Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway

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Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway

Legend Shrewsbury Abbey Gate Shrewsbury West 1 mile West Meole Brace 1¾ miles Hookagate and Redhill 3 miles Crossing of Shrewsbury to Welshpool line Edgebold 4 miles Cruckton 5¾ miles Shoot Hill 6¾ miles Ford and Crossgates 7¼ miles Shrawardine 9½ miles Nesscliffe and Pentre 11¾ miles Edgerley 12½ miles Kinnerley 13½ miles Criggion branch, joining at Kinnerley Chapel Lane Melverley Border between England and Wales Crew Green Llandrinio road Criggion Wern Las 15 miles Maesbrook 16 miles Llanymynech 18 miles

The Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales. It opened in 1907, taking over most of the former Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway, and was one of the Colonel Stephens Railways. It was taken over by the War Department in 1941 and closed in 1960.

The terminus of the line in Shrewsbury was not at the main railway station there, but at a smaller Shrewsbury Abbey station, this being due to the owners of the main railway station refusing its use. The line became part of an army ordnance centre during World War II, and afterwards it became an oil depot. It closed finally in the early 1990s and a new road in the area has been named "Old Potts Way" as a reminder of what was known as the Potts Railway.

A number of the stations shown in the diagrams were added after the closure of the original Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway.

Contents 1 Locomotives 1.1 1907-1941 1.2 1941-1960 2 References 3 Sources 4 External links

[edit] Locomotives

[edit] 1907-1941

• 1 Gazelle 0-4-2WT Dodman, King's Lynn (preserved at the Colonel Stephens Railway Museum, Tenterden, Kent)
• 2 Hecate (1st) 0-4-2ST re-named Severn in 1916
• 3 Hesperus 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
• 4 Morous 0-6-0ST Manning Wardle
• Walton Park 0-6-0ST Hudswell Clarke
• 5 Pyramus (1st) 0-6-2T new from Hawthorn Leslie in 1911
• 6 Thisbe (1st) 0-6-2T new from Hawthorn Leslie in 1911
• 5 Pyramus (2nd) 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
• 6 Thisbe (2nd) 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
• 7 Hecate (2nd) 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 Class Number 681 Beulah. Bought from Dalmore Distillery, Invergordon, last in service early 1930s, scrapped October 1934.^[1]
• 8 Dido 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 Class Number 638 Millwall. Bought from Glen Albin Distillery, Dalmuir for £470 in November 1921. Scrapped in October 1934.^[1]
• 9 Daphne 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 Class Number 683 Earlswood. Bought from Dalmore Distillery, Invergordon. Sold to Southern Railway, 10 June 1939, Scrapped at Eastleigh, April 1949.^[1]
• Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal Engine
• Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal Engine
• Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal Engine

The Hawthorn Leslie locomotives were new in 1911 but all the others were second-hand. According to Woodcock ^[2] both the Hawthorn Leslies left between 1914 and 1916. Thisbe went to the Woolmer Instructional Military Railway and Pyramus was sold for industrial use. However, it is possible that both went to Woolmer and Pyramus was later sold for industrial use. They were replaced by two "Ilfracombe Goods" locomotives which took the same names.

[edit] 1941-1960

Locomotive stock in 1941 consisted of: Gazelle, Hesperus and the three LNWR 0-6-0s. These were replaced by various War Department locomotives, including ex-GWR 2301 Class 'Dean goods' 0-6-0s and Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0STs. From 1945, the Criggion branch was operated by a Sentinel steam locomotive (works no. 7026) owned by the British Quarrying Company.

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• Turner, Keith & Susan (1982). The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0 7153 8233 0. 

[edit] External links

• BBC: The Railway that refused to die