Telford Steam Railway


The Telford Steam Railway is a heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford in Shropshire, England, formed in 1976.
The railway is operated by volunteers on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Easter to the end of September, and at Christmas. Its official business name is the Telford Horsehay Steam Trust, and it is a registered charity.

History

Telford Steam Railway operates over a portion of the Wellington and Severn Junction railway. The line to Lightmoor and beyond to Buildwas was constructed by the Wenlock, Craven Arms and Lightmoor Extension railway. Both of these became a part of the Wellington to Craven Arms Railway.
For most of its working life the line was operated by the Great Western Railway and subsequently the Western Region of British Railways.
The line directions between Buildwas and Lightmoor were counter-intuitive for a period when the line going down the hill was the Up Line, and the line going up the hill was the Down Line, as the direction towards London from Lightmoor Junction was then considered to be routed via the former Severn Valley line. Since the last change the up direction is now completely intuitive.
Passenger services between Buildwas and Wellington ended on 23 July 1962, pre-dating the publication of the 'Beeching Report' in March 1963.

Locations

The preserved railway operates between three stations of the former W&SJR.
Horsehay & Dawley platform sits on a north-south through line, beneath Bridge Road. 150 yards to the west, Spring Village platform is at the end of a short spur off the running line. In between the two station platforms are the sidings and yard used for storing the railway's stock. Beyond Spring Village platform is the former goods transhipment shed, built in 1860, which had originally permitted the transfer of goods from the W&SJR to the Coalbrookdale Company's narrow gauge plateway system. The building now serves as the railway's engine shed. At the north end of the line TSR's Lawley Village station is located south of the site of the original Lawley station. That site is now occupied by a commercial development.
TSR's regular passenger timetable consists of a departure from Spring Village north to Lawley Village and then back along the line to stop at Horsehay & Dawley. The train then repeats this journey in reverse, for a round trip taking 50 minutes.
In addition to the standard gauge running line, the railway also operates a short narrow gauge line adjacent to Horsehay Pool. The Phoenix Model Engineering Society operates a 5" miniature railway on the Spring Village site.
A large model railway and a cafe are situated at Horsehay & Dawley Station.

Expansion

TSR intends to extend south beyond Horsehay & Dawley station to Doseley Halt, build a new bridge over the A4169 and continue to the Ironbridge Gorge passing through Coalbrookdale and eventually onto the power station site at Buildwas. South of Doseley half a mile of trackbed and two missing level crossings separate TSR's current railhead from the A4169 and Lightmoor Junction. Permission was given in June 2014 by Telford & Wrekin Council for trains to operate south to Doseley once all trackworks and building works have been completed. It is expected for work to commence south from Horsehay & Dawley station to Doseley Halt in the summer of 2015.
Although from the road it appears the formation would have to be raised by a prohibitive amount to achieve the statutory headroom below the bridge over the A4169, surveying by THST confirmed that a modest increase in height will provide the necessary clearance without increasing the already steep gradient between Doseley station and Lightmoor Junction. Network Rail have donated a fabricated steel bridge that will be suitable to span the road which arrived at Spring Village in October 2010.
The extension south of Lightmoor is dependent upon TSR securing the redundant half of the former double track from Lightmoor to Buildwas and reinstating the missing portion of the bridge over Brick Kiln Bank. This bridge was previously reduced to a single track width when Network Rail replaced the original double track width brick arch with single track width concrete section.
In October 2006, with the abolition of Lightmoor Junction, Network Rail took the uphill line out of use; the former downhill line becoming a bi-directional extension of the existing single line from Madeley Junction. TSR plans to use the uphill line as its route into the Ironbridge Gorge including extension over Coalbrookdale Viaduct and across the Albert Edward Bridge onto the power station site, at Buildwas, when it closes. TSR intends to reinstate Coalbrookdale station to serve the Ironbridge Gorge Trust's Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale's original station buildings survive as part of the Green Wood Centre's Woodland Experience site.
In August 2008 Telford Steam Railway concluded negotiations with Network Rail for the lease and occupation of Lightmoor Junction Signal Box. Substantially intact, TSR has begun work to replace components removed by NR and plans to return the box to 1950s conditions. Until it comes into operational use TSR will make it available for group visits and a limited number of open days during the year.
On 16 July 2010 the Shropshire Star published a video interview with Regeneration chief Councillor Eric Carter of Telford and Wrekin Council, in which he discussed proposals by Telford Steam Railway to operate to the site of Ironbridge Power Station after its scheduled closure in 2015.
In 2016, the Telford Steam Railway started their now flagship event of the year, The Polar Express, which is run throughout December. The train normally consisting of a hired S160 Steam locomotive from Churnet Valley Railway, 4 Mk2 Coaches plus a banker locomotive, The event has been a runaway success for the TSR, bringing in the much needed funds for the extensions and to upgrade and improve their current site and rolling stock.
Prior to The Polar Express of 2017, Extensive work was carried out on both Horsehay and Dawley station and Spring Village to extend the platforms to take the longer 4 coach train along with a new station building being erected on Horsehay and Dawley platform, this will also help with train lengths when the trains run through from Lawley to Ironbridge which are foreseen to consist of a locomotive and 4 coaches.
As of the beginning of 2019, the track between the station Horsehay and Dawley to the level crossing at Doseley has been removed prior to relaying to passenger carrying standards. In 2019, the Telford Steam Railway had also published its website for "Steaming to Ironbridge" outlining the proposed extension plans for the line into the power station site in Ironbridge, which is very well backed by both Telford and Wrekin and the owners of the power station site, Harworth. The site proposals for the site do include a railway station using the existing railway line.

Stock list

Operational steam locomotives

, Feb 2008