Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway

The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales. It opened in 1911, taking over most of the former Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway from the Shropshire Railways Company, and was one of the Colonel Stephens Railways.It was taken over by the War Department in 1941 and was closed in 1960.

The terminus of the line in Shrewsbury was not at the main railway station there, but at a smaller Shrewsbury Abbey station because the owners of the main railway station refused its use. After the railway was closed the station became an oil depot which was closed in 1988. A new road in the area has been named "Old Potts Way" as a reminder of what was known as the Potts Railway.

A number of the stations shown in the diagrams were added after the closure of the original Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway.

Locomotives

1907-1941

* 1 Gazelle 0-4-2WT Dodman, King's Lynn (preserved at the Colonel Stephens Railway Museum, Tenterden, Kent)
* 2 Hecate (1st) 0-4-2ST re-named Severn in 1916
* 3 Hesperus 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
* 4 Morous 0-6-0ST Manning Wardle
* Walton Park 0-6-0ST Hudswell Clarke
* 5 Pyramus (1st) 0-6-2T new from Hawthorn Leslie in 1911
* 6 Thisbe (1st) 0-6-2T new from Hawthorn Leslie in 1911
* 5 Pyramus (2nd) 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
* 6 Thisbe (2nd) 0-6-0 ex-LSWR 282 Class "Ilfracombe Goods"
* 7 Hecate (2nd) 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 Class Number 681 "Beulah". Bought from Dalmore Distillery, Invergordon, last in service early 1930s, scrapped October 1934.cite book | first = Tom| last = Middlemass| authorlink = | coauthors = | year = | month = | title = Stroudley and his Terriers| chapter = | editor = | others = | edition = | pages = pp50-54| publisher = Pendragon| location = York| id = ISBN 1 899816 00 3| url = ]
* 8 Dido 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 Class Number 638 "Millwall". Bought from Glen Albin Distillery, Dalmuir for £470 in November 1921. Scrapped in October 1934.
* 9 Daphne 0-6-0T ex-LB&SCR A1 Class Number 683 "Earlswood". Bought from Dalmore Distillery, Invergordon. Sold to Southern Railway, 10 June 1939, Scrapped at Eastleigh, April 1949.
* Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal Engine
* Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal Engine
* Un-named 0-6-0 ex-LNWR 17in Coal Engine

The Hawthorn Leslie locomotives were new in 1911 but all the others were second-hand. According to Woodcock [Woodcock, George, "Minor Railways of England and their Locomotives", Goose & Son, Norwich, 1970, page 156] both the Hawthorn Leslies left between 1914 and 1916. "Thisbe" went to the Woolmer Instructional Military Railway and "Pyramus" was sold for industrial use. However, it is possible that both went to Woolmer and "Pyramus" was later sold for industrial use.They were replaced by two "Ilfracombe Goods" locomotives which took the same names.

1941-1960

Locomotive stock in 1941 consisted of: Gazelle, Hesperus and the three LNWR 0-6-0s. These were replaced by various War Department locomotives, including ex-GWR 2301 Class 'Dean goods' 0-6-0s and Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0STs. From 1945, the Criggion branch was operated by a Sentinel steam locomotive (works no. 7026) owned by the British Quarrying Company.

References

Sources

* cite book | first = Keith & Susan | last = Turner| authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1982| month = | title = The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway| chapter = | editor = | others = | edition = | pages = | publisher = David & Charles| location = Newton Abbot| id = ISBN 0 7153 8233 0
url =

* cite book | first = Peter | last = Johnson| authorlink = | author = | year = 2008| month = | title = The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway| chapter = | editor = | others = | edition = | pages = | publisher = Oxford Publishing Co| location = Hersham| id = ISBN 978 0 86093 619 0
url =

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/history/2003/11/potts_line_01.shtml BBC: The Railway that refused to die]