The Railways of Telford

[rogerfarnworth]

A recent gift (December 2021) from a valued colleague, to mark my pending retirement and my move to Telford, was 'Railways of Telford' by David Clarke

 

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/12/26/the-railways-of-telford-part-1-a-book-review/

 

This is my review of the book which, as you will read, should become a primer for me for exploring Telford and Wrekin and the wider area of East Shropshire!

Edited July 8, 2022 by rogerfarnworth

[montyburns56]

I think that you've missed off a forward slash on the URL.

 

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/12/26/the-railways-of-telford-part-1-a-book-review/

[Stuart]

Welcome to Telford!
Three more books you might consider for the new shelf in your library.

Stuart.

[SandyBrook]

Still loads of bits and pieces to go out and find remains of.. Coalport branch, Wenlock Edge to Craven Arms, Snailbeach, Bishops Castle let alone the preserved bit at Horsehay and the whole of the Severn Valley Railway, When I was lucky enough to live there (pre Telford at the start) , there were works railways and a branch line to Stafford. How I regret not having rushed round and photographed so much more.

if you can find  MRJ 64 there’s a rather good EM model by David Mathias of Wellington (Salop) as it was in the 1950’s

Hours of fun

[Stuart]

Even a couple of rails left in the road in Priorslee Village.

[SandyBrook]

IIRC the Priorslee Village rails went to Lawn Colliery, I lived in the village for a number of years they were just a nice added thought by the builders.

If you’re looking for more inspiration, one of the longstanding local railway photographers is Geoff Cryer, you can find him at http://www.geoffspages.co.uk/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Wellington & Severn Junction Railway (W&SJR) - Part 1

 

This is the first post about the different railway routes in Telford. The W&SJR ran through Lawley and Dawley which are within a mile or so of our home in Malinslee, Telford.

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2022/07/07/the-railways-of-telford-the-wellington-to-severn-junction-railway-wsjr-part-1-wellington-to-horsehay/

 

“The Wellington and Severn Junction Railway … was built between 1857 [and] 1861 and formed part of the Wellington to Craven Arms Railway. For much of its working life, it was operated by the Great Western Railway and subsequently the Western Region of British Railways.”

Edited July 8, 2022 by rogerfarnworth

[rogerfarnworth]

The first post on this thread looked at the length of the W&SJR from Wellington Station to Horsehay & Dawley Station. This next post covers the length from Horsehay & Dawley Station to Lightmoor Station. ....

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/?p=34673

 

[rogerfarnworth]

This post completes the review of the Wellington & Severn Junction Railway route. .....

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2022/07/18/the-railways-of-telford-the-wellington-to-severn-junction-railway-wsjr-part-3-lightmoor-junction-to-buildwas/

Edited July 19, 2022 by rogerfarnworth

[rogerfarnworth]

The LNWR Coalport Branch - Part 1

 

After the construction of the Wellington and Severn Junction Railway (W&SJR) and it being included in the GWR network, the LNWR found it necessary to take an interest in the Shropshire Canal as an alternative means of accessing the area.

 

The industrial areas immediately North of the River Severn were served by a whole series of tramroads which linked to the River Severn or to the Shropshire Canal and eventually to the W&SJR. Increasing problems with the Shropshire Canal led the LNWR to conclude that it needed to replace it, and the Coalport Branch was the result.

 

This is the first of a series of articles about the line:

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/03/14/the-railways-of-telford-the-coalport-branch-of-the-lnwr-part-1-hadley-to-malins-lee-station/

[franciswilliamwebb]

15 minutes ago, rogerfarnworth said:

This is the first of a series of articles about the line:

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/03/14/the-railways-of-telford-the-coalport-branch-of-the-lnwr-part-1-hadley-to-malins-lee-station/

 

It's a fascinating area.  Prompted by a Facebook group around 18 months ago I produced the following "then and now" comparison in Oakengates as I could never get the level crossing location straight in my head:

 

The labels related to the following text at the time:

 

"As I dog-walk in that general direction I took a small detour this afternoon, in order to get a modern equivalent of a photo from the Shropshire Archives.  I didn't get it all lined up exactly (displeased dog pulling on lead!) but it's a closer match than using Google Maps/Street View, I think.

 

The buildings at 1, 2, 4 and 5 are good for getting your bearings, although the one at 3 is long gone.  Additionally, the new curb at A and the old curb line at D reinforce this.

 

The old road from the photographers' viewpoint on Station Hill passed across the level crossing B-C before leading on to Market Street, but this is now built over with brick-faced foundations of of the A442 Expressway.

 

So motorists today drive across the northernmost tip of the old station site A-B, rather than the old level crossing B-C.  The southern part of the station, off to the left in the photos, is completely entombed under the Expressway."

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The LNWR Coalport Branch again. ...

 

Just after publishing the first article about the branch, I received an email from David Clarke offering some photos from his collection This prompted another look for photos on my part.

 

This addendum to the first article is prompted by David's email and includes a few other items as well. ...

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/03/24/the-railways-of-telford-the-coalport-branch-part-1a/

 

Thank you too, to franciswilliamwebb for your response above.

[rogerfarnworth]

The LNWR Coalport Branch - Part 2

 

This second length of the Branch runs from what was Malins Lee Station (although the area is now known as Malinslee) to Madeley Market Station. ....

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/03/14/the-railways-of-telford-the-coalport-branch-of-the-lnwr-part-2-malins-lee-station-to-madeley-market-station/

[rogerfarnworth]

The LNWR Coalport Branch - Part 3

The final length of the Branch running from Madeley Market Station to Coalport East Station

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/04/03/the-railways-of-telford-the-coalport-branch-of-the-lnwr-part-3-madeley-market-station-to-coalport-east-station/

[Happy Hippo]

As far as I remember the Oakengates (LNWR) goods shed is still extant.  It used to be business selling floor and wall tiles, but I believe it is now used as a meat wholesaler. 

[rogerfarnworth]

Yes, Happy Hippo, I believe you are right.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Coalport Branch once more ....

 

Another addendum which focusses on the first, the northern, section of the Branch. .....

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/04/08/the-railways-of-telford-the-coalport-branch-part-1b-an-addendum-oakengates/

 

[franciswilliamwebb]

An excellent half-hour's footage of the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury line has just appeared on YouTube:

 

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Coalport Branch again. .....

 

Immediately after publishing an article about the most southerly length of the Coalport branch, I was contacted by Ian Turpin who had constructed a model of Coalport East Station. This addendum is written with his kind permission using photos of his model. ....

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/04/12/the-railways-of-telford-the-coalport-branch-part-3a/

[rogerfarnworth]

This next article is about The Humber Arm of the Newport Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal and the Lilleshall Company's tramways, and later mineral railway, which connected the Arm to Old Lodge Furnaces and to a number of coalmines and ironworking sites around Donnington in present day Telford and Wrekin.

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/08/01/the-humber-arm-canal-and-railway-east-shropshire/

 

The Humber Arm Railway linked an earlier canal branch (which ran from the Newport Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal at Kynnersley to a wharf at Lubstree close to The Humbers, a small hamlet North of the old LNWR mainline through Donnington and on the North side of Venning Barracks, the base of the 11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands, part of the British Army's 3rd UK Division.) with the Lilleshall Company's private rail network.

[rogerfarnworth]

The Lilleshall Company's Railways and Tramways served Old Lodge Furnaces and Granville Colliery. This next article looks at that part of their private rail network. ....

 

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/08/18/the-canals-tramways-and-railways-of-east-shropshire-the-lilleshall-company-old-lodge-furnaces-and-granville-colliery/

Edited October 21, 2023 by rogerfarnworth

[rogerfarnworth]

The Lilleshall Company's Railways again. ...

 

This next article covers the length of the Lilleshall Company railway network from their Grange Colliery to the Hollingswood Sidings which connected to the GWR main line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton. ...

 

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/01/12/the-lilleshall-companys-railways-part-3-grange-colliery-to-hollinswood-sidings/

[rogerfarnworth]

The next article relating to the Railways of Telford has a thread of its own . It focuses on the railways of Oakengates. It can be found on this forum on this link:

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/184980-the-railways-of-oakengates/#comment-5456862

Edited March 10 by rogerfarnworth