at Oswestry and Llynclys

Press Release - CHR 19/04/2011 - Oswestry on Track for Great Economic Boost

It’s Here!!

After almost two years planning and much blood sweat and tears trains will be running from Oswestry Station again for the first time since 1967 from this Good Friday.

The new Cambrian Heritage Railways service may only be half a mile in length but this stretch of fully restored line from the Station to Middleton Road Bridge represents a huge step forward in the eventual aim of seeing trains operating from the main line in Gobowen, as far as Llanyblodwel – a distance of some 8.5 miles.

“This is a momentus day for both the Cambrian Heritage Railways and Oswestry itself. Everyone can now come along and enjoy all the hard work that has been on-going almost out of site behind the Station Building over the past 12 months or so. It is a testament to the voluntary effort as well as that of our Imagematch sponsored workforce and something they should all be justly proud,” said Nigel Davies, Chairman of Cambrian Heritage Railways.

Passenger services from Oswestry ceased as a part of the Beeching Cuts of the mid 60’s and the platform at the station was partly demolished in the late 1980’s to allow for freight traffic to pass through. This ended in 1988 and the line has remained dormant ever since.

“We are very lucky here to have the experience of an existing operating heritage line at Llynclys and all that experience has helped tremendously. Trains will be running as usual there throughout the year,” continued Mr Davies.

Railway chiefs are looking at the success of other heritage lines such as the Severn Valley and Llangollen as a guide to the potential economic benefits such a development can bring to Oswestry.

“Llangollen in particular carries some 120,000 paying passengers a year, while the Severn Valley is around the 230,000 mark so the economic impact this development could have on Oswestry is substantial. In Llangollen’s case it’s an estimated £7million per year into the local economy and, it would be hoped, to see a much larger return here due to the potential link up with the main-line in Gobowen. In these difficult times that can only be good news for Oswestry and its surrounding area,” said Mr Davies.

Services begin from 11.00am on Good Friday through to 4.00pm at both Oswestry and Llynclys. The ever popular Railway Museum will also be open from 10.00am to 4.00pm in Oswestry.

Released on behalf of Cambrian Heritage Railways. For further information contact Nigel Davies on 07974 228575

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Press Release - CHR 14/04/2010 - Joint Management Meetings

The first ever joint meeting of the Cambrian Railways Trust (CRT) Trustees and Cambrian Railways Society (CRS) Committee took place on Monday night (12th. April) in the Cross Border Tourism offices in the Old Station Building, Oswestry.

This will now replace the individual Trust/Committee meetings to be replaced by one Cambrian Heritage Railways meetings on the second Tuesday evening of every month as the delivery of a multi-million pound project for the benefit of Oswestry and area continues to move forward.

Cambrian Heritage Railways were duly appointed as the managing body for both organisations - this is an interim step to allow CHR to take control of budgets, assets etc., while the full merger process is followed through. The structures applied during this management period will be instantly transferred to the single organisation on completion of the aforementioned merger.

The Trust and Society will remain as ‘shell’ organisations until completion.

“This is yet another historic step along the road to seeing passenger trains running along between Gobowen and Llanyblodwel, said CHR chair Mr Nigel Davies. “The road to a full merger is taking longer than anticipated and the management agreement allows for the new joint organisation to begin managing now rather than later.

“We have already seen a limited passenger service operate out of Oswestry for the first time in a number of years over Easter, and added to this new agreement April 2010 is proving to be an exciting month for the Cambrian Heritage Railways Project.”

Mr Davies added that he wished to publicly congratulate the continued support from members of both the CRS and CRT for working towards the merger of the two organisations.

Giving his reaction, Henry Thomas, Chair of the CRT said, “This arrangement is really positive in terms of the new Cambrian Heritage Railways now being able to begin work at a much earlier date than seemed possible. The development has the full backing of the Trust Board and should help everyone achieve their that much more quickly.”

Rob Williams, Chair of the CRS commented, “This forms yet another exciting step in the right direction. It was really gratifying to see members of both organisation’s boards sitting around the table for the first time and actively looking at ways forward as a team. Well done to everyone concerned.”

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On the 19th. March 2009 the following Press Release was issued:

Members of the Cambrian Railways Trust and the Cambrian Railways Society are celebrating the culmination of many years of complicated negotiations, with the completion of their lease agreements with Shropshire County Council. At long last the two bodies have possession of the eight miles of line between Gobowen and Blodwel. They can now make progress together on the project to create a major heritage railway, which is expected to bring up to 100,000 extra visitors per year to Oswestry. At a time when many local businesses are struggling, the heritage railway will bring many new opportunities and can play an important role in improving the town’s fortunes.

The Trust’s short line at Llynclys will again see steam trains starting this Easter, and work is already in hand to secure funding for extending these trains into Oswestry by 2012. At the same time Society volunteers plan to run their trains from Llynclys Junction towards Blodwel, and links will be improved to the Montgomery Canal, the Llanymynech Heritage Area, and other nearby attractions. The County Council also plans to construct a cycleway and footpath alongside parts of the railway track.

Trust Chairman Ken Ryder and Society Chairman Ken Owen both said they were delighted that the uncertainty over the future of the line is now over. They want to convey their thanks to those in the council who have worked so hard to achieve this lease, and especially to Owen Paterson MP for his energetic support.

For further information please contact:

Henry Thomas - henry @ henrythomas.co.uk