Morda Tramway - History

History

A horse-drawn tramway running southeast was built in 1813 to serve the small coal mines of Coed-y-Go and the Bell Pits near Morda, about 1 mile south of Oswestry. It ran east of Sweeney Mountain, crossed the Oswestry-Welshpool road at Albridge Lane, and met the Montgomery Canal at a wharf by Gorwen Bridge south of Maesbury, where the canal now ends. When the large Drill colliery opened the tramway was modernised with new rails that could handle heavier loads. By 1850 the canal had been taken over by the Shropshire Union Canal and the tramway had closed by 1879.

Railway engineer Thomas Savin saw the advantage of connecting his Cambrian Railways to the mines at Morda. He bought the Coed y Go mines and built a narrow gauge railway from Whitehaven, starting near Nuttree Farm. It ran northwards, west of Sweeney Mountain to Gorwen, then curved west up the brook through Brook House and then swung northeast to Coed-y-Go. The railway opened in 1861 but Savin's railways collapsed in 1866 and his mine closed in 1869.

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