FORGOTTEN BRANCHES OF NORTH EAST WALES PART FIVE THE MOLD TO BRYMBO LINE

Historical background

As in the previous parts of the ‘Forgotten Branches of North Wales Wales’ articles, the initial incentives to construct railways in these areas of difficult terrain were primarily to transport the varied mineral products of the area’s numerous mining and quarrying concerns to their further processing plants and/or for onward shipping to their mainly English markets. The Mold to Brymbo line was certainly no exception as along its final route there existed at least 30 sites which were either producing coal, cannel, * brick, tile, fire clay, terra cotta, limestone, silica, lead and iron ore just to name the recorded products. Coupled to the above outputs there were several processing concerns such as iron and lead ore smelting and brickworks etc. Most of these concerns were situated in and around the village of Coed Talon, some 4½ miles to the south east of Flintshire’s county town of Mold. (* Bitumous coal, sometimes known as oil shale used in the distilling of lamp oil and similar products).

Initially a section built and owned by the Nercwys Coal and Cannel Company was opened in September 1849. It ran as a short branch steeply uphill due south from