A major exhibition recalling the end of the steam era for rail services in Shropshire and the closure of the Shrewsbury engines sheds is to be staged in Shrewsbury this summer.

The Exhibition is being organised by the Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust and forms part of the Shrewsbury Summer Season. It will be held at The English Bridge Workshop Gallery, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury (Tel 01743 243283) with support from other groups involved with Shrewsbury’s railway history.

Trust Chairman Councillor Mansel Williams, who is curating the exhibition, says: “Forty years ago this year we witnessed the end of Shropshire’s traditional direct rail links with Paddington, which had lasted for more than 100 years. This coincided with the end of steam operations on the Paddington-Shrewsbury-Birkenhead trains and also the steam hauled Cambrian Coast Express which linked Aberystwyth with London.”

He added: “At the same time, Shrewsbury engine sheds, one of the UK’s key locomotive depots, was closed to steam and quickly run down. No trace of the sheds remains, other than the Rest Room, now known as the Reabrook Sports & Social Club, in Scott St, Belle Vue. The Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust hope to erect a sculptural memorial of some kind – maybe mounted on a set of locomotive wheel – near the entrance to the current Business Park to mark the importance of the site to Shrewsbury’s industrial history.”

The planned Summer 2007 Exhibition would underline Shrewsbury’s importance as a key centre of the steam age, and its place in the national network. It is planned to exhibit paintings and photographs of Shrewsbury at the height of the steam age, along with other memorabilia, including old timetables and it is hoped that visitors will include a high percentage of Shrewsbury’s existing and retired railway staff. There will also be a programme of films and Illustrated talks on evenings throughout the Exhibition.

If you have any relevant material to donate to the Trust e.g. interesting items of memorabilia relating to Shrewsbury’s remarkable railway heritage, please contact

The Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust will record and safely store for exhibition and display purposes, any items you wish to donate to the Trust.

Councillor Williams says “We know that there is a tremendous ongoing interest in railway issues in Shrewsbury, including our moves to restore the Old Abbey Station of the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway in Abbey Foregate, where building work is planned to commence during 2007”