Play at station to chart the history of railway

An open air production charting the history of a Shropshire and Mid Wales railway will be played out on the platform of Oswestry railway station this weekend.

Making Tracks, by Pant playwright Neil Rhodes, tells the story of how the railways arrived in Oswestry and Llanymynech. It tells the stories of David Davies and Thomas Savin, the men behind the railways, and the navvies who built the tracks.

It is being performed by the LADS of Llanymynech with help from local children's theatre group Roleplay and folk band Pendragon.

The story will be told with song, sound and lighting effects, movement and dance, and takes place tomorrow, Friday and Saturday at 7pm.

Mr Rhodes said: "Since moving to this area I've been fascinated with the histories of the railways here.

"Old maps of Llanymynech show a spider's web of railway lines, especially if the tramways from Llanymynech Hill are included. Now, of course, all the lines have been closed, most in that orgy of destruction known as the Beeching closures.

"The main lines were open for just over a hundred years, the quarry lines and the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway for far fewer.

"It took many years of struggle to build all the lines, and probably would never have been completed if it wasn't for the energy, and risk-taking, of two men, David Davies, the sawyer from Llandinam, and Thomas Savin, the draper of Oswestry, with, of course, the perseverance and strength of the navvies who did the actual building."

Mr Rhodes said the Cambrian railways were famous for several incidents that bought the company notoriety, first the Hood case, which was famous for highlighting bad industrial practice, with the Cambrian employing people on thirty-six hour continuous shifts.

Tickets cost £6 (£5 concessions and £3 children).