Phil Gillam: Enjoying a nostalgic train of thought

Everyone laughed. . . . It's the way he tells them.

Yeah. They'd missed the train by about 50 years.

All you can see at the station now (during open days such as last Saturday and Sunday) is an impressive collection of railwayana; posters, photographs, maps, paintings, locomotive number plates, film footage from the days of steam, tickets and books, bits of machines and ancient typewriters, big platform clocks and the stationmaster's set of pencils, a quaint old fireplace, relics from a bygone era. But, alas, no trains.

In a strange and topsy-turvy history from its birth in 1866, the ridiculously ambitious Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway Company (who built this tiny station in 1870) were forced to close the line by 1882. The line then reopened in 1911 as the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway Company. That too was short-lived.

Then, in World War II, in another twist of fate, it was used by the army to serve the Central Ammunition Depot at Nescliffe.

The MOD closed its operation in 1960, although the story wasn't quite over yet.

Because right up until 1982, an oil depot in Abbey Foregate continued to be serviced by rail thanks to the existence of the old line.

Abbey Station, a humble building which you could easily miss if you blinked, was restored in 2011 thanks to the splendid efforts of the Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust (a steadfast bunch I've referred to before in this column).

It's always a pleasure to call in to the little station during one of its open days.

Last weekend, our son Tom and myself popped in and we were royally entertained by heritage trust stalwarts Dave Giddins and Mansel Williams.

They'll tell you anything you want to know about the old station and the railway companies which tried to make a go of it.

Last week, I mentioned the Mary Webb Society who regularly take the trouble to place fresh flowers on the novelist's grave at Shrewsbury cemetery, and who have recently organised the renovation of her memorial.

I said it was brilliant that there were people out there who cared enough about such things to make it happen.

Similarly, it is brilliant that there are people out there who care enough to restore and maintain a little railway station which had been largely forgotten by the general public.

So, well done to all concerned.

If you want to find out more about the Trust, you can contact Mansel on 01743 235103 (email mansel.williams@shropshire.gov.uk) or Phil Hughes, membership secretary, on 01743 359853. You can also visit the website - shrewsburyrht.org.uk

Swiftly moving along from the lovely Abbey Foregate to the charming Castlefields (land of my childhood), I had this email the other day: "Phil – I have just read your column in the Shrewsbury Chronicle and have to write to you. You mentioned that your best friend was Paul Rogers. Is that the same Paul who had a brother called Dave? They lived in the last house in North Street, next door to his auntie, and had a black dog called Binkie (I think). If it is, our paths must have crossed as kids.

"I lived at 12 North Street, not far from Mr Howard's shop (whose son Dave helped him run it). I used to be at Paul and David's house a lot when we were kids if it's the same Paul. By the way. While looking back on the old days, the last owner of the little shop in Dorset Street, I think, was Mrs Siviter. Later, we moved to Belle Vue. Havelock Road, with a back way in along side Mr Huxley's grocery shop. And remember the pub run by Mrs Judd by the shop? Best wishes, Chris Walton"

Many thanks for that, Chris.Yes, we're talking about the same people.

Ah, you just cannot beat a stroll down Memory Lane.