Cambrian Heritage Railway station manager Angie sets out future

Angie Sanderson is one of many (CHR) volunteers but the first woman to donned the station manager’s hat at the grand Oswald Road Grade II-listed building.

After a weekend and special service from Oswestry to Weston Wharf, near Stonehouse Brewery, was launched in 2022 to great support from Oswestrians, she says CHR is hoping for more of the same in 2023.

And Angie added that she is looking forward to seeing the current scaffolding around the building – which CHR says is helping with vital repairs – and for people coming into the town to see the railway at its best.

“This here is important to Oswestry because it is heritage,” she said.

“I’m very keen to keep a train and station here because there’s a great opportunity over the years to preserve the building.

Jenny Pickstock, Angie Sanderson, Tom Sanderson and Phil Ellson. (Image: Newsquest)

“We can make it more of a tourist attraction and progress further – whether we can catch up with the main line, we will wait to see.

“The track is there but there’s a maintenance and cost issue because we are a charity and rely on donations.

“We try to be as user-friendly as possible because we can.”

She added: “Shropshire Council has been very good to us – they are nice people to deal with and we’ve had no problem at all but I won’t be sorry to see the scaffolding go.

“The work is being done is important because this building is part of Oswestry as anything.

“When you drive in, you do see the scaffolding first but once that’s gone, you will see a beautiful building with the platform and the trains.

“If you look at old pictures and newspapers, you can see how good it was and there’s so much you can do.”

The CHR season runs from Easter to the end of autumn and for more, head to www.cambrianrailways.com

Angie hopes that with plans afoot to restore the railway to Oswestry, residents will remember that it once had a large working population on the trains.

And she hopes the work they do will spark interest and joy in young and old.

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She added: “There will be people in the town under the age of even 50 who won’t know that Oswestry was a railway town.

“We want to publicise ourselves as much as we can – we do events for school trips who come to spend a day on the train, plus private parties and events.

“It’s nice for young kids to come down as the trip down to Weston Wharf isn’t too far – most children have a shorter attention span.

“It’s enough for them to enjoy it but could also spark a future interest.

“It is a male-orientated railway but things are changing and I encourage all ladies to come and volunteer, whether it’s working outside gardening or doing track maintenance.

“Or they can help me sell tickets, help in the shop, or help the people who do the snacks, or even meeting and greeting if you don’t mind mixing with the public.”