Corris railway station

Last updated

Corris
Corris railway station NLW3361406.jpg
The station in the mid-1880s
General information
LocationWales
Other information
StatusActive
History
Pre-grouping Corris Railway
Post-grouping Great Western Railway (after 1930)
Key dates
1859Opened to freight (horse-drawn)
1860Opened to passengers
1931Closed to passengers
1948Closed to freight
1970Corris Railway Museum opened
1971Demonstration track laid
1985First train of the preservation era
2002Passenger services restored

Corris is a station on the Corris Railway in Merioneth (now Gwynedd), Wales. It was built in 1859 when the railway was first opened as the Corris, Machynlleth and River Dovey Tramroad and was briefly the northern terminus of the line. It closed to passengers in 1931, and to all traffic in 1948.

Contents

In 1968 the Corris Railway Society was formed to preserve the railway and they established a museum in the station's stable building. The railway has subsequently been relaid south to Maespoeth Junction and the first train into Corris station ran in 1985. In 2002, passenger services resumed.

History

Corris village grew up at the confluence of the Deri and Dulas rivers in the 1780s to provide worker accomodation for as the local slate quarries, notably Braichgoch. [1] As the industry expanded, the village grew as did the need for better transport links to the coast. In April 1859, the Corris, Machynlleth & River Dovey Tramroad opened connecting Corris to river wharfs at Derwenlas and Morben. The section north to Aberllefenni was opened later that year. [2]

Map of Corris Railway Station in 1865 Corris Station 1865.jpg
Map of Corris Railway Station in 1865

The original station consisted of two sidings, one running through a goods shed. As the tramroad was horse-hauled, there was no need for a run-round loop. [3]

The act authorising the tramroad (27 & 28 Vict. c. ccxxv) strictly forbade the carriage of passengers, but the railway allowed informal passenger services from at least 1860, running between Machynlleth Town and Corris. Starting in 1872, separate timetabled trains were started between these stations. [4]

In 1864 the Corris Railway Act (27 & 28 Vict. c. ccxxv) changed the name of the tramroad to the Corris Railway. In 1878, the railway was relaid using steel rails, and in December three steam locomotives and ten passenger carriages arrived from the Hughes Locomotive Company. [5] Corris Station was completely rebuilt, adding a carriage shed and a station building with a 66 feet (20 m) long overall roof with glass canopy. [6]

Steam-hauled passenger trains started running from Corris Station to Machynlleth in 1883 and were extended to Aberllefenni in 1887. [2] Around 1890, a large stable building was added to the east of the station. Although the trains were by this stage entirely steam hauled, the railway ran an extensive bus services from the station using horse-hauled charabancs. [3]

Map of Corris Railway station in the 1890s Corris Station 1890s.jpg
Map of Corris Railway station in the 1890s

In late 1929, the Corris Railway was purchased by the Great Western Railway (GWR), who by that time were the owners of the main line serving Machynlleth station. The GWR's main interest in the railway was its bus services, and in January 1931 the competing passenger services on the Corris Railway were withdrawn. [2]

The station stayed open after 1931, as freight to Corris and the surrounding villages continued to arrive by the railway. On 1 January 1948, the line was nationalised, becoming part of British Railways (BR). In August 1948, following flooding of the River Dyfi, the Corris Railway closed and Corris Station with it. [7]

After closure

The station in 2006 with the siding on the left and the passenger line on the right Corris Railway - geograph.org.uk - 212109.jpg
The station in 2006 with the siding on the left and the passenger line on the right

The station buildings continued to be used by a local coal merchant into the 1960s, though they gradually became more dilapidated and was demolished early in 1968. Shortly after the demolition, the Corris Railway Society was formed. In 1970 the Society opened a museum in the stable building, the last remaining building at the station site. They added a short demonstration track in 1971. [8]

In 1981 the Society's acquired the line's original locomotive shed at Maespoeth Junction and this became the railway's operational base. During the 1980s light track was laid between Maespoeth and Corris station, a distance of just under a 1 mile (1.6 km). The "first train" back to Corris ran in 1985. [8]

During the 1980s and 1990s the track was gradually improved, bringing it up to the standard required to run passenger trains. Passengers services to Corris station resumed in the summer of 2002. On 20 August 2005, the railway's newly built steam locomotive No. 7 hauled the first steam train to run into the station for 57 years. [8]

After the station was demolished, the site was used for a doctor's surgery and car park for the village. This meant that the station could only occupy the southern quarter of the side. There was only room for a short platform with a single siding, and the railway could only operate push–pull trains with a single carriage into the station. In 2016 the then-redundant surgery building was purchased by the railway and removed. [5]

In 2022, the station was relaid. with two lines ending in a traverser and a platform long enough for a four carriage train. This is the first stage in the redevelopment of the station which will include a building with an overall roof, inspired by the design of the 1878 station building. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corris Railway</span> Narrow gauge railway in Wales

The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talyllyn Railway</span> Narrow gauge railway in north Wales

The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge railway in Wales running for 7+1⁄4 miles (12 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. Despite severe underinvestment, the line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambrian Railways</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) 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 Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machynlleth railway station</span> Railway station in Powys, Wales

Machynlleth railway station is on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the town of Machynlleth. It was built by the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway (N&MR) and subsequently passed into the ownership of the Cambrian Railways, the Great Western Railway, Western Region of British Railways and London Midland Region of British Railways. It is notable in that there are 22 miles (35 km) separating this station and Caersws, the longest distance between two intermediate stations in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberystwyth railway station</span> Railway station in Ceredigion, Wales

Aberystwyth railway station is located in the town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales; it is served by passenger trains operated by Transport for Wales. It is the terminus of both the Cambrian Line and of the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ffridd Gate railway station</span> Former railway station in Wales

Ffridd Gate was a station on the Corris Railway in Merioneth, Wales, UK. It was built at the level crossing over the B4404 road to Llanwrin, near the hamlet of Fridd. A small hamlet also grew up around the station and a nearby (pre-existent) toll-house. The hamlet and former station are near to the confluence of the Afon Dulas and the River Dyfi, around 2+1⁄4 miles (3.6 km) west of the village of Llanwrin and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the town of Machynlleth.

Maespoeth Junction is a railway station south of Corris in Gwynedd. It lies in the historic county of Merionethshire/Sir Feirionnydd, in the valley of the Afon Dulas. It was a junction on the historic Corris Railway, the site of the railway's locomotive sheds and workshop, and since 2002 a station on the preserved railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braichgoch slate mine</span> Former mine in Wales

Braichgoch slate mine was a large slate mine located in Corris Uchaf, north Wales. It operated continuously from 1787 until its closure in 1970, apart from a hiatus in the 1900s. Most of the surface workings of the quarry were removed as part of a road widening and landscaping scheme in 1983.

The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway company, running a line along the west coast of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derwenlas</span> Human settlement in Wales

Derwenlas is a hamlet in northern Powys, Wales. It is part of the community of Cadfarch.

Morben is a hamlet in northern Powys, Wales. Part of the historic county of Montgomeryshire from 1536 to 1974, it lies on the Afon Dyfi and was once the home of a number of riverside quays, including Cei Ward and Y Bwtri. The site of Cei Ward lies alongside the A487 opposite Plas Llugwy, where the road, railway and river run close together. Y Bwtri lay on the bend of the river opposite Pennal and was the site of a shipyard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afon Dulas</span> River in Wales

The Afon Dulas, or North Dulas, is a river forming the border between Merionethshire/Gwynedd and Montgomeryshire/Powys in Wales. Another river called Afon Dulas joins the Dyfi from the south, upstream of its confluence with the North Dulas: locally this is referred to as the South Dulas.

<i>Sir Haydn</i> (locomotive) Preserved British steam locomotive

Sir Haydn is a narrow gauge steam locomotive, built by Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works, Loughborough in 1878. It operated on the Corris Railway in Wales, until closure in 1948, and since 1951 has operated on the nearby Talyllyn Railway. It has carried the operating number 3 under four successive owners.

<i>Edward Thomas</i> (locomotive) Preserved British steam locomotive

Edward Thomas is a narrow gauge steam locomotive. Built by Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd. at the California Works, Stoke-on-Trent in 1921, it was delivered new to the Corris Railway where it ran until 1948. After that railway closed, the locomotive was brought to the Talyllyn Railway in 1951, then restored, and remains in working order at the heritage railway. It has carried the operating number 4 under four successive owners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newtown and Machynlleth Railway</span>

The Newtown and Machynlleth Railway was a railway company in Wales. It built a line from a junction with the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway near Caersws to the market town of Machynlleth; the line opened in 1862. Newtown had become the hub of railway lines in the district. Machynlleth was an important town, and extension from there to Aberystwyth and to the coast northward was in the minds of the promoters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ratgoed Tramway</span>

The Ratgoed Tramway was a 2 ft 3 in gauge horse-worked tramway that connected the remote Ratgoed Quarry with the Corris Railway at Aberllefenni. It was 1.75 miles (2.82 km) long.

The Upper Corris Tramway was a 2 ft 3 in gauge horse-worked tramway that connected the slate quarries around the villages of Corris and Corris Uchaf with the Corris Railway at Maespoeth Junction. It was just over 1.8 miles (2.9 km) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abercwmeiddaw quarry</span> Former Welsh slate quarry

The Abercwmeiddaw quarry was a slate quarry that operated between the 1840s and 1938. It was located at Corris Uchaf about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Machynlleth, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The quarry was connected to the Corris Railway via the Upper Corris Tramway which carried its products to the Cambrian Railways at Machynlleth for distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machynlleth Town railway station</span> Former railway station in Wales

Machynlleth Town was a station on the Corris Railway in Wales. It was the original passenger and goods station for the town of Machynlleth. It was opened around 1860, and last used just before 1878. The station was not named; "Machynlleth Town" is used to distinguish it from the later Machynlleth station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machynlleth railway station (Corris Railway)</span> Closed railway station in Wales

Machynlleth was a station on the Corris Railway in Merioneth, Wales. It was opened in 1863 as a pair of wharves for the transshipment of slate onto the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway. In 1878, it was opened to passenger traffic, replacing the earlier Machynlleth Town, and was adjacent to the standard gauge station of the same name. It closed to passengers in 1931, and to all traffic in 1948.

References

  1. ↑ Richards, Alun John (1994). Slate Quarrying at Corris. Carreg Gwalch. ISBN   0-86381-279-1.
  2. 1 2 3 Johnson, Peter (2011). An Illustrated History of the Great Western Narrow Gauge. Oxford Publishing Co.
  3. 1 2 Briwnant Jones, Gwyn (1994). Great Western Corris. Gomer Press.
  4. ↑ Quine, Dan (April 2020). "Early Corris Railway passenger trains". Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modelling Review (122).
  5. 1 2 Thomas, Cliff (8 August 2017). "LAZARUS LINES: Rebirth Of The Corris Railway". The Railway Magazine.
  6. ↑ "Corris". Aberystwyth Observer. 23 November 1878.
  7. ↑ Quine, Dan. "Not to be: The sad end of the Corris Railway". Heritage Railway. Vol. 220.
  8. 1 2 3 Jones, Gwyn Briwnant (2009). A Corris Celebration. Gomer Press.
  9. ↑ Gregory, Rhys (31 March 2022). "Another step in Corris Railway revival as traverser is used for first time". Wales247.
Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Maespoeth Junction   Corris Railway   Garneddwen

52°39′13″N3°50′30″W / 52.6536°N 3.8418°W / 52.6536; -3.8418

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.