Glory days of Ellesmere's railway station recalled

But the people of Ellesmere have not forgotten the landmark building and the town has organised a variety of exhibitions to mark the 50th anniversary of the closure of the railway station.

The station, off Brownlow Road, was situated on what became the Cambrian Railways main line from Whitchurch to Welshpool.

How quickly things change, and how quickly things which were once an integral part of the Shropshire landscape disappear so completely that only those with long memories can point to where they were.

Shropshire's railways heritage is a case in point. It is 50 years or so since the Beeching axe fell on the network of railways which criss-crossed the county. Lines which had served the community for generations were lost.

In the years since some stretches have found new lives as footpaths and cycleways, but others have been built over and the associated buildings, bridges, and structures bulldozed.

The Whitchurch to Welshpool line closed on January 18, 1965. Among the railway stations to close as a result was at Ellesmere, where the building still stands, boarded up.

This is a proud heritage to be cherished and celebrated – and Ellesmere is doing so. Fifty years on, Ellesmere Library has been transformed into a station office for a railway-themed month. An exhibition of old maps, plans, history and photographs are on display.

Occasionally there are dreams of reviving the system in some way. After all, unless you have a car, getting from A to B in rural Shropshire is a problem. While billions will be sunk into prestige infrastructure projects like HS2, public transport journeys in Shropshire are so difficult that those difficulties affect Salopians' employment opportunities.

If you live in a small town in south Shropshire and are offered a job in Shrewsbury, it may well be impossible to take it up because you could not get to work on time every day. And if it was shift work it would simply not be worth considering.

Rebuilding the railways sounds like a good plot for an episode of Yes Minister. They closed in the first place because they were not economical. And if they did not pay in the days when there were far fewer cars on the roads, they are not going to pay today either.

That is probably how our imagined episode of Yes Minister would have ended as the credits rolled – new, empty trains, running through the countryside as Sir Humphrey cackles in the background.

The first section of the line from Whitchurch to Ellesmere was officially opened on May 4, 1863, although special train to mark its completion had taken to the track on April 20.

Ellesmere Library manager Sheila Williams said: "It all started with the cutting of the first sod of earth for the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railways.

"This took place at Ellesmere onAugust 29 1861 with Sir John Hanmer wielding the spade. Interesting to note that the Hanmer coat of arms appears on all railway bridges wherever the line crosses the estate.

"Now goods and in particular people could move rapidly to and fro. The arrival of the railway meant that cattle and other livestock could be shipped to other parts of the country.

"A livestock market grew besides the railway with two cattle loading and unloading docks."

Ellesmere station had two platforms with a building on the westbound side.

Initially the station was served by trains on the Cambrian main line running to Whitchurch and through Oswestry to Welshpool and beyond.

In 1895 the Great Central Railway opened a line for Ellesmere to Wrexham Central. This ended in 1962, leaving Ellesmere once again with only services on the Whitchurch to Welshpool track. The station closed to passengers on January 18, 1965, as part of the Beeching railways review.

Now 50 years on, Ellesmere Library, in Victoria Street, has been transformed into a station office for a railway-themed month.

An exhibition of old maps, plans, history and photographs are on display.

Ms Williams added: "We love our local history in Ellesmere and when the town clerk approached us about holding an exhibition here we jumped at the chance. Along with the exhibition, we held a railway-themed 'Time to Listen' event and are running a children's train-themed colouring competition which closes on March 21, with Cambrian Railway train tickets as prizes.We are asking anyone with memories of the railway to call in for a memory sheet and to be recorded for a CD we are compiling if they would like to.

"People relied on the train to get to school, shops and have days out. These memories are building a precious record of life in Ellesmere pre-1965."

Plans are also under way for the town's free Memory of Steam event at the town hall on March 29, 10am till 4pm.

The library is open Tuesdays 10am till 6pm, Fridays 10am to 5pm and Saturdays 9.30am to1pm and 2pm to4pm.

For more information call (01691) 622611.