Heritage Infrastructure

It is fortunate that despite the fact that nearly 38 years have elapsed since the last British Rail passenger trains ran to Oswestry, a surprising amount of Oswestry’s rich railway heritage survives today.

Firstly, the track and track bed is intact from Gobowen to Blodwell. Secondly, such treasures as the main Station buildings at Oswestry and Gobowen still survive. Also still in existence are the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon works at Oswestry, together with the pedestrian footbridge to it. All these structures are ‘Listed’

During the 1950’s and early 1960’s British Railways operated the line very much as had the GWR. Brunswick Green locomotives and “Chocolate and Cream” station name boards could be seen. The largest locomotives allowed on the Cambrian system were the “Manor” class, specifically designed by Swindon for use on the Cambrian system. It is fortunate that examples of this class are available for the re-opening of the railway.

Accordingly, a great deal of the heritage remaining from steam days is still available, waiting to be re-used in the opening of this railway.

Cambrian Railways Trust

In 1972 a group of local people, anxious to to hold on to the heritage of the Cambrian Railways, formed the Cambrian Railways Society. A lease was secured from British Rail on the Goods Yard and Goods Shed next to the old station building in the hope of one day running a service on the old Cambrian Mainline.

Attempts to do this were frustrated by the continuing use of the line for stone traffic to and from Blodwell Quarry.

When it appeared that Railtrack were finally going to relinquish control of the line, the Society decided to form the Cambrian Railways Trust. This was an amalgam of Society members, local authority councillors and officials, and enthusiasts from the wider world of railway preservation, who then started to negotiate with Railtrack for the sale of the line.

Agreement was finally reached with Railtrack for this sale, but following boundary changes within Railtrack from Midland to Great Western, the sale was cancelled and Railtrack informed us that the sale process would not be taken any further until all objections had been removed from the TWAO process. The Transport and Works Act Order allows us to run passenger services, the modern equivalent of the Light Railway Order of previous years.

It became clear at this point that the Society did not not wish to work with the Trust, as many of the objections originated from the Society. While, for two years, we attempted to accommodate the Society’s objections to the TWAO, Network Rail (as Railtrack had now become) decided that the sale process had ended. Until Network Rail decide that the transfer of the line to the Trust can proceed, the TWAO application is “on hold”.

Up until this point the Trust deliberately did not encourage membership so as not to compete with the Society. But following the Society’s refusal to accept the findings of the Peter Middleton Report, where the Trust’s Business plan was accepted, and the Trust were the preferred body to bring the project forward, the Trust opened its doors to general membership. From an initial start of just 8 members there are now nearly 100 members and is growing constantly. An application form for membership can be printed off here.

In theory, it did not matter which part of the Llynclys to Oswestry section was worked on first, but given that the Trust could not access the line north of Llynclys junction, it was inevitable the attention should turn to the section south of Llynclys junction.

Fortunately, the landowners owning the trackbed between Llynclys junction and Pen-y-Garreg Lane at Pant all agreed to allow the Trust to carry out preliminary works on their land and then to sell (or in one case lease) the trackbed to the Trust. Hence , during the first part of 2003 the volunteers of the Trust reinstated the trackbed from Llynclys junction to a point approx 200 yards north of Llynclys station.

During mid 2003 the Trust became aware of the possibility of obtaining large scale European funding as part of the enlargement of the existing tourism package for the area. The conditions of accessing this grant included the Trust providing matched funding and the Trust identifying tourism targets which had to be achieved, should the grant application be approved.

The Trust was able to accept the donation of a considerable amount of track materials which together with volunteer labour inputs allowed an application to be made for a grant exceeding £300,000.00. The requirement to enlarge the tourism potential of the area (by providing passenger services as soon as possible) required the Trust to enlarge its original plan merely to provide the infrastructure at Llynclys South for the Oswestry to Llynclys section, to the idea of completing the Llynclys to Pen-y-Garreg lane section.The availability of the grant made this possible. As this section of line does not cross any public highways the Trust is able to apply for exemption under the 1993 Railways Act from the full TWAO order, which will allow an early opportunity to commence these passenger services, forecast for the summer of 2005.This event will, in itself, fulfil several criteria-The Cambrian main line will once more become an operating railway; nationwide publicity will derive from this; membership of the Trust will be given a boost; training of volunteers will be possible in the skills necessary to operate a railway; and the project can commence trading.

In order to fulfil the requirement to operate between Llynclys wharf and Pen-y-Garreg Lane the Trust has purchased a class 101 diesel multiple unit which can operate between these two points without the need for run-round facilities.This type of unit (which was built in the late 1950s) operated between Oswestry and Gobowen in the mid 1960s.The Trust hopes that it will do so again in the near future.This venture does not alter the Trust’s main aim of providing a heritage steam railway, based on what could be seen in and around Oswestry during the 1950s and early 1960s.However, it does provide a source of income to assist in future development as well as a further attraction in the Oswestry area.

Since the receipt of the grant, the Trust has acquired the trackbed (the Trust now has title to about 90% of the trackbed between Llynclys junction and Pant station); reinstated fencing ; laid ballast and trackwork (over 1,400 yards to date);purchased ex British Rail working diesel passenger and shunting units: purchased steam age passenger and freight vehicles ;and created full time employment. Hence the first stage of the Oswestry to Llynclys section is nearly complete, bringing forward the day when services can begin between these two places.

Accordingly, the Trust is now completing the first part of the first section of line it intends to reopen.

The logical next stage is to extend back into Llynclys station itself, and to complete the run-round facilities to the north of the station.This would then pave the way for the linking up of Llynclys station and Oswestry station. These events rely of course on finance, on Network Rail and on the granting of the TWAO.

Once we have extended through Llynclys station, thoughts will then be on linking up with main line at Llynclys junction. To enable this to happen we need the line from Gobowen to Llynclys junction to be acquired from Network Rail. Fortunately Shropshire County Council are in the process of acquiring the trackbed, and they have indicated that the Trust will be able to lease the line from them.

Another welcome change recently is the improved relationship between us and the Society, such that we both have agreed to back each others plans for the future. The society have agreed with Shropshire County Council that they will develop the line from Llynclys Junction to Llandu, and on to their current branch at Nantmawr. This means that there will ultimately be the possibility of alighting a Trust train at Llynclys, and transferring to a Society train that will carry you along the extremely scenic Tanat Valley line to Nantmawr, via Porth-y-Waen. Watch this space, as they say !!