Three historic vehicles join Cambrian Heritage Railways at Oswestry
Cambrian Heritage Railways (CHR) is happy to announce that in December 2025 it was given the opportunity to submit applications on several items being deaccessioned from the Welsh Museum collection.
Three of its applications were successful with the following vehicles recently arriving at its Oswestry site:
Cambrian Railways 1st/3rd Composite Carriage no.238
GWR 6-ton hand crane + match truck
GWR shunter’s truck
CHR chairman Rob Williams said: "We are extremely excited to be selected to provide a future for these items, the star of which is clearly the Cambrian Railways Carriage 238.
"This carriage was built in 1895 to specifications draw up by the Oswestry Works based locomotive Superintendent William Aston. The carriage would have been used on the Cambrian premier services and have been used as a through carriage providing services to Liverpool, Manchester or London. The carriage outlasted the Cambrian being withdrawn by the Great Western Railway in 1939, likely the last time the carriage was ‘home’ at Oswestry.
"After its passenger life the coach was gutted internally and used for a number of engineers department roles in the Wolverhampton area. The carriage was externally restored by the Museum of Wales in the late 1980s, internally this involved creating two replica compartments and an open plan space for additional displays. Its importance cannot be understated as although several Cambrian carriage bodies survive to this day, 238 is the only one still mounted on its original underframe and wheels and is the most intact vehicle."
CHR retail manager Phil Bradley explained: "Carriage 238 will be entered into our railway museum building where we hope it will add to the story of the Cambrian Railways not just in Oswestry but the whole of the Cambrian Railways network. The internal space will be utilised for additional displays and education space."
Mr Williams continued: "The GWR 6-ton hand crane + match truck & GWR shunter’s truck are both restoration projects which in time will be restored to again show how the railways operated in the past. Both vehicles are typical of what would have been seen at a large railway centre like Oswestry."
If you wish to support CHR and its railway projects please visit cambrianrailways.com
