In 1853 the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway Company Act received the Royal Assent. The Great Western, and London and North Wales had been the favourite candidates to build this line, from Shrewsbury through the Rea Valley to Minsterley, Newtown and on to Aberystwyth, but there was strong local feeling which wanted its own railway, and saw it as the beginning for a Manchester/Milford Haven route. The first thirteen miles of track were opened for goods on 30th April, 1859, and for passengers on 31st August 1959.
The Oswestry and Newtown Act was not far behind, for it was passed in 1855. A year later a Committee of Enquiry was set up to examine the distinct lack of progress that had followed the Royal Assent. However, 1857 saw the first sod being cut in an awe-inspiring ceremony, during which the guns of Powys Castle fired a salute, the Archdeacon Clive pronounced a blessing and Lady Williams Wynne's wheelbarrow (solid mahogany with the Company crest) was given precedence in the procession just behind the cavalry, but before the Mayor and the Directors. The first section of the line, from Oswestry to Pool Quay, was opened on 1st May, 1860, and on the 14th of August of the same year, sections were opened from Pool Quay to Welshpool and from Newtown to Abermule. The remaining section was opened in 1861 when it was then possible to travel from Oswestry through to Llanidloes.

The Newtown/Machynlleth Company Act was passed in 1857. Its prospectus claimed that it wished to connect Central Wales with London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool; transport slate from the Mawddwy Valley, lead from the Pennant Valley, and flannel from various mills. The Newtown/Machynlleth line was opened on 3rd January, 1863. This line was closely followed by the opening of the Ellesmere/Whitchurch section of the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch line which had been authorised in 1862. The first section was completed in May, 1863, and the whole line opened in June, 1864.

By now it was obviously absurd to have four small companies running lines which were only just economically viable and somewhat dependent upon each other. In 1864 an Amalgamation Act was obtained and all four merged to become the Cambrian Railways. A fifth Company, the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast joined them in 1865, but a sixth, the Mid-Wales Railway did not. Prior to amalgamation the Oswestry and Newtown Company asked Benjamin Piercy to prepare plans for railway workshops on the lines of those of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway. At the end of August, 1863, it agreed to build at Oswestry, at a cost of f28,000. However, very little had been done by the time the Cambrian Railways were formed a year later, but the need for works had become very urgent. At its first meeting the new Board of Directors asked Thomas Savin who was acting as its Locomotives Superintendent, to prepare a detailed specification to the designs of the Manchester locomotive builders, Sharp, Stewart and Company. It also answered a plea from Welshpool that the Works be built there. Welshpool, regarded itself as a strong contender because of its central position on the line. There was also plenty of land available for development.

Savin who had been connected with the Oswestry and Newtown Company, had a small repair shop there and the office of the consolidated Companies was at Welshpool By contrast, the land at Oswestry backed onto a steep hill called Shelf Bank, which required considerable excavation. The Directors, however, explained that they had already bought land and spent a great deal of money in planning and they were determined to go ahead at Oswestry. Had they decided otherwise a large slice of Oswestry's history would have disappeared, and the town today would probably look quite different. However, the Works, designed by John Robinson, of Manchester, were built under the supervision of George Owen, and the machinery was built by Sharp, Stewart and Company.

The works were divided, with the offices, stores and wash-houses in the centre. At the station end were the locomotive shops; at the Whitchurch end the carriage and wagon shops. The locomotive erecting shop had a central traverser serving twelve roads on each side, including the entrance and through road which was kept clear The other roads could each accommodate a single locomotive or tender They were moved by hand as far as the enclosed yard outside the shop, where the works shunter took over The scrap siding was in this area. At the other end of the works a network of sidings fanned out across an open yard and eleven, including the through road, continued into the carriage and wagon shops. Whilst a lot of carriageway and wagons were built in the workshops, only two locomotives were actually constructed at Oswestry, although many were extensively rebuilt. In 1866 the company offices were moved from Welshpool to Oswestry, where the Station had been specially designed to be the Headquarters, built at a cost of £8,000.

As an employer the Cambrian Railways was a mixed blessing. It did prevent a great deal of unemployment, especially in rural areas, and acted as a check to depopulation. It was, however, able to dictate pay and conditions and service. Staff often had to work up to 36 hours of continuous duty, which even so was favourable, as some companies worked their men up to 90 hours each week. Discipline was strict; for example all staff had to carry a copy of the rules and regulations. If they were caught without it the fine was five shillings. A station master was sacked in 1868 for leaving his station without putting someone else in charge. A station master would face dismissal for failing to send in his accounts on time.

Inevitably the Cambrian became involved in the growing movement for lower hours, in a series of events which became known as the Hood case. When a minor accident happened at Ellesmere a porter named Humphreys, suffering from exhaustion, was made the scapegoat and sacked. John Hood was the Station Master at Ellesmere and he sent a memo to the general manager, asking for Humphreys' reinstatement. The manager did not like this and Hood found himself demoted, and transferred to Montgomery. There things might have rested but for two things coming together; the growing sense of grievance of the railway men at their long hours, and Hood's personal courage. In the summer 1891 the House of Commons set up a select committee to investigate the long hours worked by railway men On 27th June, Hood wrote to the management asking permission to give evidence. This was ignored, as was a subsequent letter, so Hood contacted two M.Ps and then on 1 6th July was called before the committee. It took him just a quarter of an hour and was not particularly sensational. On the 6th August, the Board of Directors decided to sack him and they gave him a month's pay in lieu of notice four days later Hood was allowed to meet the Board on 30th August, after a strong local protest movement for his reinstatement. The Board, acting more like the Inquisition, refused to hear him and confirmed his dismissal on 6th October, only allowing him to stay in the station house until 31st October.

The Amalgamated Society of Railway Engineers took up the case, and protest meetings were held in several places, including Newtown and Wrexham. In the House of Commons it was suggested that Breach of Privilege had been committed. Hood was seen by the Select Committee again on 20th March 1892, and it was decided that his treatment by the directors was meant to deter other railway employees from giving evidence. Despite a denial, two of the Directors, J.F Buckley and Bailey Hawkins found themselves at the Bar of the House of Commons, while a third, J.W Maclure, an M P himself, took his place at the beginning of what was to prove a seven hour debate on the matter.

Long after midnight the House found them guilty by 349 votes to 70. They were called to the Bar and reprimanded very heavily by the Speaker They considered this to be the end of the affair and ignored appeals for compensation. However, local people, M.Ps, railway men and sympathisers collected £200 which Hood, who was working at Newtown, used to buy a house in Ellesmere. He was a member of the Urban and Rural Councils, and a popular figure up to his death in 1920. His courage, though, did have its reward. An Act was passed to protect witnesses giving evidence to Royal Commissions and in 1893 an Act was also passed giving the Board of Trade the power to order reasonable working hours In 1921 the Cambrian was absorbed by the CWR which in turn was taken over by British Rail. However, just by existing it had its effect on railway and social history, and we in the North Shropshire and Border areas would have been the poorer if it had never been