Notes: Buttington station was situated at the point where the Cambrian Railway (CR) main line, that linked Aberystwyth and Whitchurch, had its junction with the Shrewsbury & Welshpool Railway (S&W) which was a joint concern of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the London & North Western Railway (LNWR). The CR line through Buttington, between Pool Quay and Welshpool, had been opened by the Oswestry & Newtown Railway (O&NR) on 14 August 1860; the company had previously opened a section of line between Oswestry and Pool Quay on 1 May 1860. The line from Welshpool to Newtown opened on 10 June 1861.

The station opened as Cefn in November 1860 but a month later it was renamed Buttington. It was one mile north-east of its namesake in a fairly isolated location. At the time of opening there was just a single track through the station whose platform was located on the east side of the line. There were four trains in each direction running between Newtown and Oswestry.

On 27 January 1862 the S&W line opened to Buttington. The O&N opened a second track between Buttington and Welshpool for use by the S&W. The second track and the original line were operated as bi-directional single-track routes serving each company.

The two lines diverged at the south of the station which was located in the space between them. The station consisted of a two-storey T-plan brick-built villa, with slates hung on the upper storey. The gables carried elaborately decorated bargeboards with finials. A single-storey section extended south-west from the main villa, with identical bargeboard and finial. On the down Cambrian line platform a lengthy open-fronted waiting shed abutted the buildings.

Goods facilities were located to the south of the station on the east side of the line. There was also a branch which diverged from the main line at the south end of the goods yard and ran eastwards to a brick works.

Trains on the S&W line were initially operated by the LNWR and some of them ran through to Wellington or Stafford.

On 25 July 1864 the L&N and O&NR merged with the Oswestry, Ellesmere & Whitchurch Railway and the Newtown & Machynlleth Railway to form the CR (which also absorbed the Aberystwyth & Welch [sic] Coast Railway in 1865). The merger of the companies created the through route between Aberystwyth and Whitchurch.

From 1865 the GWR also began to serve Buttington when it started running trains to Welshpool.

The CR carried out improvements to the line during the 1890s. In 1893 the parallel single-track lines between Buttington and Welshpool were converted to a conventional double-track railway. Alterations were made at the station as part of the works. Double-track sections of line were extended along the CR and the joint line through the station for a short distance where they became single again. Extra platforms were provided to serve the new lines. The new platform on the CR line was located to the west of the original. It became the up CR line platform (Oswestry direction). It was provided with a simple timber waiting shelter. The original CR line platform became the down (Welshpool direction).

The new platform on the joint line was located to the east of the original and became the down (Welshpool direction), the original joint platform becoming the up (Shrewsbury direction).

The junction between the CR and Joint lines was located at the south end of the station and to control it a signal box was provided on the west side of the line; it also controlled the single-track sections to the north of the station.

The December 1895 timetable showed 11 up and 10 down trains on Monday-to-Saturday as seen in the table below. On the first and third Monday of each month there was an extra down train and on Sunday there were three trains each way. By this time joint line local trains were operated by the LNWR.

By 1902 a footbridge had been provided at Buttington which linked the four platforms. It was located at the south end of the station.

On 1 January 1922 The CR was absorbed into the GWR. The timetable for July 1922 showed 9 up and 10 down services Monday-to-Saturday with an extra down service on the first and third Monday of the month. There was one train in each direction on Sundays.

On 1 January 1923 the LNWR became part of the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) which meant that the Shrewsbury line became joint GWR/LMS.

The GWR made its own improvements to the CR line and it started to run more services via the Shrewsbury line. In 1927 the GWR named a through Paddington- Aberystwyth express train as the Cambrian Coast Express. The train ran via Shrewsbury but it did not call at Buttington.

The LMS Summer timetable for 1932 showed four up and five down trains on Monday-to-Saturday on the joint line. No joint line trains served Buttington on Sunday.

On 1 January 1948 Buttington became part of British Railways [Western Region] (BR[WR]).

In the mid 1950s the up Cambrian line platform was altered. About two thirds of it was demolished leaving only a short section at the southern end of the station. The footbridge was also removed and passengers had to use barrow crossings instead.

During the September 1955 to 10 June 1956 period Buttington had nine trains in each direction on Monday-to-Saturday. Three of the up and four of the down trains called by request only. On Sunday there was just a single up train.

The 15 September 1958 timetable showed ten up and eight down trains on Monday-to-Saturday as seen in the table below. Two of the up and three of the down trains called by request only passengers having to give notice to the guard of the train if they wished to alight or to the station master if they wished to board. On Sunday there was just one up train.

On 12 November 1960 BR[WR] closed all six of the intermediate stations and halts between Shrewsbury and Welshpool to passengers: Hanwood, Yockleton Halt, Westbury, Plas-y-Court Halt, Breidden and Buttington. By the standards of the day Buttington was fairly well served by trains but its remote location made it unremunerative; nevertheless it is interesting that the decision was made to close Buttington to Welshpool-Oswestry trains too, as the other intermediate stations on this route remained open. Goods services were also withdrawn from Buttington on the same day.

On 1 January 1963 the lines through Buttington passed to the operational control of British Railways [London Midland Region] (BR[LMR]). Three months later the Reshaping of British Railways (the ‘Beeching Report’) was published. It recommended that the line from Buttington Junction to Whitchurch should lose its passenger service, and the intention was that the line should close completely between Buttington and Llynclys (including the Llanfyllin branch). The intention to withdraw passenger services was published on 11 March 1964, and the TUCC report on the closure hearings was received by Ernest Marples, Minister of Transport, on 13 July 1964. His consent to the closure was announced on 11 September 1964.

In 1964 the line between Buttington and Welshpool reverted to its pre-1893 arrangement of there being two bi-directional single tracks. What had been the up line became the up and down Oswestry line and what had been the down line became the up and down Shrewsbury line. The junction was removed at Buttington and the signal box was closed. The upper cabin was removed before the end of the year.

It seemed odd to go to so much effort because the last trains ran on the Oswestry line on Saturday 16 January 1965. Track-lifting began later that year leaving just a single track passing through the Buttington station former joint line platforms. By the 1970s the station had been demolished leaving no trace.

Tickets from Michael Stewart and route map by Alan Young

Sources:

• A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain - Volume II North & Mid Wales - Peter E Baughan - David & Charles 1980.
• Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies - Christopher Awdry - Guild Publishing 1990.
• Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain - A Chronology - Michael Quick - Railway & Canal Historical Society 2009.

To see other closed stations on the Whitchurch - Newtown line click on the station name: Whitchurch STILL OPEN, Fenn's Bank, Bettisfield, Welshampton,
Ellesmere, Frankton, Whittington High Level, Tinkers Green Halt,
Oswestry (Cambrian), Llynclys, Pant (Salop), Llanymynech, Four Crosses, Arddleen Halt, Pool Quay, Welshpool, Forden, Montgomery and Abermule