Coalport branch line

The Coalport branch line was a standard gauge London and North Western Railway branch line in Shropshire, England, which ran between Hadley Junction near Oakengates on the Stafford to Shrewsbury line and a terminus at Coalport East railway station on the north bank of the River Severn at Coalport.

Coalport branch line
Stafford–Shrewsbury line
Hadley
Wombridge (goods)
Oakengates Market Street
Malins Lee
Dawley and Stirchley
Madeley Market
Legge's Sidings
Blists Hill siding
Coalport East
The Silkin Way near Malins Lee and Dawley and Stirchley

Commercial history

The 8-mile (13 km) branch line opened on 17 June 1861. Passenger services were little used, with the line's existence being mainly supported by freight traffic.[1] There were sidings at locations including Blists Hill Ironworks and the Coalport China factory of John Rose and Co.[2]

The line was closed to passengers in 1952 and to regular freight on 5 December 1960;[3]. The line to Stirchley finally closed to even sporadic traffic on 6 July 1964.

Preservation

On 9 April 1980 the 2 ft (610 mm) gauge Telford Town Tramway was opened by the Reverend W. Awdry on the trackbed of the Coalport branch alongside Randlay Pool in Telford Town Park.[4][5] The tramway only lasted a few years before it closed in the mid-1980s. The tram has since been preserved by the Telford Steam Railway running on its own circular track by Horsehay Pool.

The interchange siding at Blists Hill now forms part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s Blists Hill Victorian Town site.

Four miles of the former trackbed now form part of the Silkin Way,[6] a cycling and walking route managed by Telford and Wrekin Council.[7] It runs south of the former Malins Lee railway station to just south of the former Coalport East railway station.

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References
  1. Oppitz, Leslie (2013). Lost Railways of Shropshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. p. 125. ISBN 1-85306-866-7.
  2. Coalport Branch ELRs on Railwaycodes.org.uk
  3. Cooke, B.W.C., ed. (January 1961). "Coalport Freight Line Closed". Notes and News. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 107 no. 717. Westminster: Tothill Press. p. 64.
  4. "Video on the opening of the tramway (starts at 13:30 in)". Vimeo. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. "Video with the opening of Telford Town Tramway alone without the intertitle". Telford Our New Town. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  6. Oppitz, Leslie (2013). Lost Railways of Shropshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. p. 126. ISBN 1-85306-866-7.
  7. Telford and Wrekin Council guide Retrieved 11 January 2017


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