Full steam ahead for historic train trip from Oswestry

And it's a scene that last took place 49 years ago. But on Saturday, years of work from volunteers paid off when passengers were able to climb on board a carriage pulled by the Beyer-Peacock steam locomotive - the first to leave from the station since 1965.

While the train can only travel about half a mile at the moment, it's one step closer to the goal of linking the station back to Gobowen and possibly even the national railway one day.

And even the short journey brought back memories for some passengers.

Derek Jones, 60, used to live in St Martins with his mother and remembers the station well.

With his wife Jane, ready to board the train, he said he often travelled with his family on the track and was first in line to buy tickets to climb on board the passenger train.

He said: "My mother used to take us on the train to Gobowen, and I remember I bought tickets on the last day when passenger trains ran.

"I'm quite nostalgic anyway, but it is so nice to see a steam engine here, I'm a little bit stumped for words.

"It's quite hard to believe."

Voluntary group Cambrian Heritage Railways has been working to restore the line and engine so that one day the steam train can give tourist rides all the way to Gobowen.

Roger Date, trustee for the voluntary society, said: "It's all about getting it ready for the town really.

"A lot of the people are train enthusiasts, but it's also about what a brilliant thing it would be for Oswestry as a tourist attraction.

"It would link the town together and really bring people in.

"The engine is owned by one of our members and he was kind enough to let us use it.

"We've got a lot of ambitions for the railway line, but they take some time to complete. The lines need restoring and there's a lot to do."

Overseeing the engine workers was railway veteran Brian Rowe, who worked on the lines for 11 years before finishing in 1964.

He said: "You can't believe what it means to me to see this up and running.

"I was the first member of Cambrian Heritage Railways, so I'm very proud to see this going.

"It's so different to how it used to be now, and you just can't imagine what it used to look like here.

"I remember the stairwells in the station - there was one for us, and then a lovely wooden one for all the directors. We weren't allowed up there."

The railways first reached the town in 1848 from a junction in Gobowen, part of the Shrewsbury to Chester railway.

Oswestry was once one of the biggest railway centres in Shropshire but eventually fell victim to Government cuts.

Eventually the railway line to Gobowen was bought by Shropshire Council, and the Cambrian Heritage Railways group is now working to restore it.

And this first journey proved a great success.

Mr Date said: "We exceeded ticket numbers for any event we've held so far, so we are very pleased with that.

"We're building month on month and more people are becoming aware of us as a group and more people are joining us as members.

"It's been a great event and people have really enjoyed it and I think it's helped people understand what we're doing.

"We always want more volunteers and hopefully this will get people involved a bit more."

Station Master for the day was Mike Rowe, one of the group's volunteers.

Standing alongside the train and overseeing passengers, he said: "It's fantastic.

"To see everybody able to get on and see it come up to the platform is brilliant.

"It's the children who are the most interesting, some of them have never seen a steam engine before and they find it amazing."

BLOB The engine will be at work again on September 13-14, with tickets costing £4.