Friends of the Rail Forum

Steam train could return to town
Monday, 31 March 2008 14:25 UK

A popular narrow gauge steam railway could return to a Powys town centre for the first time in nearly 50 years under plans to boost tourism.

The light railway runs between Llanfair Caereinion and the outskirts of Welshpool, but proposals are to extend the track into the town itself.

Welshpool Town Council said a feasibility study would be carried out into the plans.

The railway's town centre service stopped in 1961.

Meanwhile, the line's operators, Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, said it had agreed to co-operate with the study.

Town council clerk Robert Robinson said the town centre service could boost tourism in Welshpool.

"The town council launched a future of Welshpool plan last year and this was one of the suggestions people in Welshpool came up with," said Mr Robinson.

"The town council has since expressed an interest in extending the light railway line and a feasibility study is to be carried out

"The light railway has agreed to co-operate with the study."

The light railway, which runs the eight miles between Welshpool and Llanfair Caereinion, is popular with tourists.

BBC Page last updated at 13:25 GMT, Monday, 31 March 2008 14:25 UK

It is now 16 years on from the post above and the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway has not been extended back into the centre of Welshpool. This is a post about the abandoned length through the town ...

Those involved with the creation of the preservation line always intended to include the part of the line which ran through the centre of Welshpool. Sadly that was not to be. The local authorities were concerned about the effect of the railway traffic on road traffic in and around the town. Pretty much all that remains of that length of the line are photographs, short bits of film and memories. Road improvements and building clearance have changed parts of the old town.

Elements of the original route are difficult to identify. This is compounded by OS Mapping. The 1949 6" Ordnance Survey, which should have provided a definitive map of the town centre, seems to have used the route of an old tramroad to define the route of the line rather than undertake a local survey of the line. It also seems to have left the Seven Stars pub in place when it was actually demolished to make room for the railway. The result of these things being a rather unrealistic mapped route of the line through parts of the town.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2022/07/24/th ... t-railway/

For some time I'd thought about looking at the lost length of the line. I was reminded of this when my wife decided that it would be good for us to visit the preservation line. After that journey, my interest was rekindled. The linked article above is the result. ....

I wrote the first article (above) about this line a while back. After that first article a number of folks got in touch with their photos of the line and I have, decided to write an addendum and found other photographs which people have kindly allowed me to include in this additional article. There are a few embedded links to Flickr images as well.

It has been a joy pulling all these together. ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2022/09/23/th ... -addendum/

I was reading (in August 2024) the July 1903 Railway Magazine and came across an article about the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway. The article marked the opening of the line at the beginning of April 1903.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/09/17/we ... pril-1903/