Group weighs in to save station's sole survivor

The building, the former weighbridge office, was last used in the 1960s by a local coal merchant. It has remained untouched in a corner of a busy timber business in Bishop's Castle ever since.

John Rimmer, who chairs Bishop's Castle Railway Society, said: “The building is in a remarkably good state considering it has been unused for 50 years. It will, of course, need substantial work to restore it to its original 1865 condition.”

The society would need to raise money to complete the work and an application to the National Lottery is a possibility. An application for lottery funding has to show community support and a benefit to the area.

“The owner of the timber business is very supportive of what we would like to do. We now need to gauge the level of support in Bishop's Castle,” said Mr Rimmer.

A drop-in session for members of the public is being held at Bishop's Castle Town Hall on Tuesday, August 15, from 4pm to 8pm.

"The project team will be there to talk about the renovation plans, possible uses for the building and how the town might be involved. The team would like to hear views and explore ways people could help us achieve the aim of restoring this important building."

The railway opened in 1865 and linked Bishop's Castle to Craven Arms. It had a chequered history. Within two years it was put into administration and remained in that state until it closed in 1935.

Surprisingly, much of its infrastructure still remains. Apart from the surviving weighbridge office at Bishop's Castle, the station houses at Plowden, Eaton and Horderley are still occupied, and much of the route of the line can be seen from the A489 between Bishop's Castle and Craven Arms.

Despite being a survivor after all these years, Mr Rimmer says the society does not know of any photos which show the weighbridge building in the railway's time.