The Ruabon railway branch lines were a network of railways built to serve the mineral bearing area west of Ruabon, which contained many coal and iron deposits, as well as limestone, and a small but dense network of railways developed to handle the minerals.
The Ellesmere Canal connected the area to Chester, for onward transport by coastal shipping. A tramway was opened in 1805 to extend the reach of the canal. When the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway was opened in 1846 – 1848 the transport opportunities were transformed, and railway branch lines were built. The S&CR merged with the Great Western Railway in 1854, and in time all the branches came under GWR control.
Short branches were extended into the area west of Ruabon and for some time formed a dense local network. As the population density increased, a local passenger operation was put on, based on Wrexham, the local market town.
In the period following World War I the mineral industry declined, and the passenger operation was discontinued. Mineral traffic reduced substantially by 1930, and the whole network was closed in 1963.