Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company
Encyclopedia
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and a railway. It was leased by the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
from 1847, and bought by it in 1922, but continued to act as a semi-autonomous body, managing the canals until their abandonment in 1944. With the passing of the Railways Act 1921 (Grouping Act) the company became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
(LMS).
History
Chester Canal
The Chester Canal was a canal linking the south Cheshire town of Nantwich with the River Dee at Chester, providing a route for produce from Nantwich to reach Chester and, beyond it, the sea via the Dee estuary.-History:...
Company, which owned the broad canals from Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and from Chester to Nantwich
Nantwich
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
, with a branch to Middlewich
Middlewich
Middlewich is a market town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is east of the city of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach....
, began discussions with the narrow Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal
Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal
The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was a canal in England which ran from Nantwich, where it joined the Chester Canal, to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal...
, which ran from Nantwich to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....
. The two companies had always worked together, in a bid to maintain their profits against competition from the railways, and amalgamation seemed to be a logical step. An agreement was worked out by August, and the two companies then sought an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
to authorise the takeover. This was granted on 8 May 1845, when the larger Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company was formed.
Reformation as a joint canal - railway company
Almost immediately, a committee was set up to look at options for converting all or part of the canals into railways, and extending the network. Although they had already tried using a steam tug to haul a train of boats, they realised that not all of their canals were suitable for such use, and that a locomotive on a railway with good gradients offered a better solution. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire CanalStaffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....
were alarmed by the announcement that many of the canals might close, on the basis that removal of one would have a serious effect on another, and sought to oppose the action.
However, the joint company obtained an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1846, which reformed it as the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company (SUR&CC). The 1846 Act authorised the new company to take over the Shrewsbury Canal
Shrewsbury Canal
The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...
and to buy the Montgomery Canal
Montgomery Canal
The Montgomery Canal , known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in Powys, in eastern Wales, and in northwest Shropshire, in western England...
and the Shropshire Canal
Shropshire Canal
The Shropshire Canal was a tub boat canal built to supply coal, ore and limestone to the industrial region of east Shropshire, England, that adjoined the River Severn at Coalbrookdale...
. The intent behind the 1846 Act was to build railways at a reduced cost, by using the existing routes of the canals they owned. In 1847, the Company agreed to the terms of a lease from the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
Company (LNWR), and so lost its independence after little more than a year, but continued to manage the canals under its control.
By 1849, the plan to turn the canals into railways had been dropped. From the same year, the Company leased the Shropshire Canal, which ran from Doddington Wood where there was a junction with the Trench branch of the Shrewsbury Canal, to Coalport
Coalport
Coalport is a village in Shropshire, now part of the new town of Telford. It is located on the River Severn at , a mile downstream of Ironbridge...
, on the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
; they eventually purchased it in 1854.
Because the canals were largely in areas which were served by railways owned 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...
, the LNWR was more than happy for it to continue to expand, and it remained profitable until the start of the First World War, in 1914. The Shropshire Union acted as a carrier, as well as managing the canals; they owned 213 narrowboats in 1870, rising to 395 in 1889 and 450 in 1902.
Takeover by the LNWR
In 1921, the company sold most of their boats to private carriers, and made economy measures in a bid to reduce the regular losses they were making. The LNWR bought out the company in 1922, but was taken over by the new London Midland and Scottish Railway Company immediately afterwards.A period of steady decline set in, with reduced maintenance making it more difficult for boats to operate. A breach near Frankton Junction on the Montgomery Canal, in 1936, effectively closed that branch.
Finally, an Act of Abandonment was obtained in 1944, which resulted in the closure of 175 miles (280 km) of canal, leaving only the main line from Ellesmere to Autherley, and the branch to Middlewich. The branch to Llangollen was also retained, but only as a feeder to supply water to the canal. The other main sources of water were the Belvide Reservoir, near the A5 road at Brewood
Brewood
Brewood refers both to a settlement, which was once a town but is now a village, in South Staffordshire, England, and to the civil parish of which it is the centre. Located around , Brewood village lies near the River Penk, eight miles north of Wolverhampton city centre and eleven miles south of...
, and the outflow from the Barnhurst Sewage Treatment Works at Autherley Junction.
Shropshire Union Railways
The Shropshire Union Company constructed and ran one of the few railways in England which were built by a canal company. The railway was the Stafford to Shrewsbury LineStafford to Shrewsbury Line
The Shrewsbury to Stafford line was a former railway line that ran between the two county towns of Shropshire and Staffordshire via the towns of Newport and Wellington from 1849 to 1966....
, via Newport
Newport railway station (Shropshire)
Newport station was a railway station serving the Shropshire market town of Newport that was situated on the Stafford to Shrewsbury Line...
and Wellington
Wellington (Shropshire) railway station
Wellington railway station serves the town of Wellington, Shropshire, England. It is situated on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line. Trains are operated by London Midland and Arriva Trains Wales.-History:...
. The SUR&CC were solely responsible for the section from Stafford to Wellington; but the building and operation of the 10.5 mile (17 km) long Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
to Wellington
Wellington, Shropshire
Wellington is a town in the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford. The population of the parish of Wellington was recorded as 20,430 in the 2001 census, making it the third largest town in Shropshire if...
section was shared with the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway
Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway
The Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway opened on 12 November 1849. It merged with the Great Western Railway on 1 September 1854.The company formed originally as the Shrewsbury & Wolverhampton, Dudley & Birmingham Railway in 1844, it became Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway in 1847.When the section...
.
After the LNWR take over of the SUR&CC, the Shrewsbury and Wellington Railway was operated as a Joint railway
Joint railway
A joint railway is a railway operating under the control of more than one railway company: those companies very often supplying the traction over the railway.-United Kingdom:There are many examples of joint railway working in the United Kingdom...
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...
and the LNWR.
The Stafford to Shrewbury Railway opened on 1 June 1849 and was 29.25 miles (47 km) in length. The London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
leased the line from July 1847, before it was complete.
The Shropshire Union Railways today
The Shrewsbury and Wellington section is still in use today by Arriva Trains WalesArriva 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...
.
Passenger services on the Stafford to Wellington section ended on 7 September 1964. Goods services ceased between Stafford and Newport
Newport, Shropshire
Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
on 1 August 1966 and this branch from Wellington was cut back to Donnington on 22 November 1969.
In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies
Association of Train Operating Companies
The Association of Train Operating Companies is a body which represents 24 train operating companies that provide passenger railway services on the privatised British railway system. It owns the National Rail brand. The Association is an unincorporated association owned by its members...
, in its
Connecting Communities; Expanding Access to the Rail Network
Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network
Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network is a 2009 report by the Association of Train Operating Companies identifying potential expansion of the National Rail passenger railway network in England, primarily through the construction or re-opening of railway lines for passenger...
report, called for funding for the reopening of the line from Stafford to Wellington as part of a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in 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...
, including seven new parkway stations.
The canals today
Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales....
. The branch to Llangollen has been reopened for navigation, having been promoted as suitable for pleasure boating from the mid 1950s, and has been re-branded as the Llangollen Canal
Llangollen Canal
The Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire....
.
The Montgomery Canal
Montgomery Canal
The Montgomery Canal , known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in Powys, in eastern Wales, and in northwest Shropshire, in western England...
has been partially re-opened. The first section restored was at Welshpool, when the line of the canal was threatened by a bypass. This isolated section was reopened in 1969. The section southwards from Frankton Junction has been restored and opened progressively since 1987, with additions in 1996, 2003 and the latest stretch from Gronwen Wharf to Redwith Bridge in October 2007. There are ongoing efforts to complete the restoration of most of the remaining un-navigable sections.
A Trust has been set up to conserve the remains of the Shrewsbury Canal
Shrewsbury Canal
The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...
, with a view to reopening it in the longer term. A feasibility study and a detailed engineering report have been commissioned and completed, and conclude that there are no major engineering obstacles to a full reopening.
A minor section of the Shropshire Canal
Shropshire Canal
The Shropshire Canal was a tub boat canal built to supply coal, ore and limestone to the industrial region of east Shropshire, England, that adjoined the River Severn at Coalbrookdale...
including the Hay Inclined Plane
Hay Inclined Plane
The Hay Inclined Plane is a canal inclined plane in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, with a height of 207 feet . It was located on a short stretch of the Shropshire Canal that linked the industrial area of Blists Hill with the River Severn. The inclined plane was in operation from 1792 to 1894...
has been incorporated into the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.
Further reading
- Hadfield, CharlesCharles Hadfield (historian)Charles Hadfield was a canal historian and the author of many classic works on the British canal system, mostly published by the firm he co-founded, David & Charles.-Biography:...
(1969). The Canals of The West Midlands. 2nd Edition. Newton Abbot: David & CharlesDavid & CharlesDavid & Charles is a publisher. The company was founded - and is still based - in the market town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield. It first made its name publishing titles on Britain's canals and railways...
. ISBN 0-7153-4660-1. - Rolt, L. T. C.L. T. C. RoltLionel Thomas Caswall Rolt was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Telford...
(1970). The Inland Waterways of England. 5th Impression. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. ISBN 0-04-386003-6.