Telford Steam Railway | |
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Locale | Horsehay, Shropshire, England |
Terminus | Spring Village, Horsehay & Dawley |
Commercial operations | |
Name | Wellington & Severn Junction Railway |
Original gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Preserved operations | |
Operated by | Telford Horsehay Steam Trust |
Stations | 3 |
Length | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) |
Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Commercial history | |
Opened | 1859 |
Closed | 1964 (Ketley to Horsehay Summit) 1983 (Lightmoor to Horsehay) |
Preservation history | |
1976 | Telford Horsehay Steam Trust formed |
1981 | 5619 steams for the 1st time in preservation |
1983 | Lightmoor to Horsehay leased to THST |
1984 | Opens to the public |
2008 | Work begins on Lawley Extension |
2009 | 150th anniversary of opening of W&SJR |
2015 | Lawley Village opens |
2016 | Polar Express launched |
2019 | Work begins on relaying track south to Doseley road crossing |
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The Telford Steam Railway (TSR) is a heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford in Shropshire, England, formed in 1976.
The railway is operated by volunteers on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Easter to the end of September, and at Christmas. Its official business name is the Telford Horsehay Steam Trust (THST), and it is a registered charity. [1]
Telford Steam Railway operates over a portion of the Wellington and Severn Junction railway (W&SJR). The line to Lightmoor and beyond to Buildwas was constructed by the Wenlock, Craven Arms and Lightmoor Extension railway. Both of these became a part of the Wellington to Craven Arms Railway.
For most of its working life the line was operated by the Great Western Railway and subsequently the Western Region of British Railways. [2]
The line directions between Buildwas and Lightmoor were counter-intuitive for a period when the line going down the hill was the Up Line (towards London), and the line going up the hill was the Down Line (away from London), as the direction towards London from Lightmoor Junction was then considered to be routed via the former Severn Valley line. Since the last change the up direction is now completely intuitive.
Passenger services between Buildwas and Wellington ended on 23 July 1962, [3] pre-dating the publication of the 'Beeching Report' in March 1963.
The preserved railway operates between three stations of the former W&SJR.
Horsehay & Dawley platform sits on a north–south through line, beneath Bridge Road. 150 yards (140 m) to the west, Spring Village platform is at the end of a short spur off the running line. In between the two station platforms are the sidings and yard used for storing the railway's stock. Beyond Spring Village platform is the former goods transhipment shed, built in 1860, which had originally permitted the transfer of goods from the W&SJR to the Coalbrookdale Company's narrow gauge plateway system. The building now serves as the railway's engine shed. At the north end of the line TSR's Lawley Village station is located south of the site of the original Lawley station. That site is now occupied by a commercial development.
TSR's regular passenger timetable consists of a departure from Spring Village north to Lawley Village and then back along the line to stop at Horsehay & Dawley. The train then repeats this journey in reverse, for a round trip taking 50 minutes.
In addition to the standard gauge running line, the railway also operates a short 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge line adjacent to Horsehay Pool. The Phoenix Model Engineering Society operates a 5 in (127 mm) miniature railway on the Spring Village site.
A large model railway and a cafe are situated at Horsehay & Dawley Station.
TSR intends to extend south beyond Horsehay & Dawley station to Doseley Halt, build a new bridge over the A4169 and continue to the Ironbridge Gorge passing through Coalbrookdale and eventually onto the power station site at Buildwas. [4] South of Doseley half a mile (0.8 km) of trackbed and two missing level crossings separate TSR's current railhead from the A4169 and Lightmoor Junction. Permission was given in June 2014 by Telford and Wrekin Council for trains to operate south to Doseley once all trackworks and building works have been completed. It was expected for work to commence south from Horsehay & Dawley station to Doseley Halt in the summer of 2015.[ citation needed ]
Although from the road it appears the formation would have to be raised by a prohibitive amount to achieve the statutory headroom below the bridge over the A4169, surveying by THST confirmed that a modest increase in height will provide the necessary clearance without increasing the already steep gradient between Doseley station and Lightmoor Junction. Network Rail have donated a fabricated steel bridge that will be suitable to span the road which arrived at Spring Village in October 2010. [5]
The extension south of Lightmoor is dependent upon TSR securing the redundant half of the former double track from Lightmoor to Buildwas and reinstating the missing portion of the bridge over Brick Kiln Bank. This bridge was previously reduced to a single track width when Network Rail replaced the original double track width brick arch with single track width concrete section.
In October 2006, with the abolition of Lightmoor Junction, Network Rail took the uphill line out of use; the former downhill line becoming a bi-directional extension of the existing single line from Madeley Junction. TSR plans to use the uphill line as its route into the Ironbridge Gorge including extension over Coalbrookdale Viaduct and across the Albert Edward Bridge onto the power station site, at Buildwas, when it closes. TSR intends to reinstate Coalbrookdale station to serve the Ironbridge Gorge Trust's Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale's original station buildings survive as part of the Green Wood Centre's Woodland Experience site.
In August 2008 Telford Steam Railway concluded negotiations with Network Rail for the lease and occupation of Lightmoor Junction Signal Box. Substantially intact, TSR has begun work to replace components removed by NR and plans to return the box to 1950s conditions. Until it comes into operational use TSR will make it available for group visits and a limited number of open days during the year.
On 16 July 2010 the Shropshire Star published a video interview with Regeneration chief Councillor Eric Carter of Telford and Wrekin Council, in which he discussed proposals by Telford Steam Railway to operate to the site of Ironbridge Power Station after its scheduled closure in 2015. [6]
In 2016, the Telford Steam Railway started their now flagship event of the year, The Polar Express, which is run throughout December. The train normally consisting of a hired S160 Steam locomotive from Churnet Valley Railway, 4 Mk2 Coaches plus a banker locomotive (Normally a Class 08), The event has been a runaway success for the TSR, bringing in the much needed funds for the extensions and to upgrade and improve their current site and rolling stock.[ citation needed ]
Prior to The Polar Express of 2017, extensive work was carried out on both Horsehay and Dawley station and Spring Village to extend the platforms to take the longer 4 coach train along with a new station building being erected on Horsehay and Dawley platform, this will also help with train lengths when the trains run through from Lawley to Ironbridge which are foreseen to consist of a locomotive and 4 coaches.
As of the beginning of 2019, the track between the station Horsehay and Dawley to the level crossing at Doseley had been removed prior to relaying to passenger carrying standards. In 2019, the Telford Steam Railway had also published its website for "Steaming to Ironbridge" outlining the proposed extension plans for the line into the power station site in Ironbridge, which is very well backed by both Telford and Wrekin and the owners of the power station site, Harworth. The site proposals for the site do include a railway station using the existing railway line. [7]
The Severn Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England, named after the company that originally built the railway over which it now operates. The 16-mile (26 km) heritage line runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn along the Severn Valley for much of its route, and crossing the river on the historic Victoria Bridge.
Telford is a town in Shropshire, England. It is the administrative centre of Telford and Wrekin borough, a unitary authority which covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding settlements. The town is close to the county's eastern boundary, and near the River Severn.
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge and the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge.
Blists Hill Victorian Town is an open-air museum built on a former industrial complex located in the Madeley area of Telford, Shropshire, England. The museum attempts to recreate the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian Shropshire town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is one of ten museums operated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
Dawley is a constituent town of Telford and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It was originally, in 1963, going to be the main centre of the 'Dawley New Town' plan before it was decided in 1968 to name the new town as 'Telford', after the engineer and road-builder Thomas Telford. Dawley now forms part of Telford whose town centre is north of Dawley itself.
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.
Telford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Shaun Davies of the Labour Party.
The Ironbridge power stations refers to two power stations that occupied a site on the banks of the River Severn at Buildwas in Shropshire, England. The Ironbridge B Power Station was operated by E.ON UK but the site is now owned by Haworth Group. The station stands near the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Originally powered by coal, they were converted to use 100% biomass fuel. Ironbridge B Power Station stopped generating electricity on 20 November 2015, with the decommissioning process continuing into 2017. The main phase of the 27-month demolition process began at 11:00 GMT on 6 December 2019, commencing with the four cooling towers.
Buildwas is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the north bank of the River Severn at grid reference SJ641045. It lies on the B4380 road between Atcham and Ironbridge. The Royal Mail postcodes begin TF6 and TF8.
The Wolverhampton–Shrewsbury line is the railway line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury via Wellington; it was originally built by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. The line is double track throughout, with rarely used relief sidings at Cosford and four tracks through Wellington station.
Horsehay is a suburban village on the western outskirts of Dawley, which, along with several other towns and villages, now forms part of the new town of Telford in Shropshire, England. Horsehay lies in the Dawley Hamlets parish, and on the northern edge of the Ironbridge Gorge area.
Lightmoor Junction was a railway junction between Ironbridge Power Station at Buildwas and Madeley Junction in Shropshire, England.
Coalbrookdale railway station is a disused station at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, England. The station was situated on the now mothballed freight-only line between Buildwas Junction and Lightmoor Junction. The station buildings are now used by the Green Wood Centre.
Buildwas railway station was an isolated junction railway station on the Wellington to Craven Arms Railway and Severn Valley Railway. Opened on 1 February 1862. Although the station served both the Severn Valley Railway and Wellington to Craven Arms Railway, it was an interchange station in open countryside with no passenger access except by rail.
The Wellington to Craven Arms Railway was formed by a group of railway companies that eventually joined the Great Western Railway family, and connected Wellington, Shropshire and Shifnal, with Coalbrookdale, Buildwas, Much Wenlock and a junction near Craven Arms. Its objectives were dominated by the iron, colliery and limestone industries around Coalbrookdale.
The Wellington and Severn Junction Railway was a railway in Shropshire, England. It was built between 1857 - 1861 and formed part of the Wellington to Craven Arms Railway. For much of its working life, it was operated by the Great Western Railway and subsequently the Western Region of British Railways.
The Albert Edward Bridge is a railway bridge spanning the River Severn at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, England.
The Coalbrookdale Coalfield is a coalfield in Shropshire in the English Midlands. It extends from Broseley in the south, northwards to the Boundary Fault which runs northeastwards from the vicinity of The Wrekin past Lilleshall. The former coalfield has been built on by the new town of Telford.
Horsehay and Dawley railway station was a station in Horsehay, Shropshire, England. The station was opened in 1859, closed in 1962, then reopened in 1976 as part of the Telford Steam Railway.