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, was built in 1846 by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. The engineer for the line was Henry Robertson, a partner in locomotive builders Beyer Peacock, while the contractor was Thomas Brassey in partnership with William Mackenzie and Robert Stephenson.
Gobowen railway station is a railway station on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line of the former Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside via Birmingham Snow Hill line, serving the village of Gobowen in Shropshire, England. It is the nearest station to the town of Oswestry.
Wellington railway station serves the town of Wellington, Shropshire, England. It is situated on the former Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead via Birmingham Snow Hill line. Trains are operated by West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales. Originally, during the peak of the station, 5 platforms were in service, 2 bay platforms, of which one survives and 3 through platforms, of which 2 survive. Despite that Platform 3 survived and was not removed like the old Platform 1 and Platform 5, service has been limited since 2008 when the Wellington-Walsall service was removed.
Wrexham General railway station is a main line railway station and the main railway station serving Wrexham, north-east Wales. 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.
Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. It was served by local services in Cheshire as well as long-distance services to southern England, including London.
Wrexham & Shropshire was an open access operator in the United Kingdom operating passenger rail services between Wrexham and London Marylebone from April 2008 until January 2011.
Ruabon railway station is a combined rail and bus interchange serving Ruabon in Wrexham, Wales. It is the second busiest station in Wrexham in terms of passenger journeys, after the mainline station, Wrexham General. It is on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line, which is part of the former Great Western Railway mainline route from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside which lasted until 1967.
Chirk railway station serves the town of Chirk in the county borough of Wrexham, Wales. Chirk station is on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line 21 miles (34 km) north of Shrewsbury, which is part of the former Great Western Railway mainline route from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside. The original 19th-century Chirk / Y Waun station building was demolished in 1987, without consultation, by the local council.
Albrighton railway station, on the former Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead via Birmingham Snow Hill line, serves the large village of Albrighton in Shropshire, England. The former up goods yard is now occupied by a small estate of low rise offices.
Dunstall Park railway station was a station north of Wolverhampton Low Level railway station on the Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead via Birmingham Snow Hill line. The station opened on 1 December 1896. Stafford Road engine shed and works and Oxley shed were nearby. It saw high traffic due to the nearby Wolverhampton Racecourse but closed in 1968 when services between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury were switched to Wolverhampton High Level.
Balderton railway station was a minor railway station serving the village of Balderton in Cheshire, England. It was located on the Great Western Railway (GWR) main line from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside. The 53-yard (48 m) Balderton Tunnel is just south of the station site, and there is an automatic half-barrier (AHB) level crossing adjacent to the site today.
Weston Rhyn railway station was a minor station on the Great Western Railway's London to Birkenhead main line serving the villages of Weston Rhyn and Preesgweene in England. It had an adjacent signal box and level crossing and immediately to the south were Up & Down Goods Loops. It had originally opened as Preesgweene and closed for the first time in March 1855. It re-opened as Preesgweene in November 1871 and was renamed Weston Rhyn in February 1935 It closed in 1960 but the railway is still open today as part of the Shrewsbury to Chester Line. After closure the platforms were removed but the station building was converted to a private residence.
Baschurch railway station was a minor station located about ten miles north of Shrewsbury on the GWR’s Paddington to Birkenhead main line. Today this is part of the Shrewsbury to Chester line. The station building can be seen on the west side of the line adjacent Baschurch level crossing; it was designed by Thomas Mainwaring Penson.
Rossett was a minor railway station located on the Great Western Railway's Paddington to Birkenhead line several miles north of Wrexham in Wales. The route is still open today as part of the Shrewsbury to Chester Line. Originally, there was a level crossing just south of the platforms but this has been reduced to the status of a foot and cycleway crossing. To the south of the station there were once goods loops on both sides of the line as well as extensive sidings on the east side. Part of the old Up (southbound) platform still survives. The double track on the Wrexham to Chester section was singled in 1983 but has been redoubled between Rossett and Saltney, with work finally completed in April 2017.
Saltney was a minor railway station located on the Great Western Railway's Paddington to Birkenhead line a few miles west of Chester, England. Although the station is now closed, the route is still open today as part of the Shrewsbury to Chester Line.
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.
Whittington High Level railway station is one of two former railway stations in the village of Whittington, Shropshire, England.
Upton Magna railway station was a station in Upton Magna, Shropshire, England. The station was opened on 1 June 1849 by the Shrewsbury and Wellington Joint Railway, which was run jointly by the London and North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway. Initially the station had no platforms at track level, nor any buildings on the westbound side - these were subsequently added later. Goods sidings, a loop and a signal box were provided on the southbound side of the line by 1895. Passenger trains from the station ran to Shrewsbury westbound and to both Stafford (LNWR) and either Wolverhampton Low Level or Birmingham Snow Hill (GWR) eastbound prior to nationalisation in 1948. Thereafter however, most trains ran to and from Stafford with only a limited service towards Wolverhampton.
