:Fennant Road Halt railway station
{{Short description|Former railway station in Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Fennant Road
| status = Disused
| image =
| country = Wales
| coordinates = {{coord|53.0151|-3.0481|type:railwaystation_region:GB_scale:2000_source:Google| display=inline, title}}
| grid_name = Grid reference
| grid_position = {{gbmapscaled|SJ297469|25|SJ297469}}
| platforms = 1
| original = Great Western Railway
| pregroup = Great Western Railway
| years = 5 June 1905
| events = Station opened{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=12}}
| years1 = 22 March 1915
| events1 = Station closed{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=12}}
| years2 = 1917
| events2 = Line to Legacy closed completely
}}
Fennant Road Halt railway station served the Fennant Road area of Ponciau,[https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=53.0141&lon=-3.0495&layers=179&b=1 Bartholomew, half-inch, England and Wales, 1919-1924.] a village that lies within the community of Rhosllanerchrugog. Opened in 1905 it had closed by 1915, partly as a result of WWI and also through road transport competition.{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=12}} On 1 August 1861 the GWR had opened a mineral branch from just north of Ruabon to serve the blast furnaces of the iron works at Aberderfyn and Ponciau. This line was extended to Legacy on 27 August 1876.
History
The station opened in June 1905 on the Wrexham to Ponkey (Ponciau) Branch of the Great Western Railway.{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=12}}Wignal (1983), Page 1 It was one of three halts on the line south from Wrexham and Legacy, the others being at Aberderfyn and Ponkey Crossing.
The Ponkey (Ponciau) to Legacy line closed to all traffic on 18 January 1917MacDonald, volume II, page 613 whilst the Ruabon portion of the Ponkey (Ponciau) branch continued to serve private sidings.[https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=53.0126&lon=-3.0459&layers=10&b=1 OS Map 1938-49. Published:1951]
Services
To try and cater for falling passenger numbers railmotors were introduced on 1 May 1905. These consisted of a carriage with a miniature locomotive at one end, partly contained within the body of the coach. Passenger services never ran south to Ruabon as indicated by the 1919-1924 map which shows a mineral line running south from Ponkey (Ponciau) Crossing Halt.
The 1906 timetable shows the line working as the 'Wrexham and Ponkey Crossing' branch, served by rail motors on weekdays only and only accommodating a single class. Trains from Wrexham first stopped at Rhostyllen and then Legacy before running down to Fennant Road, Aberderfyn and Ponkey Crossing.[http://www.rhostyllen.info/trains.html Rhostyllen - A History Through Pictures] An impressive fifteen trains a day ran in each direction, roughly one an hour with a short stop over at Ponkey Crossing before returning to Wrexham. The three halts were very close to each other, with two minutes allowed between Fennant Road and Aberderfyn and only a single minute between Aberderfyn and Ponkey Crossing.
Infrastructure
The site today
Few signs remain of the trackbed to the north and south of Fennant Road (datum 2019).
Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{Butt-Stations}}
External links
{{Historical Rail Start}}
{{rail line
|previous = Legacy Station
|next = Aberderfyn Halt
|route = Great Western Railway
Wrexham and Ponkey Crossing
|col = {{GWR colour}} |lightcol={{GWR colour}} }}
{{end box}}
Category:Disused railway stations in Wrexham County Borough
Category:Former Great Western Railway stations