Shrawardine Railway Station

Shrawardine railway station opened to passengers in 1866, and its regular passenger service ended in 1933. Its history continued through goods traffic and military use, so passenger closure was only one stage in the railway's decline. Quick, pp. 415 and 539 ↗; Shropshire HER: Potts railway ↗.

The station and the Potts railway

The station belonged to the Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway, commonly called the Potts. The line linked Shrewsbury with Llanymynech, using a terminus opposite Shrewsbury Abbey. Shropshire HER: Potts railway ↗.

The railway also crossed the River Severn at Shrawardine. Ken Brockway's photograph above records that crossing in 1954; it shows the bridge rather than the station. Geograph photograph ↗.

Closure and reopening

Michael Quick's station chronology gives Shrawardine's passenger opening as 13 August 1866. Regular services were withdrawn that December, resumed in 1868 and ceased again on 22 June 1880, when the line was closed on Board of Trade orders because it was unsafe and the company lacked funds for repairs. Quick, pp. 415 and 539 ↗.

The route reopened as the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway in 1911. The ceremony took place on 13 April, followed by regular passenger and goods services on 14 April. These were separate events, explaining the two opening dates. Shropshire HER: Potts railway ↗; Maund, p. 10 ↗.

Passenger services end in 1933

Regular passenger services were withdrawn from 6 November 1933. The Colonel Stephens Society's account of the final timetable distinguishes this withdrawal from holiday excursions and enthusiasts' special trains which continued afterwards. The Colonel, no. 127, p. 15 ↗; Quick, p. 415 ↗.

Goods traffic also continued. The county's detailed Potts railway record explicitly separates the loss of passenger services from the later military takeover. Shropshire HER: Potts railway ↗.

Military use and closure in 1960

During the Second World War, the railway served ammunition storage around Nesscliffe and Shrawardine. The National Transport Trust describes operation by the Royal Engineers, reconstruction of the line and railway sidings serving the stores. National Transport Trust ↗.

Maund records a new military halt at Shrawardine, replacing use of the original platform. Remaining civilian commercial traffic ceased on 29 February 1960, but military use continued briefly. A special train ran on 20 March, and the War Office relinquished the line on 31 March, with some later movements to recover railway materials. Maund, pp. 14–16 ↗.

There is a discrepancy in the county records: the light railway summary gives 1962 for the end of operations, whereas its detailed description discusses closure in 1960. Maund documents the 1960 stages. The difference remains unresolved here. Shropshire HER: light railway ↗; Maund, pp. 14–15 ↗.

For the railway crossing and ammunition depot, continue to the River Severn guide. Explore other local subjects in Shrawardine's history.