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THE 5 O’CLOCK FROM WELSHPOOL
(R5x32)
Gillian Jennings
1- 8
1s & 3s set advancing to Balance in line, turn partner RH, face up
and cast off 1 place
9-16
1s & 3s set advancing to Balance in line, turn partner RH to face 1
st
corners
17-24
1s & 3s dance Corners Pass & Turn with 1
st
corners, and 2
nd
corners
25-32
1s & 3s dance RH across with couple to right, cross RH & cast off 1
place
For
Sally
McGurn
who
made
the
long
journey
from
Welshpool
on
the
five
o’clock
train
to
classes
in
Birmingham.
One of her favourite formations is corner pass and turn.
The
Shrewsbury
and
Welshpool
Railway
opened
on
27
January
1862
and
over
the
years
became
part
of
the
London
and
North
Western
Railway,
the
Cambrian Railways, and the Great Western Railway before nationalisation.
About
100
yards
north
of
the
station
were
exchange
sidings
with
the
narrow
gauge
Welshpool
and
Llanfair
Light
Railway
which
opened
for
freight
traffic
in
1903
and
closed
in
1956,
with
a
separate
station
serving
passenger
traffic
until
1931.
The
last
remains
of
this
station
and
the
site
of
the
railway were obliterated by the construction of the new A483 road.
After
some
severe
rationalisation
under
the
Beeching
Axe
in
the
1960s
and
development
of
the
A483
road,
there
arose
a
need
to
shift
the
railway
line
south.
To
enable
this,
in
the
1990s,
the
old
station
was
closed,
and
a
new
single
island
platform
constructed
south
of
it,
to
allow
realignment.
The
modern
station
is
reached
by
a
large
pedestrian
bridge
over
the
eastbound
railway
line
and
the
A483.
It
has
no
facilities
beyond
a
small
shelter
and
benches.
The
old
station
can
still
be
seen
across
the
road,
and
has
been
converted into a mill shop and cafe.
The
Welshpool
&
Llanfair
Light
Railway
was
one
of
the
few
narrow
gauge
branch
lines
to
be
built
under
the
provisions
of
the
1896
Light
Railways
Act
and
was
opened
on
4
April
1903.
The
line
is
built
through
difficult
country,
having
a
great
number
of
curves
in
order
to
reach
the
summit
of
600
ft,
and
was
never
profitable.
The
original
terminus
at
Welshpool
was
located
alongside
the
main
line
station
and
trains
wound
their
way
through
the
town,
using
the
locomotive bell as a warning.
After
closing
in
1956,
a
group
of
volunteers
and
enthusiasts
took
the
line
over
and
started
raising
money
to
restore
it.
On
6
April
1963
the
western
half
of
the
line,
from
Llanfair
Caereinion
to
Castle
Caereinion,
was
reopened
as
a
tourist
railway.
The
line
through
Welshpool,
however,
could
not
be
reopened,
so
the
line
now
has
a
new
terminus
station
at
Raven
Square
on
the
western
outskirts
of
the
town,
opened
on
18
July
1981.
There
are
current
discussions
about
reinstating
the
link
through
the
town
to
the
main
line
station,
following
a
different
route
from
that originally used.