Wellington to Craven Arms Railway

Buildwas Junction (Sellick Collection)

The "Wellington to Craven Arms Railway" crossed the Severn Valley branch at Buildwas. It was effectively a 'Y'-shape, providing a through route from two junctions at its northern end near Shifnal and Wellington on the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway, meeting at Lightmoor and continuing to a junction at its southern end at Marsh Farm, a short way north of Craven Arms on the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway. It was not built as a single railway, but was completed in stages over time by a number of railway companies which eventually became part of the Great Western Railway branch network.

The sections of the route which together formed the network were:

• the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway Coalbrookdale branch: Madeley Junction (near Shifnal) to Lightmoor;
• the Wellington and Severn Junction Railway: Ketley Junction (near Wellington) to Lightmoor;
• the Great Western Railway Coalbrookdale extension: Lightmoor to Coalbrookdale;
• the Wenlock Railway (northern section): Coalbrookdale to Buildwas;
• the Much Wenlock and Severn Junction Railway: Buildwas to Much Wenlock;
• the Wenlock Railway (southern section): Much Wenlock to Marsh Farm Junction, north of Craven Arms.

The completed route went by a number of different names. The relevant section of the GWR 1902 timetable referred to the branch as "Wellington, Much Wenlock and Craven Arms", while the BR(W) Service Timetable for 1949 opted for "Wellington, Coalbrookdale and Craven Arms". This Wiki has adopted the shorter description of "Wellington to Craven Arms Railway" used on Wikipedia.

History up to 1862

Wenlock Railways 1862

The map (right) shows the railways present in the area when the Severn Valley Railway opened in 1862.

Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway

Prior to 1862, to the north of the River Severn, the main Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway (S&BR) had opened in 1849. The S&BR had originally been authorised to build a branch line from Ketley near Wellington, via Lightmoor, to Coalbrookdale, and at a later date with an extension to Ironbridge. They did not proceed with these plans but they did however begin construction of the Madeley branch (coloured orange on the map) from a junction at Madeley, near Shifnal, to Lightmoor (a major centre of the area's metal industry). By the time it was completed in October 1855, the S&BR had been absorbed by the GWR. Madeley Junction faced east towards Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

Wellington and Severn Junction Railway

The branch from Ketley Junction (coloured red on the map), which faced west towards Wellington and Shrewsbury, was instead completed by the Wellington and Severn Junction Railway (W&SJR) with technical assistance and some financial help from the S&BR. The Wellington and Severn Junction Railway Act received Royal Assent on 20 August 1853, authorising the company to construct the line as far south as Coalbrookdale. William Field was one of four contractors to bid for construction as far as Horsehay, but was unsuccessful, John Dickson being appointed. The line opened as far as Horsehay in 1857, and by May 1859 the Company had completed the triangle by linking the S&BR line at Ketley Junction to join with the Madeley Branch at Lightmoor. However they were unable to raise funds for the last two miles to Coalbrookdale which included the most difficult terrain. The W&SJR's branch was operated by the Coalbrookdale Company until 1 July 1861 and thereafter under lease by the West Midland Railway ("WMR") and the GWR. The W&SJR was completely vested in the GWR on 1 July 1892.

Although not part of what would become the GWR branch network, the map also shows the short 'Coalport Branch' (coloured black on the map) which was opened in 1861 by the GWR's rival, the LNWR. That branch terminated at Coalport East station which was located on the north Bank of the Severn opposite the GWR's Coalport station.

Much Wenlock and Severn Junction Railway

South of the River Severn, the Severn Valley Railway had begun construction in August 1858. The Much Wenlock & Severn Junction Railway (MW&SJR) received Royal Assent on 20 August 1859 to build a railway connecting Much Wenlock (163m 42ch) to a terminus at Buildwas (160m 23ch) on the Severn Valley Railway (then under construction), including a short extension which passed under the Severn Valley Railway to reach a wharf on the River Severn. The chief engineer was John Fowler, assisted by Henry Orlando Bridgeman. Thomas Brassey was selected as contractor but his regular partners Peto and Betts did not wish to join him on this occasion, so it was the partnership of Brassey and Field which was appointed in March 1860. Construction began the same month.

This railway (coloured dark brown on the map) was completed in time to open on 1 February 1862, the same day as the SVR, although inspection reports prior to opening both railways required a number of changes at Buildwas. The Inspector's principal concern was the gradient of the MW&SJR which began at 1 in 48 on leaving Buildwas and peaked at 1 in 40 while climbing 352 feet in the 3 miles to Much Wenlock. As a result, he required weighted points to be installed to protect the Severn Valley branch by diverting runaway vehicles into a blind siding.

At opening, Buildwas was the only junction on the Severn Valley Railway other than at the two ends.

History after 1862

Wenlock Railways 1867

Wenlock Railway

At the same time as preparing the first plans on behalf of the WMR and SVR companies for the Kidderminster Loop Line in 1860, Edward Wilson also prepared plans for a 'Lightmoor branch' from Benthall Edge on the SVR, crossing the Severn and passing through Coalbrookdale to join with the WJ&SJR at Lightmoor. A Bill for both plans went before Parliament, but in June 1861 the section relating to the Lightmoor branch was struck out in favour of a Bill presented by the Wenlock Railway, originally planned under the extended name of the "Much Wenlock, Craven Arms and Coalbrookdale Railway".

The Wenlock Railway was authorised to construct two railways (both coloured blue on the map). "Railway No. 1" would continue southward for 14 miles from the MW&SJR at Much Wenlock (163m 42ch) to connect with the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway at Marsh Farm Junction (177m 42ch), three miles north of Craven Arms. "Railway No. 2" would provide a short extension north from Buildwas East Junction on the Severn Valley Branch (160m 01ch), across the River Severn to Coalbrookdale (160m 72ch). The plans, which included the construction of Albert Edward Bridge, were drawn up by John Fowler and approved by Parliament in July 1861. Brassey and Field were appointed as contractors, with Dent and Mackay as agents.

Great Western Railway Coalbrookdale extension

Around the same time, the GWR Act of 1861 authorised the GWR to build the Great Western Railway Coalbrookdale extension, a a 1½ mile extension (coloured light brown on the map) from the Madeley branch at Lightmoor to join with the Wenlock Railway's "Railway No. 2", at Coalbrookdale. Brassey and Field built this section concurrently with "Railway No. 2"; both were built as double track (the only double track section between Wellington and Craven Arms) and both opened on 1 November 1864.

• 
  Coalbrookdale Station

South of Much Wenlock, opposition from local landowners at Presthope required a deviation to the route including a 207 yard tunnel under Wenlock Edge. "Railway No. 1" opened for goods traffic as far south as Presthope on 5 December 1864, which enabled limestone to be transported from the Wenlock Edge quarries to the Coalbrookdale iron foundries. However funding difficulties meant the last 11 miles to Marsh Farm Junction did not open for passenger traffic until December 1867. The journey time for the complete through route from Wellington to Craven Arms was around 90 minutes for the 28 miles.

Both the Wenlock Railway and the W&SJR were fully absorbed by the GWR in 1896.

Connection with the Severn Valley branch

There were a number of similarities between Buildwas and the Severn Valley branch's other junction station, Bewdley. Both initially became a junction at the terminus of the intersecting line, before eventually becoming a 'through junction' (in the case of Bewdley with the opening of the Tenbury Branch in August 1864 and the Kidderminster Loop Line in 1874 respectively). In both cases (considering the Severn Valley branch in overall north/south terms) the intersecting 'railways' joined from the east and crossed the SVR to south of the station, passed through the station on a single platform and then diverged to the west. The station buildings were also of a similar appearance.

The layout of the junctions at Buildwas and Bewdley meant that it was theoretically possible for northbound traffic on the Severn Valley branch to turn towards Much Wenlock and the Tenbury Branch respectively, while southbound services could turn towards Coalbrookdale and Kidderminster respectively. At Bewdley, some southward passenger services on the Severn Valley branch in the nineteenth century began to divert onto the alternate route to Kidderminster rather than continuing to Hartlebury, thereby acting as a true 'junction'. However there is no evidence in the various Timetables in commercial service to suggest passenger services at Buildwas ever made a similar diversion from one branch to the other. Passengers wishing to make such a journey always needed to change trains.

The main picture (top right) shows Buildwas station in 1961. The Severn Valley branch can be seen to the right, where two passenger services are crossing. The single platform on the left serves the Wellington to Craven Arms Railway; the direction in which the passenger service is facing suggests it has arrived from Much Wenlock and will continue towards Wellington. On the extreme left a goods service is standing in the goods loop, presumably awaiting departure to Much Wenlock.

Closure and subsequent history

Passenger services on the Madeley branch were little used and ended in the 1920s. Passenger services between Much Wenlock and Craven Arms ended on 31 December 1951, while passenger services between Wellington and Much Wenlock ended on 23 July 1962, all closures taking place prior to the 'Beeching Report'.

'Merry-go-round' coal trains for the Ironbridge power station continued to arrive via Madeley Junction, Lightmoor Junction and Albert Edward Bridge until the power station closed in 2015.

The Telford Steam Railway operates over a short section of the former W&SJR including Horsehay and Dawley station. The route north from there has been blocked by development, but the TSR still has plans to reinstate the line south as far as Lightmoor Junction from where it could reach Buildwas via the still extant double track line.

South west of Much Wenlock, much of the trackbed on Wenlock Edge between Presthope tunnel and Longville now forms part of the 'Jack Mytton Way' footpath.

See also

• The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership
• Engineer's Line References

Other Reading

• Craven Arms to Wellington including the Madeley route, Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Middleton Press 2008, ISBN 9781906008338
• The Wellington, Much Wenlock and Craven Arms Railway, Adrian Knowles, Lightmoor Press 2021,

Links

• Wellington to Craven Arms Railway on Wikipedia
• The Railways of Telford – the Wellington to Severn Junction Railway (W&SJR) – Part 1 – Wellington to Horsehay Blog by Roger Farnworth
• The Railways of Telford – the Wellington to Severn Junction Railway (W&SJR) – Part 2 – Horsehay to Lightmoor Junction Blog by Roger Farnworth
• The Railways of Telford – the Wellington to Severn Junction Railway (W&SJR) – Part 3 – Lightmoor Junction to Buildwas Blog by Roger Farnworth

Great Western Railway

British Rail or British Railways

Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway

London & North Western Railway

Severn Valley Railway

Telford Horsehay Steam Trust Limited, a Charitable heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford with proposals for running heritage trains into the Ironbridge Gorge and onto the former GWR Severn Valley branch.

Telford Horsehay Steam Trust Limited, a Charitable heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford with proposals for running heritage trains into the Ironbridge Gorge and onto the former GWR Severn Valley branch.