Shrewsbury and Wellington Joint Railway

The Shrewsbury and Wellington Joint Railway (S&WJR) was operated by the London North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway. Its line ran from Shrewsbury (Abbey Foregate station, not to be confused with Abbey station, also in Shrewsbury) to Wellington. Abbey Foregate also acted as a junction, with chords to Shrewsbury station and to the direct line to Wales.

Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing the area around Shrewsbury in 1912
Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing the area around Wellington in 1903

Construction

Construction, between 1846 and 1849, was a joint effort between the Shropshire Union Railways (SUR) and the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway (S&BR).[1] The line was 10 miles (16 km) long.[2]

Opening

The line opened on 1 June 1849, simultaneously with the SUR line from Stafford and the first section of the S&BR, which was between Wellington and Oakengates (the latter was extended to Wolverhampton on 12 November that year).[3] The three companies met at Stafford Junction, Wellington.[4]

Ownership and leasing

Upon completion of the SUR line, that company was leased to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), and so passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on 1 January 1923;[5] in the meantime, the S&BR was absorbed by the Great Western Railway (GWR) on 1 September 1854,[6][7] and so from 1 January 1923 the S&WJR was joint GWR/LMS property.

Stations

Of the five stations of the joint line (Abbey Foregate, Upton Magna, Walcot, Admaston and Wellington) only Wellington is still open.

References
  1. "The Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway". Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
  2. MacDermot, E.T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833-1863. Paddington: Great Western Railway. p. 350.
  3. MacDermot 1927, pp. 353, 864
  4. MacDermot 1927, p. 869
  5. Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. pp. 102–3. CN 8983.
  6. MacDermot 1927, p. 390
  7. Awdry 1990, p. 42
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