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Private company

Nantwich and Market Drayton Railway

Railway line in England

The Nantwich and Market Drayton Railway was a standard gauge railway line which began as a single line branch in the early 1860s and rapidly became part of the Great Western Railway's (GWR) double track Wellington to Nantwich Railway, which had through trains to Crewe. It carried through freight and local passenger traffic until its closure in the 1960s. Market Drayton was renowned for the manufacture of gingerbread, hence the line acquired the nickname the "Gingerbread Line".2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1860Founded1

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Market Drayton, Nantwich & Whitchurch Halesowen & Northfield RJD 21
Photo: Railway Clearing House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Nantwich and Market Drayton Railway was a standard gauge railway line which began as a single line branch in the early 1860s and rapidly became part of the Great Western Railway's (GWR) double track Wellington to Nantwich Railway, which had through trains to Crewe. It carried through freight and local passenger traffic until its closure in the 1960s. Market Drayton was renowned for the manufacture of gingerbread, hence the line acquired the nickname the "Gingerbread Line".2

The story

This company was provisionally formed in 1860 as the Market Drayton and Madeley Railway, then changed its name to Nantwich and Market Drayton Railway on or before 3 April 1861, and incorporated by the Nantwich and Market Drayton Railway Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. xliv) on 7 June 1861. The first chairman was Henry Reginald Corbet, of nearby Adderley Hall. The contract for construction was £44,750 (equivalent to £4,700,000 in 2025) and the first sod was cut on 16 January 1862.

The single track line was built from the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway line just south of Nantwich to a terminus at Market Drayton, a distance of ten miles. The engineer for the line was Mr. Gardener and contractors were Thomas Brassey and William Field. The line opened on 19 October 1863.

Proposals were for the railway to be worked by the LNWR, but instead the Great Western Railway took on this role and worked the nominally independent line until it was taken over by the GWR under the Great Western Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c. ccxlviii).

The line was doubled during 1866–67, to match the Wellington and Drayton Railway which opened in October 1867, thus providing a link for the GWR between the Midlands and the Northwest.

The North Staffordshire Railway line from Stoke to Market Drayton opened in January 1870, joining the line at Silverdale Junction, just north of Market Drayton.

An engine shed and turntable which had been built at Market Drayton were no longer needed when the Wellington and Drayton Railway opened, as locomotives were then based at Wellington, so they were sold to the North Staffordshire Railway.

During 1934–5 unstaffed halts were opened at Coole Pilate and Coxbank.

Passenger service was withdrawn on 9 September 1963. Freight service continued until 1967, the line providing a relief route during the electrification of the London-Crewe line. The lifting of the line was completed during 1970.

From Wikipedia’s article on Nantwich and Market Drayton Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1860Founded Founded1

Sources

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