Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway

Last updated October 01, 2023

Authorised in 1853, planning difficulties accessing the GWR station at Shrewsbury delayed opening until 1858. Proving so successful for both companies to transport coal from the South Wales Valleys to industrial Northwest England, and finished goods in the opposite direction, it was doubled tracked by 1862.

Amalgamated into the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, post nationalisation into British Railways, its services reduced as motor transport proved quicker more cost effective than its various branch lines. It now forms the northern section of Network Rail's Welsh Marches Line.

Background

On 4 July 1837, the Grand Junction Railway opened, linking the four largest cities of England by joining the existing Liverpool and Manchester Railway with the projected London and Birmingham Railway. The line, which was the first long-distance railway in the world, ran from Curzon Street railway station in Birmingham to Dallam in Warrington, Cheshire, where it made an end-on junction with the Warrington and Newton Railway, a branch of the L&M. Conceived as a through route, the GJR was not interested in serving towns en route. Wolverhampton, for instance, was by-passed by half a mile because it did not lie on the intended route.

Having been turned down by Nantwich, a station was built in the township of Crewe which formed part of the ancient parish of Barthomley, on the junction of a turnpike road linking the Trent and Mersey and the Shropshire Union canals. As soon as the station opened it was seen to be at a useful point to begin a branch line to the county town of Chester, facilitated by the 1840 construction of the Chester and Crewe Railway, extended in 1841 to Holyhead to provide the fastest route to Ireland.

In 1845 the GJR merged with the L&B and L&M to form the London and North Western Railway Company, which until its demise in 1923 was the largest company in the world. The new company extended the Warrington line to Lancaster and Carlisle, the Manchester line to Leeds, and built a new line to Shrewsbury to join the now jointly financed with the GWR Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway, which provided connections to South Wales.

Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway

In 1846 Parliament sanctioned an Act of Parliament allowing the new Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway. Built to standard gauge and engineered by Thomas Brassey, the line was to cover 50.5 miles (81.3 km), following an approximate route of the valley of the River Wye.^[1]

At its southern end, it would connect the major market town of Hereford with the northern terminals the GWR's Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway and the LNWR's Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway, allowing access through to the coal fields and ports of South Wales. A joint Railway Fete occurred on 6 December 1853, when all five companies connecting Hereford ran their first official trains into the town.

At its northern end, the S&HR connected with the GWR's railways:

The Cambrian Line, for mid-Wales and Aberystwyth
The Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway for access to the Midlands
The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, allowing a pan-Wales route from Cardiff to Holyhead

However, the major financial gain for both companies was the transport of coal from the South Wales Valleys to industrial Northwest England. At inception, the only way of this occurring was via the S&CR to Chester, so a more direct route was required.

Construction

The Act of Parliament to approve the Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway was approved in 1853. The House of Lords raised objections to the LNWR's proposed route into the GWR's Shrewsbury station, causing delays while alternative routes were considered.^[2]

After approval of a route, the LNWR contracted Joseph Locke and John Edward Errington as engineers, and Thomas Brassey as the civil engineering developer. The 32.5 miles (52.3 km) route was constructed as a single track route, with the in-built option to increase to double track should traffic require. Completed at the budgeted cost of £10,000 per mile, the first train entered Shrewsbury station on 1 September 1858. It was thus the first railway in North Shropshire.^[2]

Operations

The immediate success of the route, particularly revenue from coal traffic, meant the line was authorised to be upgraded to double track, which was completed in 1862.^[2]

The line's success showed other operators the importance of access to Crewe, with the GWR sponsored Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway (OE&WR) proposed in 1860. Following ferocious arguments between the LNWR and GWR, Parliament authorised building the line in August 1861.^[2]

The first phase was restricted to the Whitchurch-Ellesmere section, with the onward section to Oswestry held over for a year in case of new GWR route developments. Engineered by Robert and Benjamin Piercey, the civil engineering contractor was Thomas Savin.^[2]

Facilities at Whitchurch were expanded by the LNWR to allow for trains using the new line, with the stations staff numbers reaching over 100 between the two wars. Intermediate stations were built by the OE&WR at Fenn's Bank, Bettisfield and Welshampton. The first public passenger service left Ellesmere for Whitchurch on 4 May 1863, and construction of the Ellesmere-Oswestry section was completed one year later. The total cost of the line was £200,000.^[2]

Following further proposals of railways between Crewe and Chester, by 1864 four companies were operating between Whitchurch and Machynlleth:^[2]

In July 1864, the government approved a share holder request that they were amalgamated, granting an Act of Parliament to form the Cambrian Railways. The opening of a last section of line between Borth and Aberystwyth now enabled through trains to run from Whitchurch, a distance of 95.75 miles (154.09 km).^[2]

In 1870 the LNWR proposed the Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway to break the GWR's monopoly on the Shrewsbury to Chester route. Opened in October 1872, little consideration was given to route or revenue, resulting in consistently low traffic volumes and a lifelong record of annual losses.^[2]

The construction of a British Army World War I training camp at Prees Heath, resulted in the construction of a private 1 mile (1.6 km) branch line, which left the mainline west between Whitchurch and Prees. Used to transport troops, supplies and equipment initially, the site developed as a hospital resulting in return dispersement trains.^[2]

In the 1923 Grouping of British railways, the GWR amalgamated with the Cambrian Railways, while the LNWR became part of the new London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).^[2]

During World War II, Prees Heath was developed into a Royal Air Force airfield as RAF Tilstock, still with its own railway depot, barracks and hospital facilities. Despite this, the relatively rural and resultantly dark run of the combined S&HR and C&SR meant that the flow of coal to the industrial Northwest continued virtually unabated.^[2]

After the war, the newly nationalised British Railways suffered competition from new road transport competitors, assisted in their efforts by the Ministry of Defence selling off cheaply former military trucks and coaches. This resulted in a closure of the many branch lines, many before the Beeching Axe of the 1960s, reducing the Whitchurch of today to little more than an unmanned halt.^[2]

Today

Presently, the line remains open from Shrewsbury to Crewe, the northernmost section of Network Rails Welsh Marches Line.^[2] New modular colour light signalling was installed along the line in 2013, with the surviving intermediate manual signal boxes closed, level crossings automated and route supervision passing to the South Wales ROC in Cardiff.^[3]

Related Research Articles

Crewe railway station serves the town of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.

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.

The English county of Shropshire has a fairly large railway network, with 19 National Rail stations on various national lines; there are also a small number of heritage and freight lines, including the famous heritage Severn Valley Railway running along its eastern border with Worcestershire.

The Welsh Marches line, known historically as the North and West Route, is the railway line running from Newport in south-east Wales to Shrewsbury in the West Midlands region of England by way of Abergavenny, Hereford and Craven Arms and thence to Crewe via Whitchurch. The line thus links the south of Wales to north-west England via the Welsh Marches region, bypassing Birmingham. Through services from south-west Wales, Swansea and Cardiff to Manchester and from Cardiff to Wrexham, Chester, the north coast of Wales and Anglesey constitute the bulk of passenger operations on the route.

Shrewsbury railway station is in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Built in 1848, it was designated a grade II listed building in 1969.

The Shrewsbury–Chester line is a railway line between Chester and Shrewsbury in England, with the line passing through Wrexham County Borough in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between the northern terminal of Chester and Shrewsbury in the south as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. Some additional services, starting part way along the line to London Euston via Chester are operated by Avanti West Coast. The line was built in 1846 by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, with the engineer for the line being Henry Robertson, a partner in locomotive builders Beyer Peacock, while the contractor was Thomas Brassey in partnership with William Mackenzie and Robert Stephenson. The line is part of Transport for Wales' North Wales Metro improvement programme.

The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) from 1847, and although they built one railway in their own right, the LNWR were keen that they did not build any more. They continued to act as a semi-autonomous body, managing the canals under their control, and were critical of the LNWR for not using the powers which the Shropshire Union Company had obtained to achieve domination of the markets in Shropshire and Cheshire by building more railways.

Chester railway station is located in Newtown, Chester, England. Services are operated by Avanti West Coast, Merseyrail, Northern and Transport for Wales. From 1875 to 1969 the station was known as Chester General to distinguish it from Chester Northgate. The station's Italianate frontage was designed by the architect Francis Thompson.

Wrexham General is the main railway station serving the city of Wrexham, north-east Wales, and one of the two serving the city, alongside Wrexham Central. It is currently operated by Transport for Wales, but services are also provided by Avanti West Coast who operate a service to London Euston. Until January 2011 Wrexham & Shropshire also operated from here to London Marylebone.

Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station serves the town of Whitchurch in Shropshire, England. The station is 18¾ miles (30 km) north of Shrewsbury on the Welsh Marches Line. The station is maintained and served by Transport for Wales.

Severn Bridge Junction is the area of railway lines just south east of Shrewsbury railway station, in Shropshire, England. It is controlled by a mechanical interlocked signal box of the same name, which is the largest operational mechanical signal box in the world. The Network Rail signalling area code is 'SBJ.'

The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (L&NR) was a railway company between Llanidloes and Newtown in Montgomeryshire, Wales. It was promoted locally when plans for trunk railways passing through the locality were cancelled; local people saw that a railway connection was essential to the flannel industry in the district. The 17-mile (27 km) line opened in 1859, and at first was isolated from any other railway, but from 1861 it became connected to Oswestry by an allied railway company, and other companies also connected to it. From 1864 the company was incorporated into the new Cambrian Railways company.

The Birkenhead Railway was a railway company in North West England. It was incorporated as the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway (BL&CJR) in 1846 to build a line connecting the port of Birkenhead and the city of Chester with the manufacturing districts of Lancashire by making a junction near Warrington with the Grand Junction Railway. The BL&CJR took over the Chester and Birkenhead Railway in 1847, keeping its own name for the combined company until it shortened its name to the Birkenhead Railway in 1859. It was taken over jointly, on 1 January 1860, by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR). It remained a joint railway until nationalisation of the railways in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Wales Railway</span>

The Mid-Wales Railway was conceived as a trunk route through Wales connecting industrial areas in North West England with sea ports in South West Wales. The company was prevented from reaching its goal by competing proposals in Parliament, and it was only able to build a line between Llanidloes and a junction with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway 5 miles (8 km) east of Brecon. The line was 70 miles (110 km) long and opened in 1864. The company found it impossible to raise the share subscription, but the contractor partnership of Davies and Savin agreed to build the line and take shares in payment,

The North Wales Mineral Railway was formed to carry coal and ironstone from the mineral-bearing area around Wrexham to the River Dee wharves. It was extended to run from Shrewsbury and formed part of a main line trunk route, under the title The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. It opened in 1846 from Chester to Ruabon, and in 1848 from Ruabon to Shrewsbury. It later merged with the Great Western Railway.

Oswestry railway station is a Grade II listed heritage railway station in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was closed when passenger services were withdrawn in 1966. The station building today is used as commercial premises although the Cambrian Railways Society are restoring it.

The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was a British railway company that built a line between Oswestry in Shropshire and Newtown Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The line opened in stages in 1860 and 1861. It was conceived to open up the area to rail transport, when local opinion formed the view that the trunk railway companies would not do so. Subscription money for the construction proved very difficult to generate. It was the action of a contractor partnership, Davies and Savin, in agreeing to accept shares as the majority of their payment for construction work, that saved the company from failure.

The Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway was a railway company that constructed a line from Whitchurch via Ellesmere to Oswestry. Most of the line was in Shropshire but part entered Flintshire, now Wrexham County Borough. It was seen as a link from the local railways around Newtown to the London and North Western Railway, breaking the local monopoly of the Great Western Railway. It opened as a single line in 1863 and 1864. Throughout the construction period it was short of money, and was paid for by the contractor, who took shares. Sporadically through its life it became a useful part of a through route for mineral trains, but it never developed greatly.

The Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway was a railway line that ran from Wrexham in North Wales, to Ellesmere in Shropshire, England. The line opened in 1895 and closed in 1962, except for a residual goods service which itself closed in 1981.

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.

References

Douglas B. Barnard: Transport in the Whitchurch Area, Part II Whitchurch History and Archaeology Group, new edition 1997

↑ "The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Company". Historic Herefordshire on line. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway". discovershropshire.org.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
↑ Siemens Rail Automation Commissions Crewe to Shrewsbury Modular Signalling Scheme Siemens press release 14 November 2013; Retrieved 27 July 2017

External links

History of the Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway

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.

[herdgov-1] "The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Company". Historic Herefordshire on line. Retrieved 31 January 2008.

[DiscShrop-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway". discovershropshire.org.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2010.

[3] Siemens Rail Automation Commissions Crewe to Shrewsbury Modular Signalling Scheme Siemens press release 14 November 2013; Retrieved 27 July 2017

[1]

[2]

[3]