Early proposals The first proposal to connect Llanfair Caerinion and Welshpool by railway was the Llanfair Railway of 1864; this would have been a narrow-gauge line, with a
mixed-gauge section where it connected to the
Cambrian Railways. This proposal was abandoned. The next attempt came in 1876 with the promotion of the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway Bill, which proposed a railway along a similar route to the 1864 effort. This bill passed through the
Houses of Parliament, becoming the '
(40 & 41 Vict. c. ccxxv). This attempt failed because the promoters were unable to raise sufficient capital, and was officially abandoned by the (45 & 46 Vict. c. xli). In 1886, another Welshpool and Llanfair Railway Bill appeared for a gauge railway on a similar route; this became the (50 & 51 Vict. c. clxxxv) which expired unused in 1892, and was officially abandoned by the ' (
55 & 56 Vict. c. ii).
The Light Railways Act 1896 In August 1896, the
Light Railways Act 1896 (
59 & 60 Vict. c. 48) was passed, and this spurred further attempts at a railway to Llanfair Caereinion. The first of these was the Llanfair & Meifod Valley Light Railway Bill of 1896, which proposed a
standard-gauge line from
Arddleen about 8 miles north of Welshpool, through the Meifod Valley. In the 1923
Grouping of railway companies, Cambrian Railways, including the Welshpool to Llanfair Caereinion line, was absorbed by the
Great Western Railway (GWR). On 9 February 1931 the line lost its passenger service, which was replaced by a
bus service, and it became a freight-only line. It was temporarily re-opened to passengers between 6 and 11 August 1945 for the
Eisteddfod. The GWR itself was
nationalised in 1948 and became part of
British Railways. Freight traffic lingered on until 1956, by which time
British Railways decided to close the line, with services ceasing on 5 November.
Preservation now used on the railway, with a centre buffer and screw coupling link A group of volunteers and enthusiasts took the line over and started raising money to restore it. On 6 April 1963, the western half of the line, from Llanfair Caereinion to Castle Caereinion, was reopened as a Heritage railway. On 13 December 1964, a pier supporting the steel girder bridge over the River Banwy was seriously damaged by flood waters dislodging the bridge. During the spring and early summer of 1965 the 16th Railway Regiment of the Royal Engineers replaced the damaged masonry pier with a fabricated steel one and restored the span to its original position. Train services between Llanfair Caereinion to Castle Caereinion resumed on 14 August 1965. In 1972, services were extended to Sylfaen. The line through Welshpool, however, could not be reopened, so the line now has a new terminus
station at
Raven Square on the western outskirts of the town, opened on 18 July 1981. In 2008, there were discussions with Welshpool Town Council about reinstating the link through the town to the main line station, following a different route from that originally used. Because of the gauge, unusual for
British narrow-gauge railways, locomotives and rolling stock to supplement the originals have had to be obtained from sources around the world including the
Zillertalbahn in Austria. A major grant from the
Heritage Lottery Fund permitted restoration of both original locomotives together with several coaches and original wagons, and provision of new workshop facilities, ready for the line's centenary. ==Golfa Bank==