Llanymynech railway station was an important junction station on the Cambrian Railways mainline from Welshpool, Powys to Oswestry, Shropshire, serving the village of Llanymynech which is partly situated in Shropshire, England and partly in Powys, Wales.
Background
Llanymynech was not an important location, but one which by geography define a hub point for local mineral extraction and later industrialisation. The Cambrian Mountains at this point are made of limestone, with numerous river valleys making extraction of ores relatively easy to the point where they congregate towards the main markets in England, at Llanymynech.
From the early Britons through to the Romans, Llanymynech lay on the route from the mines to the market towns of both Shropshire and Northwest England. The Weston Branch of the Ellesmere Canal from Frankton Junction, had been similarly constructed for this purpose in 1796.
Construction
The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1855, but delays in securing land, shortage of money and contractors going bankrupt delayed construction. Supported by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), it had agreed to a joint station with the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway in Newtown, Powys. Despite all the difficulties the O&NR was the first railway company to reach Oswestry, where it made its headquarters, on 1 May 1860.
Layout
The O&NR constructed a simple two-platform station southeast of Llanymynech, plus an adjacent goods yard, to enable shipping of locally quarried limestone, and created products of quick lime and lead. However, under its Act of Parliament, it had agreed not to disturb the operations of the existing local tramways or canals, and hence access across each would either be over (bridge) or under (aqueduct).
The Hoffmann kilns were located on the opposite side of the canal to the chosen station site, and if accessed on the level would have required an aqueduct to be built under the canal. Not having the money to achieve this, the O&NR agreed to junction with the local tramways north of its station at "Rock Siding". It hence built a bay platform on the northwest side of the station, from which line extended to the "Rock Siding". To access the Hoffmann kilns, trains would firstly enter the bay, then reverse up the slope to the "Rock Siding", where they would then change direction again by pulling forward over a bridge to the Hoffmann kilns.
Llanfyllin Branch
Having been merged into the Cambrian Railways (CR) in 1860, in 1863 it had an Act of Parliament approved to build the Llanfyllin Branch, to access limestone quarries along the valley to the regionally important market town of Llanfyllin. However, the same restriction on access was in place, meaning that the LB was accessed by the same route via the "Rock Siding", and hence passing the Hoffmann kilns.
Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway
The last piece of rail transport to arrive in Llanymynech was the Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway (known as the Potts), which ran from . To access its Nantmawr branch for similar mineral extraction purposes, it ran under the O&NR via a bridge south of the station, and the canal via an aqueduct.
However, the Potts ran into financial difficulties, and services were suspended in June 1880. On 28 January 1881 the CR came to an agreement with the Potts receiver and its Chief Engineer Richard Samuel Francis (who also owned the mineral rights along the Nantmawr valley), to maintain the stunted Nantmawr branch. The CR would pay a royalty of 3d per ton, which was renewed but the toll was reduced to 2d a ton in January 1886.
Access to the Nantmawr branch was again via the "Rock Siding", and it junctioned from the Llanfyllin Branch just beyond the Hoffmann kiln at new station .
1911-1961
Revived as one of Colonel Stephens Railways under the title of the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway in 1911, the new company added a few more stations but it did not prosper, and in 1941 was taken over by the War Department/Ministry of Defence, to create Central Ammunition Depot Nesscliffe.
Designed, constructed and operated by the Royal Engineers, they built extensive additional service tracks along the of line from Maesbrook to the former Ford and Crossgate railway station, south of the River Severn. The site was made up of four sub-sites: Kinnerley; Pentre; Ford; and Argoed; in total capable of storing around of shells. This created far more additional traffic for Llanymynech station, with Shrewsbury Abbey still not connected to the mainline.