MODERN HISTORY

It would have made for an exceptional stretch of tourist railway but, sadly, street running on the preserved Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway was cut short by the local authority, as PAUL CHANCELLOR recalls.

Three Welsh narrow gauge lines had the dubious honour of being taken into the British Railways empire, having previously come under the control of the Great Western Railway.

The Vale of Rheidol Railway survived, partly because it was operating as a busy passenger line and its tourist potential had been strongly promoted by the GWR.

The Corris Railway, however, quickly succumbed and was the first casualty of the BR era. It was officially closed in 1948, having been a goods-only branch since 1930.

The other BR adoptee was the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway.

The history of this line started in 1864 with the first attempts to join the two towns by rail, but it would be another 39 years before the first train ran.

At the outset, the line was open for both passenger and freight traffic and was operated by the Cambrian Railways. The Cambrian became part of the GWR at the 1923 Grouping so, subsequently, the WLLR passed in to British Railways ownership. The line never made a profit; it was no surprise when the passenger service was withdrawn in 1931 and replaced by buses.

It did enjoy a brief five-day revival in 1945 for an eisteddfod (a Welsh arts festival), and freight traffic continued to eke out its existence until 1956, when the line was closed altogether.

Those youngsters who studied their Ian Allan Western Region Abc in the late 1950s may have wondered why they never saw two locomotives near the start of the book numbered 822 and 823; these being the Beyer Peacock 0-6-0Ts (The Earl and Countess) that had been bought to operate the line. The lucky ones who had really seen them, as opposed to ‘misreading’ a number on their travels, would almost certainly have visited the works at Oswestry where the two redundant engines were stored, but officially still in stock, until acquired by a group of enthusiasts who, by 1959, were already in positive discussion with BR.

A limited company was formed the following year and a lease obtained for the line in 1962. In 1961, No. 822 (or No. 1 The Earl to which it reverted), returned to the line following overhaul at Oswestry.

Services restarted on April 6 1963 between Llanfair Caereinion and Castle Caereinion, although a brief return was also made to the eastern end of the line where the railway ran through the streets of Welshpool to reach BR’s standard gauge station.

However, the local council had other plans for the town and forced the closure of that remarkable section; an alternative terminus had to be built for the truncated line at Raven Square, which opened in 1981.

In association with Colour Rail Beyer Peacock 0-6-0T No. 1 The Earl wends its way between the houses in Welshpool with the reopening day special. Perhaps the owner of the washing was a supporter of the council’s intentions to shut this part of the line.

BOTH: COLOUR RAIL On October 6 1962, No. 823 has arrived at Welshpool on a well wagon following overhaul at Oswestry, completed in pre-Grouping lined black. Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No. 80079 (now preserved at the Severn Valley Railway) is on the left, presumably having delivered it there.