Cambrian revival
Austin 1 at Oswestry
18 August 2024
It hasn’t been a rapid revival. It didn’t help that,
in the early days, the line through what was left of
Oswestry station was still in use for stone traffic,
from the quarries around Llanyblodwell. By the
time that ended, the permanent way was in poor
condition.
We’ve visited Oswestry a number of times over the
years, and had a ride occasionally, but only from a dock
siding at the station to buffer stops at the end of
another siding. However, after much hard work
(including lowering the track under a bridge to clear
reinforcement steelwork), the Cambrian Railways
Society is now offering rides from the station platform to
Weston Wharf, not quite a mile and a half to the south.
Train services today were in the hands of Austin 1, a
Kitson 0-6-0ST dating from 1932, on loan from the
Llangollen Railway and an ideal machine for the short
journey. Electro-diesel E6036 City of Winchester was
also in action, assisting with the shunt release at
Oswestry.
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
At Weston Wharf, where a new platform has been
constructed, refreshments are available from a
former main line buffet coach, and just beside the
station is the Stonehouse brewery offering ‘Beer &
BBQ’. The railway operates a frequent evening
train service in conjunction with Stonehouse - very
tempting, but not today...
Instead of returning on the same train, we watched it
leave, then, after a leisurely ice cream, walked back to
the car through quiet lanes and field paths leading to
the centre of Oswestry - a very enjoyable end to an
interesting outing. We’ll be back...
Link: Cambrian Heritage Railways
