways at closure of the Potts survived for many years as something of a forgotten part of the national network, finally accessed from Oswestry via the Cambrian Railways
' Porthywaen branch. Having been acquired by the Tanat Valley Light Railway Company during 2004, efforts are now under way to re-open the line as a heritage railway
.
. The SNWR obtained another act in 1866 before amalgamating with the SPJR to become the Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway on the same day.
The main line was originally double track and was opened between Llanymynech and Potteries Junction, Shrewsbury, on 13 August 1866. The passenger station at Shrewsbury, intended to be a temporary measure, was located near the Abbey and was accessed by a short and steep branch from neear Coleham Junction. There were an extension beyond Llanymynech to Nantmawr and a branch from Kinnerley
to Criggion
to serve stone quarries.
The railway company was always short of money ,a receiver was appointed and the line was closed on for the first time 21 December 1866 re-opening in December 1868 .
The main line was probably singled between Ford and Llanymynech in 1868/9 and between Shrewsbury and Ford in 1875. The branches to Criggion and Llanyblodwel, on the Nantmawr branch, were formally opened for passengers in 1871 and 1872.
Following a complaint to the Board of Trade concerning the condition of the Melverley river bridge, on the Criggion branch, the BoT inspected the railway finding numerous track defects. The company had neither money nor will to carry out repairs and it was abandoned in June 1880. Mostof the stone traffic was continued after the Nantmawr branch was leased to the Cambrian Railways
, the lease being made durin June 1880. The Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway (winding-up) Act was obtained in 1881.
In 1888 an act of Parliament authorised the railway to be transferred to the Shropshire Railways Company and reconstruction was started. The company, however, was very litigious and fell out several times with its potential contractors and its financiers.Reconstruction work ceased in 1891and in 1895 the scheme finally collapsed when a fund-raising prospectus failed to mention that the company was in receivership.
Starting in 1906 Colonel Holman Fred Stephens led a consortium that applied for a Light Railway Order, wishing to take over the railway, reconstruct it and to operate it as a light railway. legal and financial difficulties slowed progress but an order was made in 1910 and the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway was opened at Easter 1911.
tender locomotive
built by Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy
in 1848 and acquired from the London and North Western Railway
in 1866.
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, to quarries at Nantmawr and Criggion, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It was initially opened in 1866, obtaining notoriety as the most expensive non-metropolitan railway then built, but was never constructed between Shrewsbury and the Potteries.The line rapidly became very run down as a result of low revenues and poor maintainace and was closed for safety reasons in June 1880, becoming one of the few railways to close in Victorian times. Attempts to re-open the line were made in the late 1880s and the 1890s by the Shropshire Railways who took over the property but these failed. After years of lying derelict, it re-opened as the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway in 1911.
The branch from Llanymynech and Blodwel Junction to Nantmawr
Nantmawr
Nantmawr is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located about 8 km south west of Oswestry and close to the Welsh border. The Offa's Dyke Path runs through the village....
which was laesed to the Cambrian Railways at closure of the Potts survived for many years as something of a forgotten part of the national network, finally accessed from Oswestry via the Cambrian Railways
Cambrian Railways
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...
' Porthywaen branch. Having been acquired by the Tanat Valley Light Railway Company during 2004, efforts are now under way to re-open the line as a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
.
History
Construction of the Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway followed a flurry of parliamentary activity, with nine acts of parliament obtained between 1862 and 1866. The West Shropshire Mineral Railway obtained three acts relating to a main line between Yockleton, on the Shrewsbury & Welshpool Railway, and Llanymynech, on the Oswestry & Newtown Railway, in 1962-4. This was subsumed into the Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway in 1864, the SNWR obtaining three acts by 1866 and being realigned to connect with the Shrewsbury & Welshpool Railway at Hookagate in the process. In 1865 the Shrewsbury & Potteries Junction Railway after several attempts to penetrate the Potteries towns obtained an act to connect the Shrewsbury with Market Drayton, linking the SNWR with the North Staffordshire RailwayNorth Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
. The SNWR obtained another act in 1866 before amalgamating with the SPJR to become the Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway on the same day.
The main line was originally double track and was opened between Llanymynech and Potteries Junction, Shrewsbury, on 13 August 1866. The passenger station at Shrewsbury, intended to be a temporary measure, was located near the Abbey and was accessed by a short and steep branch from neear Coleham Junction. There were an extension beyond Llanymynech to Nantmawr and a branch from Kinnerley
Kinnerley
Kinnerley is a small village in Shropshire, England.The village was a stop on the now defunct Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway, that ran from 1866 to 1960. The village today has a school, a church, a shop and a pub . It is small village separating neighbouring villages Dovaston and Pentre and...
to Criggion
Criggion
Criggion is a village in Powys, Wales. Criggion radio station was located nearby. A branch of the now defunct Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway stopped at Criggion.- External links :**...
to serve stone quarries.
The railway company was always short of money ,a receiver was appointed and the line was closed on for the first time 21 December 1866 re-opening in December 1868 .
The main line was probably singled between Ford and Llanymynech in 1868/9 and between Shrewsbury and Ford in 1875. The branches to Criggion and Llanyblodwel, on the Nantmawr branch, were formally opened for passengers in 1871 and 1872.
Following a complaint to the Board of Trade concerning the condition of the Melverley river bridge, on the Criggion branch, the BoT inspected the railway finding numerous track defects. The company had neither money nor will to carry out repairs and it was abandoned in June 1880. Mostof the stone traffic was continued after the Nantmawr branch was leased to the Cambrian Railways
Cambrian Railways
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 lease being made durin June 1880. The Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway (winding-up) Act was obtained in 1881.
In 1888 an act of Parliament authorised the railway to be transferred to the Shropshire Railways Company and reconstruction was started. The company, however, was very litigious and fell out several times with its potential contractors and its financiers.Reconstruction work ceased in 1891and in 1895 the scheme finally collapsed when a fund-raising prospectus failed to mention that the company was in receivership.
Starting in 1906 Colonel Holman Fred Stephens led a consortium that applied for a Light Railway Order, wishing to take over the railway, reconstruct it and to operate it as a light railway. legal and financial difficulties slowed progress but an order was made in 1910 and the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway was opened at Easter 1911.
Locomotives
Little is known about the locomotives. According to Woodcock one of them, named Black Tom, was a 0-4-20-4-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
tender locomotive
Tender locomotive
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...
built by Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy
Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy
Bury, Curtis and Kennedy was a steam locomotive manufacturer in Liverpool, England.Edward Bury set up his works in 1826, under the name of Edward Bury and Company. He employed James Kennedy, who had gained experience of locomotive production under Robert Stephenson and Mather, Dixon and Company,...
in 1848 and acquired from the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
in 1866.