Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway
Encyclopedia
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The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Llanymynech
Llanymynech
Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales and Shropshire, England about 9 miles north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks"....
, with a branch to Criggion. It opened in 1911, running the reconstructed Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway which continunued to be owned by the Shropshire Railways Company, and was one of the Colonel Stephens Railways. It lost its passenger services in 1933, although some limited bank holiday services for tourists continued until 1937.
The line was taken over by the War Department
War Department (UK)
The War Department was the United Kingdom government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military activity. In 1857 it became the War Office...
in 1941 and extensively reconstructed to serve munition stores. It was finally closed in 1960.
The terminus of the line was at Shrewsbury Abbey
Shrewsbury Abbey (railway station)
Shrewsbury Abbey was a railway station in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England part of the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway. It was named after the nearby Shrewsbury Abbey...
station not at Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station is the railway station serving Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire, England. It is the only remaining railway station in the town; Shrewsbury Abbey, as well as other small stations around the town, having long closed. The station was built in 1848 and has been extended...
. This was because the joint operators, Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) and 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...
(LNWR). refused to let the smaller company have access to mainline services. After the main railway closed Shrewsbury Abbey was retained as an oil depot siding connected to a stub of the Severn Valley branch. The site finally closed in 1988. A new road in the area has been named "Old Potts Way" as a reminder of what was known as the Potts Railway.
A number of the stations shown in the diagram were added after the closure of the original Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway.
1907-1941
- 1 Gazelle 0-4-2WT Dodman, King's LynnKing's LynnKing's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
(preserved at the Colonel Stephens Railway Museum, Tenterden, Kent) - 2 Hecate (1st) 0-4-2ST re-named Severn in 1916
- 3 Hesperus 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
- 4 Morous 0-6-0ST Manning WardleManning WardleManning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.- Precursor companies :The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially successful steam locomotive, Salamanca, in Holbeck, Leeds,...
- Walton Park 0-6-0ST Hudswell ClarkeHudswell ClarkeHudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:...
- 5 Pyramus (1st) 0-6-2T new from Hawthorn Leslie in 1911
- 6 Thisbe (1st) 0-6-2T new from Hawthorn Leslie in 1911
- 5 Pyramus (2nd) 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
- 6 Thisbe (2nd) 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
- 7 Hecate (2nd) 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 ClassLB&SCR A1 ClassThe London, Brighton and South Coast Railway A1 Class is an English class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton Works. The class have received several nicknames, initially being known as...
Number 681 Beulah. Bought from the Government in 1921 after war service , scrapped 1930. - 8 Dido 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 ClassLB&SCR A1 ClassThe London, Brighton and South Coast Railway A1 Class is an English class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton Works. The class have received several nicknames, initially being known as...
Number 638 Millwall. Bought from the Government in 1923 after war service for £470 in November 1921. Scrapped 1931. - 9 Daphne 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 ClassLB&SCR A1 ClassThe London, Brighton and South Coast Railway A1 Class is an English class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton Works. The class have received several nicknames, initially being known as...
Number 683 Earlswood. Bought from the Government in 1923 after war service .Withdrawn 1932. Sold to Southern RailwaySouthern Railway (Great Britain)The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
, January 1939, Scrapped at EastleighEastleighEastleigh is a railway town in Hampshire, England, and the main town in the Eastleigh borough which is part of Southampton Urban Area. The town lies between Southampton and Winchester, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation...
, April 1949. - Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal EngineLNWR 17in Coal EngineThe LNWR 17in Coal Engine was a class of 0-6-0 steam tender engines designed by Francis Webb for the London and North Western Railway. They were simple locomotives and in UK service they were very reliable. "17in" refers to their cylinder diameter in inches...
- Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal EngineLNWR 17in Coal EngineThe LNWR 17in Coal Engine was a class of 0-6-0 steam tender engines designed by Francis Webb for the London and North Western Railway. They were simple locomotives and in UK service they were very reliable. "17in" refers to their cylinder diameter in inches...
- Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal EngineLNWR 17in Coal EngineThe LNWR 17in Coal Engine was a class of 0-6-0 steam tender engines designed by Francis Webb for the London and North Western Railway. They were simple locomotives and in UK service they were very reliable. "17in" refers to their cylinder diameter in inches...
The Hawthorn Leslie locomotives were new in 1911 but all the others were second-hand. Both the Hawthorn Leslies left between 1914 and 1916. Thisbe and Pyramus were sold to the government in 1916 and seem initially to have gone to the Cannock Chase Military Railway. Thisbe went to the Woolmer Instructional Military Railway where she lasted until 1931 whilst Pryamus was sold for industrial use in 1921.
They were replaced by two "Ilfracombe Goods" locomotives which took the same names.
1941-1960
Locomotive stock in 1941 consisted of: Gazelle, Hesperus and the three LNWR 0-6-0s. These were supplemented by various War DepartmentWar Department (UK)
The War Department was the United Kingdom government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military activity. In 1857 it became the War Office...
locomotives, including ex-GWR 2301 Class
GWR 2301 Class
The Great Western Railway 2301 Class or Dean Goods Class is a class of British 0-6-0 steam locomotives.Swindon railway works built 260 of these goods locomotives between 1883 and 1899 to a design of William Dean...
'Dean goods' 0-6-0s and Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST
Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST
The Hunslet Engine Company Austerity 0-6-0ST is a steam locomotive designed for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at various locomotive manufacturers....
s. From 1945, the Criggion branch was operated by a Sentinel
Sentinel Waggon Works
Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:...
steam locomotive (works no. 7026) owned by the British Quarrying Company.
External links
- BBC: The Railway that refused to die
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2008/10/08/potts_line_railway_feature.shtml