Exploring Llanymynech Railway Station and the abandoned Rocks Siding - Montgomery Canal

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:07]Hello and welcome to a new video and I'm in Llanymynech again. Small village on the England-Wales border looking at abandoned transport relics.

[00:00:18]Llanymynech is between Oswestry and Welshpool.

[00:00:22]In the follow-up to the video I did about the lime works and quarries in this video we're going to look at the abandoned railways and the canal that we used to take stone away from the site.

[00:00:34]So we're going to start with a look at the old canal.

[00:00:37]So it was initially the quarries that brought the canal to Llanymynech in 1796.

[00:00:44]It opened as the Ellesmere Canal Llanymynech branch.

[00:00:50]It joined with the Montgomeryshire Canal and became part of the Shropshire Union Canal. So I'm currently stood in Wales and on this side of this bridge is England, Shropshire.

[00:01:05]Various sections of the canal have been reopened including this half-mile section through the village next to the lime works site.

[00:01:13]So this is the Llanymynech branch of the Ellesmere Canal later part of the Shropshire Union Canal and it was opened in 1796 specifically for the transportation of limestone.

[00:01:31]So there were two docks or keys wharfs where the limestone was loaded up.

[00:01:38]Assuming that was one that we've just seen there.

[00:01:43]So you can see the chimney that's next to the Hoffman Kiln there.

[00:01:48]This seems to be the other wharf here. I believe one was for the Welsh quarries and one was for the English quarries.

[00:01:57]I'm just looking up there now through the trees.

[00:02:00]You can see the old stable block.

[00:02:07]I'm just looking across to where the Hoffman Kiln was. The canal closed in 1946 following a breach and was officially abandoned in 1944.

[00:02:16]This is the end of the section that's now in water. So, we'll now have a look at the railways.

[00:02:21]The line that runs past the kilns was originally the Llanofyllin branch which opened in 1863.

[00:02:29]By 1897, a deviation line had been built between this and the Nantmawr branch which resulted in the short section of the original Llanofyllin line being closed and the line by the kilns becoming a siding known as Rock Sidings.

[00:02:45]Got bridge abutments here.

[00:02:48]So, I think this might have been the standard gauge line at this point.

[00:02:57]So, we've also got another bridge here as well.

[00:03:04]Again, if I can find what was running under here, I'll put it on the screen.

[00:03:09]This is the point where the railway crossed the Llan-y-Mynach branch of the Ellesmere Canal.

[00:03:27]So, I've just crossed the canal bed. So, it looks like it you can get onto the old track bed there.

[00:03:38]As you've seen, there is bridge abutments remaining, but they are obscured by the trees from this point. You can just about see some of the stone there.

[00:03:53]The line carried on for a short distance before it joined the Oswestry to Welshpool line.

[00:04:01]So, we'll go and have a look now along this old track bed.

[00:04:08]That's it on a bit of an embankment here.

[00:04:11]This is does drop down on both sides.

[00:04:16]So, the track bed now is just down in that dip. It's not walkable any further, but it runs in the direction of where the chimney in the Hoffman kilns is.

[00:04:27]So, there's another section of the track bed.

[00:04:34]So, that's where I was just stood. It is definitely heading towards the kiln.

[00:04:39]Bit of a bump here.

[00:04:41]So, I'm assuming this must be still the railway on a bit of a embankment.

[00:04:47]So, the railway follows the line of the trees.

[00:04:51]In the center of view, that's where we just saw that bit of a hump.

[00:04:55]We've got the chimney.

[00:04:59]And then the track bed running along again the line of trees.

[00:05:03]So, we've got the track bed again ahead of us.

[00:05:13]So, it's brought us back to the stable block.

[00:05:16]This is where we came in.

[00:05:19]So, this must have been the original track bed.

[00:05:24]Here's the old tramway that we saw in the other video that leads down from the quarries to the canal. It seems to pass underneath the line at this point. Just looking up back now towards the quarry.

[00:05:37]This is the entrance into the Heritage Park. I think the track bed may have just deviated slightly to the left, so it's in the trees a little bit at this point.

[00:05:49]So, we made it back to the point where the railway and the canal both go underneath the Oswestry Road.

[00:05:56]Just going back to this map, we've got the location where the tramway went underneath the railway.

[00:06:02]And we've got the road going up towards Oswestry, and also the point where the line was curtailed when the deviation was built from the Nantmawr branch.

[00:06:12]Next is the bridge over the canal. There was also another section of standard gauge line that cut off and ran towards the Hoffman Kiln, where it turned sharply north and headed to the transshipment area that we saw in the other video, where the stone was brought down on the narrow gauge tramway, and it was transferred to standard gauge for onward transportation.

[00:06:39]Llanymynech station opened in 1860 by the Oswestry and Newtown Railway. It was on their main line. There was also a branch leading off for the Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway.

[00:06:54]So, this is the site of the old Llanymynech railway station.

[00:06:58]Still got the original gate posts there.

[00:07:02]Um obviously private land.

[00:07:07]Barbed wire is chained up, so just have a look, see if we can see anything from here.

[00:07:15]Also, there's the remains of an old wagon, the box van up there.

[00:07:21]I think there was sidings here for the uh quarry as well.

[00:07:27]Looks like more railway fence posts.

[00:07:32]So, just walk from this old view to the present day. Look, we're stood over the former main line. We've got the Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales line went off to the right with the concrete bases which I believe was used for parking lorries at one point. That's where the station building was located.

[00:07:52]Just swap back to another old photo now of the station.

[00:07:57]There's nothing really to see from the other sides. Looks like it might be a garden now.

[00:08:04]The station remained open until 1965 with the lines removed shortly after.

[00:08:09]>> Yeah, you still look at this fencing here. Got a concrete fence post, old pedestrian gate here.

[00:08:19]And this I take it was the road access into the station.

[00:08:25]So, this is the old gate post underneath that ivy probably is.

[00:08:32]>> So, the main Oswestry to Newtown railway line opened in 1860, the station at the same time.

[00:08:39]This would later become part of the Cambrian Railway who would also open the Llanidloes branch which led off the main line to the north of the station in 1863.

[00:08:50]The junction that was actually located at the station was the branch to Shrewsbury which followed in 1866.

[00:08:56]And then finally, the Llanfyllin branch a few years later which was just to the south of the station. So, I hope you've enjoyed this video looking at the old railways and canal at Llanymynech. It just gives a little bit of perspective as to how the stone was taken away from the lime works and the quarry that we looked at in the other video. I'll put a link to that in the video description. If you have enjoyed it, please give it a like, a hype, and subscribe to the channel.

[00:09:25]Thanks for watching and I'll see you on the next video.