The railway was incorporated by an
act of Parliament, the '''''' (
36 & 37 Vict. c. ccxxxi), on 5 August 1873 and opened in 1877. It was built with an unusual
gauge of . The line was prosperous at first, carrying annually and paying a 3% dividend. However, in 1884, the Tankerville Great Consols Company mine, the largest user of the railway, closed, and tonnage fell to . In 1905, the Ceirog Granite Company opened a
quarry near
Habberley, and a branch was built to serve this. An extra locomotive was required, and
Sir Theodore was borrowed from the gauge
Glyn Valley Tramway. However, the slight difference in
gauge made this locomotive too wide for the track, and it was returned unused. Instead, a new locomotive,
Dennis, was bought. Freight reached a peak in 1909 when were carried, but this proved to be a short-term change in fortune for the railway, and demand dwindled again during
World War I. In 1923 it was taken over and re-equipped by
Colonel Stephens. Stephens bought two new
Baldwin locomotives from the
War Department Light Railways. When the mines closed, the line lost much of its traffic but was rescued by a new traffic flow of stone from Callow Hill Quarry. There was virtually no traffic on the upper part of the line but it remained open as the locomotive shed was at Snailbeach. In 1947 all three remaining
steam locomotives were unusable and the railway was moribund. The locomotives were cut up at Snailbeach in 1950. The lower section was leased by
Shropshire County Council who used it to transport road-building materials from Callow Hill Quarry to
Pontesbury. When the last steam locomotive failed, loaded wagons were run from the quarry to Pontesbury by gravity, and then, when enough were ready, hauled back using a
Fordson tractor straddling the rails. The railway finally closed in 1959, the last railway equipment being scrapped in 1961. The
Talyllyn Railway purchased the remaining track. The quarry remained open but the railway was lifted and, between Callow Hill and the road bridge at Pontesbury, converted into a road. Shropshire County Council ran their lorries along this road and paid rent to the railway company. As lorries became larger the long single-track road from Callow Lane to the quarry became impractical and was closed. A new access road was built in 1998 from the A488 in
Pontesbury to the quarry at Callow Hill, when the quarry was extended and deepened. Shropshire County Council sold the quarry to
Tarmac plc, in 2003. Quarrying permission existed until 2013. As at late 2006 there was no active work at the quarry and most heavy machinery had been removed. == Line preservation ==