Talk:Wrexham and Minera Railway
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According to these records (which are those held at the National Archives at Kew) the actual history of the line was as follows:
- 1861-66 Wrexham and Minera Railway
- 1866-1950 Wrexham and Minera Joint Railway - an independent concern, although worked jointly by LNWR/GWR, until its closure. Part of the line from Brymbo running north to connect with the LNWR Chester-North Wales line at Coed Talon by a triangular junction is shown on the Pre-Grouping Atlas as being joint owned - that as far as Llanfynydd. The remainder is all shown as GWR.
- ? Wrexham and Minera Extension Railway - No further information
I have also added some more about the line: the date of closure to passenger traffic, and the correct names of the station/halts on the line. Peter Shearan 12:25, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Problems with the article edit
This article contains some misleading statements.
Firstly the dates:
- In 1847 the Minera branch (from Wrexham) of the North Wales Mineral Railway opened; by the time of this opening the NWMR had merged and become the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. The line had two rope-worked inclines and in time became overwhelmed by the volume of traffic. In 1854 the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway merged to be part of the Great Western Railway.
- 17 May 1861 the Wrexham and Minera Railway was authorised by Parliament. The new Company was a satellite of the GWR, not truly independent. It was to run from Croes Newydd (South of Wrexham) to Brymbo. It was not going to run west of Brymbo, because the existing 1847 line was adequate beyond Brymbo. The W&MR line opened on 22 May 1862.
- 5 July 1865 the Wrexham and Minera Railway Company (remember, only a satellite of the GWR) got powers to build a line to the LNWR line at Tryddyn. The authorised new line was named the Wrexham and Minera Extension Railway. Again, this was not going to go anywhere near Minera. The idea was for the GWR to get access to pits at Tryddyn and Ffrith, and elsewhere.
- 11 June 1866 No actual construction had been carried out. The authorisation powers were altered to allow the LNWR access to Brymbo in exchange for the GWR getting access to Mold. The title of the line (still unbuilt) was altered to the Wrexham and Minera Joint Railway. Still no intention of going anywhere near Minera.
- 1871 the Wrexham and Minera Railway Company was vested in the GWR 1871.
- 27 January 1872 the Joint line opened. A boundary was agreed about halfway from Brymbo to Coed Talon, and the LNWR took sole responsibility beyond the boundary.
So we need to bear in mind that the W&MR was never intended to go to Minera; that the W&M Extension was never built under that name; and that the W&M Joint Line never went near Minera either.
The article states that "The [Wrexham and Minera Railway] line was fully completed and jointly leased to the GWR and LNWR, within whose "sphere of influence" it also fell, in June 1866." That is plain wrong, as is the cited source (Disused stations).
The sudden a full description of the WM&CQR is strange. That railway has no connection with the W&MR, except for proximity, and a physical connection at Plas Power.
Incidentally an excellent source for the W&MR is (paradoxically) Boyd's book on the WM&CQR. Afterbrunel (talk) 09:44, 23 April 2019 (UTC)