Caersws railway station explained

Caersws
Native Name:Welsh: Caersŵs
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Caersws, Powys
Country:Wales
Coordinates:52.516°N -3.433°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:Transport for Wales
Platforms:1
Code:CWS
Classification:DfT category F1
Original:Newtown and Machynlleth Railway
Pregroup:Cambrian Railways
Opened:3 January 1863
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Designation1:Grade II
Designation1 Feature:Caersws railway station, with stationmaster’s house
Designation1 Date:28 August 1991
Designation1 Number:8697

Caersws railway station is on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the village of Caersws. It is notable in that there are 22miles separating this station and Machynlleth, the longest distance between two intermediate stations in Wales.[1]

History

The station was built by the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway of the Cambrian Railways in the 1863. Originally there was a passing loop, a goods shed, a water tower and a ticket office and a signal box - the latter remained in use until March 2011 as a gate box to supervise the station level crossing (this is now operated from Machynlleth).

The station was threatened with closure in 1964 along with all of the other wayside stops on the former Cambrian main line (as a consequence of the Beeching cuts), but reprieved by the Minister of Transport Tom Fraser in December that year to act as the notional railhead for the town of Llanidloes (following the demise of the Mid-Wales Railway that served it directly).[2]

In February 2013, Caersws station won the "Wales’ Best Unstaffed Train Station" award, supported by Keep Wales Tidy.[3]

Facilities

Though unstaffed, the station has a ticket machine installed. Train running information is offered via CIS displays, automated announcements, timetable poster boards and a customer help point. There is also payphone available.[4] Step-free access is available from the entrance to the platform.

Services

There is a basic two-hourly service in each direction Mon-Sat, with some additional services in the morning and evening (most of which run between Shrewsbury and only). Sundays also run every two hours, though there is only a limited service (one in winter, three in summer) along the Cambrian Coast line to .[5]

Van Railway

An independent railway the Van Railway started /terminated at Caersws serving lead mines ran from 1871 until 1940. There was a separate station and yard about 100 yards south west of the Cambrian Railway station. Passenger services operated from 1873 until 1879.

The notable Welsh romantic poet John Ceiriog Hughes was employed as a station master and Manager of the Van Railway at Caersws railway station from 1868 until his death in 1887.[6]

After closure the station building was sold and was used by various companies as offices. In 2024 the station building was still standing with a portion of the platform.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Support to re-open Carno railway station. BBC News. 6 January 2016.
  2. http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/m/montgomery/index.shtml Disused Stations - Montgomery
  3. http://www.keepwalestidy.org/10408{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  4. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/csw/details.html Caersws station facilities
  5. http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/Timetables/ Arriva Trains Wales Timetables
  6. Book: C P Gasquoine. The Story of the Cambrian. 1973 . Christopher Davies Ltd.