124:
244:). The Bishop's Castle Railway tried to persuade the GWR to build the Lydham Heath to Montgomery line, so forming a through link between the two main lines. If that were done the Bishop's Castle might sell its line to the GWR. The GWR immediately made it plain that it was not interested in such a development. Evidently Montgomery Town Council had been lobbying for such a scheme–the "Montgomery" station on the Cambrian line was some distance from the town; however in June 1924, the Ministry of Transport indicated that a Government grant was not a possibility.
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The railway was always heavily in debt, and on 27 February 1877 possession some of the land on which the railway ran was taken by authority of the Court of
Chancery, due to unpaid debts. The line was closed until 2 July 1877 when the sum of ÂŁ700 was paid in to court and the seizure was cancelled. The
181:
The company had two locomotives, and operated one at a time, so that the operating system was “one engine in steam”. There was no electric telegraph or block working, and therefore no communication for train control. There were three train services each way daily with an additional one on cattle-fair
131:
A contractor was appointed, and he stated that he would start work as soon as a proportion of the share capital had been actually subscribed. This proved extremely difficult and for a considerable time no work was started, due to the absence of share subscriptions. It was not until 1865 that work was
114:
There was dismay when the scheme was published, for it was then seen that Bishop's Castle was planned to be on a branch and not the main line. The
Shrewsbury Chronicle commented, "The railway is a misnomer, for Bishop's Castle will never enjoy much, if any, of its vast benefits". As a result of local
252:
For decades the company had struggled to continue in business while in receivership. The financial state of the company was worsening as road transport in rural areas began to expand, and the
Receivership was terminated in April 1935: the business was closed down and the line now ceased to operate.
84:
At this time it had become clear that rural towns that were not connected to a railway would suffer economically, as necessities brought in, and manufactures and agricultural products sent out, were expensive to transport by other means. Accordingly the idea developed of a railway branch line from
203:
Not to be deterred the company's supporters promoted a further scheme in 1883 to extend the line from Lydham Heath to
Montgomery. They obtained an authorising Act of Parliament on 7 August 1884, incorporating the Bishop's Castle and Montgomery Railway, but once again local support in the form of
194:
Most of the press simply said that the line was 'stopped' during this period; however the
Wellington Journal (newspaper) said that a service was continuing between Horderley and Bishops Castle, with Mr Scriven, a hotel proprietor, providing a wagonnette service from Craven Arms to Horderley. The
132:
begun, by another contractor, and the part of the line from Craven Arms to Lydham and Bishop's Castle was opened on 1 February 1866. The line formed a Y shape, as trains ran from Craven Arms to Lydham and reversed to reach Bishop's Castle. Much of the route followed the
96:
At public meetings locally, the scheme received enthusiastic support, and a
Parliamentary Bill went forward; the railway was authorised by the Bishop's Castle Railway Act, on 28 June 1861. Authorised share capital was ÂŁ180,000, to build
93:. The town of Montgomery is on a hill, and the route of the proposed railway could not be made close to the town; a short branch line to it would be built. There would also be a branch from Lydham to Bishop's Castle.
34:. It opened in 1866 but was continuously short of money, and was unable to complete its originally-planned route, nor to provide more than the most basic level of equipment. It closed due to bankruptcy in 1935.
115:
feeling, the
Committee of the House of Commons introduced a clause in the Railway Bill requiring that a branch from Lydham Heath to Bishop's Castle must be opened concurrently with the main line.
162:(on the proposed Montgomery line) to Minsterley; there was already a branch line terminus there, connecting with Shrewsbury. An Act authorising this extension was granted on 29 June 1865.
85:
the Craven Arms station to a point on the O&NR near
Montgomery, serving the town and intermediate areas. From a junction at Wistanstow near Craven Arms, this would run through
1184:
390:
182:
days. There were several passenger coaches, although three were normally used on service trains; they were four-wheelers, using the obsolescent chain brake system.
1194:
1174:
559:
69:
had opened its main line in 1852; there was a station at Craven Arms, named after a nearby inn that had been a staging post for the coaches. To the west, lay the
142:
However Oppitz says that the Bishop's Castle branch from Lydham was used from
October 1865 without waiting for the approval of the Government Inspector.
139:
The first commercial use of the line was actually on 27 January 1866, when a special train was provided for the Squire of
Plowden for his shooting party.
169:
and it became impossible to get finance. Moreover the ordinary trading of the company was disappointing, and it fell into the hands of a receiver in
123:
1189:
73:, which was promoted in 1859: its main purpose was to connect a group of small railways at Newtown with the English railway network, by way of
875:
1179:
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58:. Its population in the middle decades of the nineteenth century was about 2,000. The town had been on the route of a proposed trunk line to
1028:
905:
790:
383:
241:
471:
1149:
1119:
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237:
376:
195:
suspension of through goods trains was considered to have had a marked adverse effect on the price of coal in Bishop's Castle.
66:
442:
408:
320:
216:
on 13 May 1886. For a few weeks the traffic was worked from each end and passengers were conveyed past the gap in horse
70:
643:
344:
204:
share subscriptions was absent, and the scheme never progressed. It was abandoned by a further Act of 5 July 1887.
921:, the Railway and Canal Historical Society, Richmond, Surrey, fifth (electronic) edition, 2019, pages 475 and 476
537:
515:
324:
150:
Notwithstanding the failure to complete the line, the directors now started to plan an extension line, to
493:
340:
302:
236:
as part of the grouping of the railways. Craven Arms was also a Great Western station (jointly with the
233:
306:
674:
154:. The topography was helpful for such a line, as low-lying land around the Aylesford Brook and the
700:
612:
358:
284:
62:, which was seen as a packet port for Ireland at one time, but that scheme had come to nothing.
31:
1115:
1087:
1024:
901:
871:
786:
354:
229:
170:
78:
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station, but it was two miles from the town it served. That part of the line opened in 1862.
765:
The Bishop's Castle Railway Society hopes to preserve remaining artefacts from the railway.
217:
212:
There was severe flooding in the district in 1886 and the line was breached by a washout at
191:
money was raised by a sale and leaseback of a locomotive and some land, to local persons.
51:
333:, 2-4-0, ex-Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, built by George England and Co. in 1861
173:. Completion of the original line from Lydham to Montgomery was obviously impossible.
1163:
166:
59:
213:
90:
27:
270:
151:
133:
23:
155:
89:
and join the O&NR north of Montgomery station, near the bridge over the
1056:
Carpenter, Roger (Winter 1986). "Lydham Heath - a remote railway outpost".
50:
Bishop's Castle is a small town located in Shropshire near the border with
369:
253:
The track was removed in 1937 and the land was gradually sold privately.
159:
74:
1144:
919:
Railway Passenger Stations in England, Scotland and Wales: A Chronology
42:
741:
Stretford Bridge Junction Halt; opened May 1890; closed 20 April 1935;
165:
Now the money market turned against railway projects in the financial
86:
232:, owners of the Oswestry and Newtown line at Montgomery, joined the
316:
298:
280:
266:
122:
55:
41:
917:
Shrewsbury Free Press, 3 February 1866, quoted in Michael Quick,
1154:
756:
Bishop’s Castle; opened 1 February 1866; closed 20 April 1935.
269:
ST, ex-Benjamin Piercy (contractor), built by Brotherhoods of
1131:
Bishop's Castle Railway Journey A Day Trip on the BCR in 1934
1040:
852:
An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles
1069:
Carpenter, Roger (Autumn 1991). "Bishop's Castle Station".
753:
Lydham Heath; opened 1 February 1866; closed 20 April 1935;
22:
was a railway company that constructed a railway line in
127:
Remains of station buildings at Bishop's Castle in 1951
747:
Plowden; opened 1 February 1866; closed 20 April 1935;
887:
Shrewsbury Chronicle, 22 March 1861, quoted in Oppitz
1103:
The Bishop's Castle Railway A Pictorial Presentation
868:
Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain
744:Horderly: opened March 1866; closed 20 April 1935;
1008:The Railways of Great Britain: A Historical Atlas
952:Wellington Journal, 3 March 1877, quoted in Quick
898:Shropshire and Staffordshire Railways Remembered
870:, Matador Publishers, Kibworth Beauchamp, 2017,
1086:. Kingfisher Railway Productions, Southampton.
750:Eaton; opened March 1866; closed 20 April 1935;
1112:Bishop's Castle Portrait of a Country Railway
1021:Atlas of the Great Western Railway as at 1947
833:
831:
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1071:The Bishop's Castle Railway Society Journal
1058:The Bishop's Castle Railway Society Journal
1039:Bishop's Castle Railway Society website at
785:, Shropshire Libraries, Shrewsbury, 1983,
423:
391:
377:
353:, 0-6-0, ex-Thomas Nelson (contractor) of
862:
860:
1185:Railway companies disestablished in 1935
1023:, Wild Swan Publications, Didcot, 1997,
932:The Bishop's Castle Railway, 1865 – 1935
839:In Memoriam: the Bishop's Castle Railway
817:, in the Railway Magazine, February 1909
841:, in the Railway Magazine, October 1937
783:Railways of Shropshire: a Brief History
774:
738:on the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway;
374:
1133:. The Bishop's Castle Railway Society.
1105:. The Bishop's Castle Railway Society.
760:
589:
581:
1195:British companies established in 1861
1175:Railway companies established in 1861
1010:, Ian Allan Limited, Shepperton, 2002
7:
900:, Countryside Books, Newbury, 1993,
599:
242:London, Midland and Scottish Railway
199:Another Attempt to reach Montgomery
186:Receivership and temporary closure
14:
321:Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
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238:London and North Western Railway
1155:Bishop's Castle Railway Society
761:Bishop's Castle Railway Society
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67:Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
1190:1861 establishments in England
560:Stretford Bridge Junction Halt
1:
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1180:Railway lines opened in 1865
1170:Rail transport in Shropshire
1082:Griffith, Edward C. (1983).
305:No. 227, built as 0-4-0T by
257:Locomotives used on the line
71:Oswestry and Newtown Railway
1110:Morgan, John Scott (1996).
1084:The Bishop's Castle Railway
815:The Bishop's Castle Railway
345:Wolverhampton railway works
1211:
1041:http://www.bcrailway.co.uk
934:, quoted in Oppitz page 45
1114:. Irwell Press, Gwynedd.
736:Stretford Bridge Junction
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119:Construction and opening
854:, Cassell, London, 1959
732:Bishops Castle Junction
287:, builder unknown, but
228:On 1 January 1922, the
224:A final plea to the GWR
46:Bishop's Castle Railway
20:Bishop's Castle Railway
1150:BBC Shropshire article
1129:Morgan, David (2014).
979:Grant, pages 49 and 50
400:Bishops Castle Railway
357:, built as 0-6-0ST by
325:George England and Co.
128:
47:
341:Great Western Railway
303:Great Western Railway
234:Great Western Railway
126:
77:. The O&NR had a
45:
1145:Open Plaques subject
307:Dodds, Isaac and Son
240:, shortly to be the
1101:Lucas, Ken (2007).
781:Richard K Morriss,
675:Heart of Wales line
701:Welsh Marches line
613:Welsh Marches line
359:Kitson and Company
343:No. 567, built at
285:St. Helens Railway
129:
48:
930:Edward Griffith,
850:Ernest F Carter,
793:, pages 38 and 39
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291:E. Bury & Co.
230:Cambrian Railways
171:Court of Chancery
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146:Expansion plans
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111:miles of line.
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52:Montgomeryshire
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32:Bishop's Castle
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91:River Camlad
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26:, from near
19:
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1019:R A Cooke,
644:Craven Arms
323:, built by
28:Craven Arms
1164:Categories
769:References
271:Chippenham
152:Minsterley
134:River Onny
79:Montgomery
24:Shropshire
908:, page 34
878:, page 50
538:Horderley
417:1865–1935
158:led from
156:Rea Brook
366:Stations
361:in 1868.
355:Carlisle
351:Carlisle
313:Progress
289:possibly
160:Chirbury
75:Oswestry
516:Plowden
347:in 1869
327:in 1861
309:in 1854
277:Plowden
273:in 1865
248:Closure
214:Plowden
106:⁄
1118:
1090:
1027:
904:
874:
789:
409:Legend
301:T, ex-
218:brakes
87:Lydham
54:, now
38:Origin
997:Quick
494:Eaton
319:, ex-
317:2-4-0
299:0-4-2
283:, ex-
281:0-6-0
267:0-4-0
56:Powys
1116:ISBN
1088:ISBN
1025:ISBN
902:ISBN
872:ISBN
787:ISBN
337:No.1
18:The
734:or
263:Bee
30:to
1166::
1075:38
1073:.
1062:10
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859:^
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798:^
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136:.
99:19
1124:.
1096:.
1077:.
1064:.
392:e
385:t
378:v
108:4
104:1
101:+
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
