We need not enter into detail, now-a-days, to show how railway communication was rendered necessary a quarter of a century ago by the great increase of travelling throughout the land, and the insufficiency as well as inefficiency of stagecoach conveyance to satisfy the public wants. When railway travelling was first suggested stage-coaches had been “whipped-up” by “coming events” into improvement; the people were no longer compelled to “drag their slow length along,” for full five wearisome days, from Chester to London. The “Gee-hos,” and “Highflyers,” at four miles an hour; “The Birmingham and Shrewsbury Long Coach, with six able horses, in four days;” even the “Flying Machine,” from Shrewsbury to London in two days, had all passed the stage of their creeping existence; and the liege subjects of the realm were now beginning to be whirled along, at ten and twelve miles an hour, in “Quicksilvers,” “Tantivys,” “Erin-go-braghs,” “Tallyhos,” “Wonders,” and other well-horsed and well-appointed vehicles bearing equally excitable names. The Coach called “The Wonder” made the journey from Shrewsbury to London in a day. An intelligent contributor writes,—“The late old Justice Smith, in a conversation I had with him some 25 years ago, said, ‘I remember going to London 70 years ago by a coach called The Fly; we were 7 nights and 8 days on the road, and now they go in a day—what a man lives to see!’” But even this increased “pace” did not meet the requirements of the community. James Watts’ steam-engine had begun to revolutionize all classes and occupations. In manufactures, hand-looms, spinning-jennies, shuttles, treddles, and the rest of early inventions were superseded by steam-power, moving machinery for spinning and weaving; in packet and marine conveyance generally Watts’ steam-power wrought as great a change; and in the manufacture of metal and porcelain goods, the sawing of timber and stone, and even the making of pins and needles, steam was the great giant power. With this national revolution in trade, manufactures, and commerce, came a more active and enterprising spirit among the people; soft and hard goods, as the manufactures of the north and midland counties are technically called, were multiplied until supply exceeded demand; the locomotive wants and desires of the public increased; and all eyes and heads were turned towards Watts’ steam-engine as the only mighty agent of accelerated travelling. The history of the country has supplied the results of this great experiment. The ever-honoured George Stephenson succeeded in carrying heavily-laden trains, of passengers and goods, on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, at the rate of thirty miles an hour; and in the present day such is the appetite for rapid railway locomotion, that express trains, as they are called, flying over the earth at a more than race-horse speed of forty miles an hour, will scarcely satisfy the urgent requirements of manufactures and commerce.

Railway projects arose in various parts of the kingdom, and the first step taken towards what has since proved a direct communication with this borough and the metropolis was the incorporation of the Great Western Railway Company, by an Act passed in 5 and 6 of William IV. Some years elapsed before any measures were adopted to establish railway communication in this district. At length, in 1845, when railway “bubbles and squeaks” “affrighted the isle from its propriety,” a direct line was projected from Chester, through Whitchurch and Wem, to Shrewsbury. The scheme was promoted by the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, the London and Birmingham, and other important interests. Mr. Robert Stephenson was appointed engineer, and Mr. Mallaby, of Liverpool, solicitor. A Company, called the “North Wales Mineral Railway Company,” had previously obtained an Act for making a line of Railway, from Chester to Rhuabon, and on the scheme for the line from the former place, via Whitchurch and Wem, being announced, a Company, in friendly connection with the North Wales Mineral Railway Company, and called the Shrewsbury, Oswestry, and Chester Junction Railway Company, was formed for the purpose of extending the Railway from Rhuabon to Shrewsbury, in opposition to the other scheme mentioned above. The late Mr. Henry Kelsall, of Chester, was appointed solicitor, and Mr. Robertson engineer. A sharp struggle between the rival Companies ensued, but at length the line from Chester to Shrewsbury, via Whitchurch and Wem, was abandoned; by the prudent interposition of Mr. Edward Williams, solicitor, of Oswestry, (of the firm of “Longueville and Williams,”) the dissentient landowners were appeased; and the “Shrewsbury, Oswestry, and Chester Junction Railway Company” obtained their Act, which passed through parliament as an unopposed Bill, the royal assent being given to it the 30th of June, 1845. W. Ormsby Gore, Esq., as Chairman of the successful line, rendered powerful assistance to its claims, having clearly seen the advantages which it must render to the important interests of North Shropshire. The next step was to unite the two lines between Chester and Shrewsbury, viz., the North Wales Mineral Railway, and the Shrewsbury, Oswestry, and Chester Junction, and an arrangement was accordingly entered into by the two Companies, by which, in 1846, they were united into one, under the title of “The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway Company.” The subsequent history of this line is patent to the public; the battles of the Great Western Railway interest, with those of the North Western, each Company seeking to possess the line, almost rivalling in intensity the fierce struggles of the ancient Roses—York and Lancaster. In the Parliamentary Session of 1854 a Bill was brought into the House of Commons by Viscount Barrington, Lord Norreys, and Sir Phillip Egerton, to authorize the consolidation, into one Company, of the Great Western, the Shrewsbury and Birmingham, and the Shrewsbury and Chester Railways. The Bill was sanctioned by Parliament, and the Act is now cited for all purposes under the title of “The Great Western, Birmingham, and Chester Railway Section.” By this consolidation of these several Companies a direct communication with London, under one system of Railway management, has been secured to the town of Oswestry; the journey by the Express Trains occupying no more than about five and a half hours. The country through which the Great Western line runs is remarkable for its beauty and interest. Windsor Castle, Oxford, Blenheim, Leamington, Warwick, and other attractive places, are in close proximity; and to add to these advantages, the care, attention, and able management of the entire line, are further agreeable features in the route, which all travellers on the railway gratefully acknowledge.

To the inhabitants of Oswestry and its vicinity it is unnecessary to say anything in praise of the attractive scenery that gives such lively interest to the railway between Shrewsbury and Chester. To the stranger, however, and the summer tourist in search of the sublime and picturesque, we may remark, that few lines in the kingdom present so many charms to the admiring gaze as this most delightful railway. Llangollen Vale has a world-wide celebrity; whilst the Chirk Viaduct, spanning the Ceiriog Vale; the pretty village of Chirk; Lord Dungannon’s pleasant seat at Brynkinalt; “Chirk Castle walls;” Wynnstay Park; the fine tower of Wrexham Church; Gresford Vale, with its luxuriant and refreshing scenery; and the graceful approach to Chester, across “Sweet Deva’s wizard stream,” and in sight of the animating race-course (the Roodeye), the fine old Roman walls of the city, the ancient Castle, a work of Roman art, the Armoury, county Gaol, St. Werburgh’s Cathedral, the venerable Church and Priory of St. John the Baptist,—these, with many other relics of days now

“Numbered with those beyond the flood,”

must give an intense interest to those who value objects stamped with natural beauty and hoary antiquity.

All hostility between the Great Western and North Western Railway Companies having, at least for the present, ceased, both of these gigantic undertakings can, without ungenerous feelings one against the other, devote their energies and capital to the improvement of all departments of their respective undertakings, rendering to the public the attention, comfort, and assurance of safety in travelling which railway management ought to secure.

EXTENSION LINE FROM OSWESTRY TO WELSHPOOL AND NEWTOWN.

Whilst this volume was passing through the press a successful effort was made in carrying through Parliament a Bill for extending a line of railway through part of Montgomeryshire, commencing by a junction with the Shrewsbury and Chester Section of the Great Western Railway. The Bill was introduced into the House of Commons in the early part of the present Session of Parliament (1855), and passed through the various stages of that branch of the Legislature without opposition. In the House of Lords a slight but unsuccessful opposition was raised, and the Bill received the Royal assent on the 25th of June. Thus has been secured to the county of Montgomery, which is rapidly growing in population and importance, the advantage of railway communication direct from the metropolis, and from the busy seats of manufacturing industry in the north. The manufacturing and agricultural wealth and enterprise of Montgomeryshire, its rich mineral resources, and the benefits which will accrue to it by throwing open to its use the affluent coal-fields of Shropshire and Denbighshire, were strong claims entitling Montgomeryshire to the boon she sought. The further objects contemplated by the promoters of this line, in connecting it, at no far distant period, with the magnificent national harbour at Milford Haven, and thus opening a grand route from that capacious landing-place from the north of Ireland to Manchester, Yorkshire, and the Midland Counties, were doubtless among the considerations of Parliament in granting their sanction to this railway. The line will commence by a junction with the Shrewsbury and Chester section of the Great Western Railway, at its Oswestry terminus, and then proceed by Llanymynech, Llandrinio, Llandisilio, and Buttington, to Welshpool; thence, crossing the river Severn, near Miltrewydd, will pass between Montgomery and Berriew, and on to Newtown, on the south side of the river, where it will unite with the Newtown and Llanidloes line.

The capital authorized to be raised by the “Oswestry and Newtown Railway Company” is £250,000. Mr. Benjamin Piercy is appointed resident engineer of the line; and Mr. Peter Barlow consulting engineer. The contractors for the making of the entire line are Messrs. M’Cormick and Thornton, whose previous railway contracts give the best assurance that the present line will be constructed in an efficient manner.

The first general meeting of the shareholders was held at the Town Hall, Welshpool, on Saturday, July 21st; William Ormsby Gore, Esq., Chairman of the Board of Provisional Directors, in the chair. The attendance was very numerous. The report stated that it was the intention of the Directors to proceed with the construction of the railway with as little delay as possible, that the certificates of the proprietorship of the shares in the capital of the Company, under the seal of the Company, could be forthwith issued to the Shareholders; that the Directors congratulated the Shareholders and the district upon the unanimity which had prevailed in the establishment and progress of the Company, and expressed their hope that this would lead to the speedy completion of the undertaking, and the further developement of the resources of the country. The speakers on this occasion were the Chairman, Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart. M.P., the Rev. C. T. C. Luxmoore, the Ven. Archdeacon Clive, G. H. Whalley, Esq., the Rev. Maurice Lloyd, Richard Humphreys, Esq., George Brace, Esq., and other gentlemen. The Directors named in the Act were, William Ormsby Gore, Esq., M.P., Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, Bart. M.P., D. Pugh, Esq. M.P., John Naylor, Esq., John Carnac Morris, Esq., Richard Herbert Mytton, Esq., John Davies Corrie, Esq., Rowland Jones Venables, Esq., Arthur James Johnes, Esq., Col. Herbert Watkin Williams Wynn, M.P., J. Powell Wilding, Esq., and Wm. Lloyd, Esq., and they were re-elected unanimously. An important resolution was also passed, “That it is the opinion of this meeting, that it is of the utmost importance to the interest of the Company that a communication by railway should be effected between Newtown and Milford Haven; and the Directors are hereby requested to afford such co-operation and assistance to any Companies now existing, or which may be projected, as would best tend to accomplish that object.” The entire proceedings were marked by harmony and good spirit, and all present appeared suitably impressed with the importance and value of railway communication through Montgomeryshire, and with the benefits, in connection with the great national harbour at Milford Haven, which would ultimately accrue to the “Oswestry and Newtown Railway Company.” Few, if any, railway enterprizes were ever started under a more able and upright management, and perhaps equally few lines, of so short a distance, had at their outset such encouraging prospects before them. With these signal advantages no doubt can be entertained that the undertaking will be crowned with abundant success.