Acrefair railway station
Encyclopedia
Acrefair railway station (Pron: Ak-re-vire) was formerly a station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line
in north-east Wales
. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe
.
, its services were operated by the Great Western Railway
from the outset. The line then passed on to the Western Region of British Railways
on nationalisation in 1948, and was closed by the British Transport Commission
.
The station was built at a high-level above King Street, close to its junction with Llangollen Road. Another line, a goods line from the local coalfields and clay works to Pontcysyllte, passed immediately below the station, crossing King Street at street level via a gated crossing. The line was double track between Ruabon
and Llangollen
and there was a signal box at Acrefair.
According to the Official Handbook of Stations
the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G & P and there was a 3 ton crane.
Ruabon Barmouth Line
The Ruabon to Barmouth Line was a standard gauge branch line of the Great Western Railway across the north of Wales which connected Ruabon, in the east, with Barmouth on the west coast.-Connections:...
in north-east Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
.
History
Although built by the Vale of Llangollen RailwayVale of Llangollen Railway
The Vale of Llangollen Railway was built as a spur from the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway at Ruabon to the town of Llangollen. It was initially opened for goods only on 1 December 1861 and to passenger traffic on 2 June 1862, and was worked by the Great Western Railway and subsequently the Western...
, its services were operated by the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
from the outset. The line then passed on to the Western Region of British Railways
Western Region of British Railways
The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
on nationalisation in 1948, and was closed by the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
.
The station was built at a high-level above King Street, close to its junction with Llangollen Road. Another line, a goods line from the local coalfields and clay works to Pontcysyllte, passed immediately below the station, crossing King Street at street level via a gated crossing. The line was double track between Ruabon
Ruabon railway station
Ruabon railway station serves the village of Ruabon in the county borough of Wrexham, Wales. It is the second busiest station in Wrexham in terms of passenger journeys, after the mainline station, Wrexham General...
and Llangollen
Llangollen railway station
Llangollen railway station in Denbighshire, Wales was formerly a station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 but the section between Ruabon and Llangollen Goods Yard remained opened for freight traffic until April 1968. Immediately afterwards the track...
and there was a signal box at Acrefair.
According to the Official Handbook of Stations
Official Handbook of Stations
The Official Handbook of Stations was a large listing all the passenger and goods stations and private sidings on the railways of Great Britain and Ireland...
the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G & P and there was a 3 ton crane.
The site today
The course of the line here is now an access road though a small industrial estate.External links
- Pictures and plan of the station http://www.volr.co.uk/htm/VoLRAcrefair.html
- Station on navigable O.S. map