Tag Archives: Wenlock Railway

A short-lived LNWR Interest in the Wenlock Railway and the Ultimate Takeover by the GWR

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This is little more than a mildly interesting aside. Or perhaps an addendum to the short series about the Line between Wellington and Craven Arms. ….

The small companies that built the different lengths of the railway line between Wellington and Craven Arms struggled to manage their assets without support from the Great Western Railway. The GWR first began to operate the services on the line in the period after each section was opened, before gradually absorbing the companies that owned the different sections of the line.

“Small railway companies reliant on a dominant partner often found that continued independence was not worthwhile.” [1][6]

The Wenlock Railway experienced problems completing their railway through to Marsh Farm Junction/Carven Arms. It was an agreement with the GWR that made completion possible.

“In 1865 the GWR agreed to make an annual payment of £5,000 to the Wenlock Railway as a commuted payment for working the line between Wenlock and Presthope, and this cash inflow enabled the Wenlock Railway to resume construction. By the end of September 1867 the line on to Marsh Farm was thought to be ready, but Colonel Rich for the Board of Trade condemned the rail chairs of 21 lb. and 22 lb., saying they were too light and had to be replaced by 30 lb. chairs. This decision meant that the whole of the track between Presthope and Marsh Farm Junction had to be taken up and relaid at an extra cost of £2,244. On 9th December 1867 Colonel Rich approved of the line, and the entire line from Buildwas to Marsh Farm Junction was opened to passenger traffic on 16th December 1867.” [1][2: p57 & 252][3: p304][4: p112][5: p34]

“The relationship between the Wenlock companies and the GWR was not smooth; the small companies resented the large proportion of income – 42.5% – that the GWR was retaining for working the line, and there were many detailed issues that became contentious. In 1861 the London and North Western Railway had opened its Coalport branch line, and the possibility arose of connecting the Wenlock lines to it, by-passing the GWR. In 1872 plans were prepared for a line from Lightmoor to the LNWR line near Madeley Court; incidentally the line would also link in furnaces at Stirchley, Hinkshay and Blists Hill.” [1]

There were some sound reasons for the line being considered. Had construction taken place the LNWR would have succeeded in gaining access to the full line through Much Wenlock to Craven Arms. The Coalbrookdale Company was, at first, supportive of the scheme. Its support was critical to the viability of the proposal.

The title and introduction to the Act of 21st July 1873. [7][8]

The Act allowed for the construction of two lengths of railway:

  • The first was four furlongs three chains and fifty decimals of a chain in length, commencing in the parish of Madeley by a junction with the Great Western Railway (Lightmoor to Coalbrookdale Branch) near Lightmoor, and terminating in the said parish of Madeley in a pasture field called Near Moors, numbered 201 on the tithe map of the said parish; [8]
  • The second was seven furlongs three chains and fifty-four decimals of a chain in length, commencing in the said parish of Madeley by a junction with the said intended railway No. 1 in a pasture field called Near Moors, numbered 201 on the tithe map of the said parish, and terminating in the parish of Stirchley by a junction with the Coalport Branch of the London and North Western Railway. [8]

The “Much Wenlock and Severn Junction (Lightmoor Extensions) Act, got the Royal Assent on 21st July 1873. … The Wenlock companies had relied on the Coalbrookdale Company subscribing a substantial sum to the construction, but now that Company said that the downturn in the Shropshire iron trade meant that they could not do so. There was now no possibility of making the new line.” [1][2: p65-66]

“The Wellington and Severn Junction Railway had long been leased to the Great Western Railway, so that the smaller Company was simply a financial entity. In July 1892 it agreed terms with the GWR and was absorbed by it.” [1][6]

“This left the [other] Wenlock companies in an uneasy relationship with the GWR. In December 1887 the GWR made new proposals for the payments it would make for working the line, but the smaller companies stalled. In fact, the working agreement with the GWR expired at the end of June 1893, but by the end of December 1893 agreement had still not been reached, and the GWR stated that it was not prepared to continue to work the line on the present terms. The GWR offered terms for purchasing the companies, but these were refused. In frustration the GWR threatened to cease working the line. The Wenlock Companies [ultimately had to accept] the GWR terms; the takeover was effective from October 1896.” [1][2: p53]

References

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_to_Craven_Arms_Railway#cite_ref-jones65_43-0, accessed on 19th September 2024.
  2. Ken Jones; The Wenlock Branch. Oakwood Press, 1998.
  3. Ernest F Carter; An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles; Cassell, London, 1959.
  4. Rex Christiansen; A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 13: Thames and Severn; David and Charles (Publishers) Limited, Newton Abbot, 1981.
  5. E T MacDermot, History of the Great Western Railway Volume 2: Great Western Railway, London, 1931.
  6. John M. Tolson; In the Tracks of the Iron Masters; in The Railway Magazine, London, July and August 1964.
  7. https://vlex.co.uk/vid/much-wenlock-and-severn-808157633, accessed on 19th September 2024.
  8. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/36-37/183/pdfs/ukla_18730183_en.pdf, accessed on 19th September 2024.