Wellington to Craven Arms Railway

The Wellington to Craven Arms Railway was formed by a group of railway companies that eventually joined the Great Western Railway family, and connected Wellington, Shropshire and Shifnal, with Coalbrookdale, Buildwas, Much Wenlock and a junction near Craven Arms. Its objectives were dominated by the iron, colliery and limestone industries around Coalbrookdale.

The route sections that together formed the network were

• the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway Coalbrookdale branch from Madeley Junction (near Shifnal) to Lightmoor;
• the Wellington and Severn Junction Railway from Ketley Junction (near Wellington) to Lightmoor;
• the Great Western Railway Coalbrookdale extension from Lightmoor to Coalbrookdale;
• the Wenlock Railway from Coalbrookdale to Buildwas;
• the Much Wenlock and Severn Junction Railway from Buildwas to Much Wenlock;
• the Wenlock Railway from Much Wenlock to Marsh Farm Junction, north of Craven Arms.

The railways were opened in the period from 1854 to 1867. The railways local to Coalbrookdale were heavily used by mineral traffic; the hoped-for trunk hauls to and from South Wales via Craven Arms were not realised. Passenger traffic was never heavy, and was sparse between Much Wenlock and Craven Arms. Passenger traffic closures took place from 1951 and ordinary goods traffic closed down in the 1960s. Ironbridge B Power Station generated significant volumes of merry-go-round coal traffic between 1967 and 2015. The line is now entirely closed to ordinary traffic, but the heritage Telford Steam Railway operates on a section near Doseley.