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Private company

Llanidloes and Newtown Railway

Welsh transport company

The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (L&NR) was a railway company between Llanidloes and Newtown in Montgomeryshire, Wales. It was promoted locally when plans for trunk railways passing through the locality were cancelled; local people saw that a railway connection was essential to the flannel industry in the district. The 17-mile (27 km) line opened in 1859, and at first was isolated from any other railway, but from 1861 it became connected to Oswestry by an allied railway company, and other companies also connected to it.2 It ceased to exist in 1864.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

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The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (L&NR) was a railway company between Llanidloes and Newtown in Montgomeryshire, Wales. It was promoted locally when plans for trunk railways passing through the locality were cancelled; local people saw that a railway connection was essential to the flannel industry in the district. The 17-mile (27 km) line opened in 1859, and at first was isolated from any other railway, but from 1861 it became connected to Oswestry by an allied railway company, and other companies also connected to it. From 1864 the company was incorporated into the new Cambrian Railways company.2

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Train service

The original passenger timetable for the line showed four trains each way, weekdays only, taking 35 minutes for the journey. After the line had been opened to Aberystwyth, this was increased to five trains, with two on Sundays. The 1910 timetable showed a service of nine trains a day. There were still nine trains (one of these being a school train) in 1960, with no Sunday service.

Although the trains were well patronised compared with many lines in Mid-Wales, the Western Region of British Railways applied for permission to close the line completely. This was rejected, but the passenger service from Moat Lane to Brecon was withdrawn (together with all freight services south of Llanidloes) from 31 December 1962.

The section between Newtown and Moat Lane Junction remains in use as part of the Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth line. Although Newtown station remains open, this was not part of the L&NR system, but was on the Oswestry and Newtown Railway.

Locations

Newtown; opened 11 August 1859; replaced by new station near centre of town on through Oswestry and Newtown line 10 June 1861 when the O&NR was opened; still open;

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Scafell; opened by May 1863; closed 1 July 1891; reopened as Scafell Halt 9 June 1913, for eastbound trains only; the line had been doubled and no westbound platform was provided; closed in 1952 or 7 March 1955.

Moat Lane; second station; opened 5 January 1863; renamed Moat Lane Junction 1904; closed 31 December 1962; many sources use the name Moat Lane, but Christiansen and Miller call it Caersws;

Moat Lane; first station; opened 11 August 1859; closed 5 January 1863;

Llandinam; opened 11 August 1859; closed 31 December 1962;

Dolwen; opened 11 August 1859; became halt in 1957; closed 31 December 1962;

Llanidloes; opened 11 August 1859; relocated a short distance southwest by January 1862, when the line was extended to a joint station; closed 31 December 1962;

Penpontbren Junction; end-on junction with Mid-Wales Railway, former junction with Llangurig branch.

From Wikipedia’s article on Llanidloes and Newtown Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded by Cambrian Railways1

Timeline

  1. 1864Dissolved Dissolved1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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