However, the commercial development of the local mining industry meant that the development of a railway became essential to the region's economic development. A number of schemes were proposed, including one by the LNWR, but it was not until 1 August 1859 that a scheme engineered by Henry Robertson received Royal Assent. The 5.25 miles (8.45 km) Vale of Llangollen Railway left the Shrewsbury to Chester main line .5 miles (0.80 km) south of Ruabon, and built as a single track line on a double track route proceeded via Acrefair to the new station at Llangollen. The line opened to freight on 1 December 1861, and to passengers on 2 June 1862 at a temporary terminus on the town's eastern outskirts.[4]
The extension to Corwen was undertaken by the associated but separate Llangollen and Corwen Railway company, and involved constructing a long tunnel under the local Berwyn Mountains. It, together with the new centrally positioned and larger station in Llangollen, opened for service on 1 May 1865.[4]
Operations
The already accommodated double-tracking of the line from Ruabon was completed in September 1900 to Llangollen Goods Junction, located 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the current station. Between then and World War I, Acrefair, Trevor and Llangollen stations were all in part remodelled to cope with additional traffic. There were signal boxes at Llangollen and Llangollen Goods Jnc., with the latter controlling access to the goods yard, which today is a depot for the preserved railway.[4]
According to the Official Handbook of Stations the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, F, L, H, C and there was a 3-ton crane. There was also a private siding at Pentrefelin (now a carriage depot) that was used by the White Sand & Silica Company.[5] Between the two world wars, a direct service connection time of less than 6hrs was possible on a daily basis between London Paddington and Barmouth.
Closure
The eastern end of the preserved Llangollen railway station, during a Thomas the Tank Engine event, February 2008
Designated for closure under the Beeching cuts, the station closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965[1] but the section between Ruabon and Llangollen Goods Yard remained opened for freight traffic until April 1968. Immediately afterwards the track was removed from the whole line between Ruabon and Barmouth Jn.
Preservation
The Flint and Deeside Railway Preservation Society was founded in 1972, with the aim of preserving one of the region's "axed" railways. Originally the society was interested in preserving the Dyserth to Prestatyn line; however that line was deemed unsuitable because a small amount of freight traffic was still using it.[6] The society refocused its attention on the Llangollen to Corwen section of the Ruabon to Barmouth line. The local council granted a lease on the Llangollen railway station building, as well as 3 miles (4.8 km) of trackbed, with the hope that the railway would improve the local economy and bring more tourists to Llangollen. The station reopened on 13 September 1975, with just 60 feet (18.3 m) of track.[7]
The station was fully reopened in 1981 by the preserved Llangollen Railway as its eastern terminus. The refurbished station now encloses the Robertson Suite, which is available for hire as a venue for licensed weddings, functions or training.
Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC22311137.
Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC228266687.
