Gobowen railway station
Encyclopedia
Gobowen railway station is a railway station on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line
Shrewsbury to Chester Line
The Shrewsbury to Chester Line, also known as the Severn–Dee Line , was built in 1846 as the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway...

 serving the village of Gobowen
Gobowen
Gobowen is a large village in Shropshire, England, of population 3,927 .-History:The village was previously called Bryn-y-Castell, but the name in time changed to Gobowen. The name Gobowen is believed to originate from Gob and Owen who was believed to have rested his weary head there...

 in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, England. It is the nearest station to the town of Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....

.

, train services run on two routes;
  • Arriva Trains Wales
    Arriva Trains Wales
    Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...

     service from Birmingham International to Holyhead
    Holyhead railway station
    Holyhead railway station serves the town of Holyhead on Holy Island, Anglesey. It is the western terminus of the North Wales Coast Line and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales, although Virgin Trains also serves it....

    .
  • Arriva Trains Wales
    Arriva Trains Wales
    Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...

     service from Holyhead
    Holyhead railway station
    Holyhead railway station serves the town of Holyhead on Holy Island, Anglesey. It is the western terminus of the North Wales Coast Line and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales, although Virgin Trains also serves it....

     to Cardiff
    Cardiff Central railway station
    Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...

    .


Gobowen station is 28.5 km (17¾ miles) north west of Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station is the railway station serving Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire, England. It is the only remaining railway station in the town; Shrewsbury Abbey, as well as other small stations around the town, having long closed. The station was built in 1848 and has been extended...

.

Buildings

The station has two platforms:
  • Platform 1 - For southbound services to Shrewsbury, Cardiff Central or Birmingham New Street
  • Platform 2 - For northbound services to Wrexham General, Chester or Holyhead


The station buildings at Gobowen are Grade II listed. They were built in 1846 by the Shrewsbury and Chester railway in a notable Florentine (or Italianate) style with white stucco facing and a small turret. The awnings and the footbridge were added later by the Great Western Railway (the footbridge was demolished in 1987). Although a very small village, Gobowen was the junction station for the much larger regional town of Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....

 some three miles away. When rail services to Oswestry ceased in November 1966, Gobowen was retained as the railhead for the surrounding area. There is a scheme in progress to open this branch as a heritage railway.
Until 1967 Gobowen was served by the GWR, latterly BR Western Region, express services between London Paddington and Birkenhead Woodside which was withdrawn upon the electrification of the West Coast Main Line.

Today, the main building which was renovated in 2005 is used as small business space. The booking office is now located in the waiting room on the southbound platform. Unusually, it is not operated directly by the train operating company but by an independent travel agent, Severn-Dee Travel.

Cambrian Heritage Railway

Gobowen station may become in the near future the northern terminus of the proposed Cambrian Heritage Railway line to Llynclys
Llynclys
Llynclys is a small village in Shropshire, England, in the civil parish of Llanyblodwel. It lies north of Pant at the crossroads of the A483 and B4396, where there are several houses and a pub, the White Lion....

, Pant
Pant, Shropshire
Pant is a village in Shropshire, England. It lies near the border with Wales. Pant means 'hollow' in Welsh: it is directly below the disused mines at Llanymynech Rocks Nature Reserve....

 and Blodwel via Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....

. The coal yard at Gobowen is to be bought by Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council is a unitary authority in Shropshire, United Kingdom.It replaced the former two-tier local government structure in the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire on 1 April 2009, which involved its immediate predecessor, Shropshire County Council, and five non-metropolitan districts -...

for railway related uses, including car parking for the station. If the plans are realised the station would have three platforms, one of which would be for the Heritage Railway.

External links

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