Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company

The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and a railway. It was leased by the London and North Western Railway from 1847, and bought by it in 1922, but continued to act as a semi-autonomous body, managing the canals until their abandonment in 1944. With the passing of the Railways Act 1921 (Grouping Act) the company became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).

History

In 1845, the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company, which owned the broad canals from Ellesmere Port to Chester and from Chester to Nantwich, with a branch to Middlewich, had taken over the narrow Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, which ran from Nantwich to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The two companies had always worked together, in a bid to maintain their profits against competition from the railways.

Reformation as a joint canal - railway company

The joint company obtained an Act of Parliament in 1846, which reformed it as the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company (SUR&CC). The 1846 Act authorised the new company to take over the Shrewsbury Canal and to buy the Montgomery Canal and the Shropshire Canal. [ [http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/roots/packages/tra/tra_u08.htm Shropshire Routes to Roots: Section 8] ] The intent behind the 1846 Act was to build railways at a reduced cost, by using the existing routes of the canals they owned.Nicholson Waterways Guide Volume 4 (2006), Harper Collins Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0-00-721112-0] In 1847, the Company agreed to the terms of a lease from the London and North Western Railway Company (LNWR), and so lost its independence after little more than a year, but continued to manage the canals under its control. [http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/roots/packages/tra/tra_u09.htm Shropshire Routes to Roots: Section 9] ]

By 1849, the plan to turn the canals into railways had been dropped. From the same year, the Company leased the Shropshire Canal, which ran from Doddington Wood where there was a junction with the Trench branch of the Shrewsbury Canal, to Coalport, on the River Severn; they eventually purchased it in 1854.

Because the canals were largely in areas which were served by railways owned by the Great Western Railway, the LNWR was more than happy for it to continue to expand, and it remained profitable until the start of the First World War, in 1914. The Shropshire Union acted as a carrier, as well as managing the canals; they owned 213 narrowboats in 1870, rising to 395 in 1889 and 450 in 1902.

Take over by the LNWR

In 1921, the company sold most of their boats to private carriers, and made economy measures in a bid to reduce the regular losses they were making. The LNWR bought out the company in 1922, but was taken over by the new London Midland and Scottish Railway Company immediately afterwards.

A period of steady decline set in, with reduced maintenance making it more difficult for boats to operate. A breach near Frankton Junction on the Montgomery Canal, in 1936, effectively closed that branch.

Finally, an Act of Abandonment was obtained in 1944, which resulted in the closure of 175 miles (280km) of canal, leaving only the main line from Ellesmere to Autherley, and the branch to Middlewich. The branch to Llangollen was also retained, but only as a feeder to supply water to the canal. The other main sources of water were the Belvide Reservoir, near the A5 road at Brewood, and the outflow from the Barnhurst Sewage Treatment Works at Autherley Junction.

hropshire Union Railways

The Shropshire Union Company constructed and ran one of the few railways in England which were built by a canal company. The railway ran from Stafford to Shrewsbury, via Wellington. The SUR&CC were solely responsible for the section from Stafford to Wellington; but the building and operation of the 10.5 mile (17 km) long Shrewsbury to Wellington section was shared with the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. [ [http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/railways/S%20and%20B.htm Wolverhampton University: The Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway] ] Casserley, H. C. (1968). "Britain's Joint Lines". London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0024-7]

After the LNWR take over of the SUR&CC, the Shrewsbury and Wellington Railway was operated as a Joint railway by the Great Western Railway and the LNWR. The Stafford to Shrewbury Railway opened on 1 June 1849 and was 29.25 miles (47km) in length.Awdry, Christopher (1990). "Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies". London: Guild Publishing. Pp 42, 102 & 103.] The London and North Western Railway leased the line from July 1847, before it was complete.

The Shropshire Union Railways today

The Shrewsbury and Wellington section is still in use today by Arriva Trains Wales.

Passenger services on the Stafford to Wellington section ended on 7 September 1964. Goods services ceased between Stafford and Newport on 1 August 1966 and this branch from Wellington was cut back to Donnington on 22 November 1969.

The canals today

As of 2007, the main line from Ellesmere Port to Autherley and the branch to Middlewich are still open; they are known as the Shropshire Union Canal. The branch to Llangollen has been reopened for navigation, having been promoted as suitable for pleasure boating from the mid 1950s, and has been re-branded as the Llangollen Canal.

The Montgomery Canal has been partially re-opened. The first section restored was at Welshpool, when the line of the canal was threatened by a bypass. This isolated section was reopened in 1969. The section southwards from Frankton Junction has been restored and opened progressively since 1987, with additions in 1996, 2003 and the latest stretch from Gronwen Wharf to Redwith Bridge in October 2007. There are ongoing efforts to complete the restoration of most of the remaining un-navigable sections.

A Trust has been set up to conserve the remains of the Shrewsbury Canal, with a view to reopening it in the longer term. [ [http://www.sncanal.org.uk The Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust] ] A feasibility study and a detailed engineering report have been commissioned and completed, and conclude that there are no major engineering obstacles to a full reopening. [ [http://www.sncanal.org.uk/news2.htm Trust news report, quoting Inland Waterways Association annual report 2006.] ] [ [http://www.iwac.org.uk/downloads/reports/iwaac_inland_waterway_review_dec2006.pdf Full 2006 IWAC report here - see p43] ]

A minor section of the Shropshire Canal including the Hay Inclined Plane has been incorporated into the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.

References

Further reading

* Hadfield, Charles (1969). "The Canals of The West Midlands". 2nd Edition. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4660-1.
* Rolt, L. T. C. (1970). "The Inland Waterways of England". 5th Impression. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. ISBN 0-04-386003-6.