20 20 Vision

Happy New Year and welcome to the start of another year of progress on the CHR project to connect Oswestry to Weston by a heritage railway.

Firstly a very big thank you to all who have supported the Santa Specials over Christmas. This includes all of the volunteers and helpers who put on a great show but mostly to the customers who rode on the trains.  The trains were pretty much full for the duration. Thank you one and all.

The latest newsletter has just been published, have you signed up? You can sign up on the CHR homepage.  In the newsletters you can read about some of the plans and the back story to current activities.

Now that the running season is over it's time to get back on with restoration and improvements, once the decorations and props for the festive season have been packed away.

In the shed at Oswestry the suburban coach restoration continues with the roof having received attention and a new coat of paint applied.

Many thanks to CHR Facebook for the picture.

Work at Weston will pick up again after Christmas with the intention to get the trackwork in place whilst access is still possible.  The Cambrian shuffle will start again as materials need to be brought down from Oswestry to complete the station.

Looking forward 2020 looks to be another important year for the project. There is so much going on it's a great time to get involved. You can also put in to action that new year's resolution to get fit and lose weight. What better way than to get involved, have lots of fun and help the railway to move forward!! We look forward to seeing you.

Until next time.

Merry Christmas

Thank you for visiting the blog and for supporting the railway over the last twelve months. It's been a year of solid progress and we aim to continue in 2020.

The Santa season has now finished and thank you to everyone who travelled and to the volunteers who gave up their Christmas shopping days.  Many trains were sold out and feedback has been very positive.

In the new year we will be adding a Saturday morning working party, primarily to work at Weston. 

Thank you one and all and a very Merry Christmas.

Until the New Year!

Santa Specials 2

We are in mid Santa season and all is going well.  Bookings have been very good this year and some services have been sold out. Thank you!

Many thanks to all who have helped with the operation including the members of ATC Squadron 1165 from Oswestry, your assistance is much appreciated.

Coming up we have the last weekend, the Sunday afternoon was full so an additional run has been added at 15:30.  Other services are close to being sold out.  Book through the website if you want to come along.

Some restoration work is going on but we are concentrating on giving our visitors the best experience possible. Guy's camera is still out of action so a new one has been put on the Christmas list. Pictures will be added when available.

Until next time.

Santa Specials

Don't forget to book on the website and come along for some festive fun.

Weston Station

The work at Weston continues with the two sidings heading towards completion.  It is important to finish these sidings before the platform is assembled as access with mechanical plant will be severely limited once the platform has been installed.

Similarly work on removing years of growth and dumped materials is ongoing as we tidy up the site area.

Andy G was on hand to take a quick snap of the latest progress.  Work on the footings for the precast platform sections is underway and delivery is expected early in the new year.

The picture shows the view from the point looking south towards the new station.

Thanks to Andy for the picture and to all who joined in.

Until next time.

A Coach Trip

Today we took the almost complete suburban coach for a short trip to the main Oswestry station platform.

Following the combined efforts of many volunteers over nearly two years on the coach hardware the stored upholstery was professionally deep-cleaned.


The day started with the coach bring eased out of the shed inch by inch, we don't want to scratch that nice new paint do we.

After a short trip the coach arrives in the station for attention to the upholstery.  Although it was a bit damp the mood was bright and cheerful as we are close to having two coaches available for service.

The internal fixed upholstery is given a thorough clean. Here we are using the services of a Shropshire business putting money back into the local economy.

The still to be fitted seat cushions were treated to a clean indoors. Here you can see the nearest one has been completed, with work about to start on the second one. You can see the difference!

Another great day for CHR and a nice reward for the volunteers to see the results of their efforts out in the open.

There are still plenty of jobs to complete before the coach will be ready for service but we can definitely see the finish line now.

A big thank you to all of the many volunteers that have invested time in the restoration of the suburban coach and to Andy G for the pictures.

Until next time.

Technically Tainted Thursday

We are now in the season where inside jobs become the major focus for the volunteers. Guy wanted to take some pictures of the suburban coach restoration in Oswestry shed but a broken camera made that impossible.

Reg, 'The Body' has reached the last external panels and together with the others was working to prepare the surfaces for priming.  

Inside the coach, John 'The Wood' along with Glynn, was working in compartment number four to fit and finish the varnished woodwork.

The guard's compartment received further paint to the inside decor.  Guy's only photo shows Alan making progress.

Thanks to all who have braved the weather to volunteer. And to Guy for the picture, hoping the camera can be repaired or replaced without too much pain.

Until next