The Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway (S&WR), formally named the Shrewsbury and Welchpool Railway, is a standard gaugerailway which connects the towns of Shrewsbury and Welshpool. It opened in 1861 and the majority of the railway continues in use.
An Act for making a Railway from the Oswestry and Newtown Railway in the Parish of Buttington in the County of Montgomery to Shrewsbury, with a Branch thereout to Minsterley in the County of Salop, and for other Purposes.
An Act for extending the Powers of the Shrewsbury and Welchpool Railway Company for purchasing Lands and completing their Railway; and for other Purposes.
The Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway was incorporated by an act of Parliament, the Shrewsbury and Welchpool Railway Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. cxxxii). Although initially an independent company, the line was to be operated and maintained by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR).
Opening
Construction 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 gaugeSnailbeach 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.
Breidden Station in 1953Breidden Station in 1962
Main line
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 (LM&SR after 1923) and the Great Western Railway until nationalisation, when it became part of British Railways. All of the intermediate stations were subsequently closed in September 1960.
References
Baughan, Peter E. (1980). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales (1st ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN0-7153-7850-3. OCLC6823219.
