BACK TO THE BORDER

To the south of Wrexham General station was Croes Newydd loco shed, where 0-6-0PT 3709 is seen.

One of the ex GWR signal boxes, Croes Newydd North Fork, was still in use in 1985.

In the outskirts of Wrexham, Hanmers Coaches' depot is seen.

Leaving Wrexham behind, we veer in a south westerly direction (see the map here), to the village of Eyton. Here, in 2003, the Hay Bank Inn. I think it's since vanished.

Also at Eyton, Plassey Brewery (now called Magic Dragon Brewing).

Bersham Sidings signal box, GWR, on the Wrexham to Ruabon line.

Alongside the main line, NCB Peckett 0-4-0ST 1435 of 1937, shunts at Bersham Colliery in 1977.

Up in the valleys is Minera, where there were extensive mining activities.

The City Arms in Minera brewed its own beer back in 1986. The pub is now a private house.

The Kings Head at Bwlchgwyn was once a Hyde's Brewery pub. It's now a free house.

There was a maze of railways around Brymbo. Psssenger trains once served Brymbo GWR station, seen in 1962 (Ben Brooksbank - Creative Commons License).

Here, we're at Brymbo East, looking north in 1976.

A former Burtonwood pub, seen in the 1980s, the Black Lion at Brymbo has since been renamed Y Tai. It retains cask beer.

On the main route between Wrexham and Chester is Gresford Colliery, the scene of a disaster in September 1934.

The colliery has long gone and Gresford is now a pleasant rural village, with a cricket field, an ancient drinking fountain and a church (Creative Commons License).

Beside the church is the Griffin, a former Greenall's pub.

Sadly, the Yew Tree has since closed.

Onwards to Marford - a sad story; The Red Lion has no cask beer and the Trevor Arms has shut.

More bad news at nearby Rossett. The Butchers Arms has also gone.

Thankfully, the Golden Lion is still open and has a variety of real ales.

Within easy walking distance of the border with England, the Nags Head at Lavister was a Whitbread tied house. It's now free of tie and is called the Dog & Pickle.

That seems a good point to conclude this post. Back to England in the next one.


 

WREXHAM

As we head towards the main railway station in Wrexham, we happen across the former Wrexham, Mold and Connahs Quay Railway (later Great Central) in the Rhosddu area of town. 

Not far from Wrexham General station was the Crosville depot which, in 1985, contained some interesting vehicles.

GWR 0-6-0 no 2379 is seen at Wrexham General station.

In 1985, a DMU passes Wrexham General station, having just left Wrexham Exchange platform, on a Wrexham Central to Bidston service.

This is Wrexham Exchange station, adjacent to Wrexham General. 142 047 calls in 1987.

The line continues on to Wrexham Central station, seen below in LNER and BR days.

The artist JMW Turner once painted the town of Wrexham.

Some postcard views of the town, showing the Civic Hall and Lord Street.

Crosville was the main operator into the bus station in Wrexham.

Privatisation saw Crosville being split up and buses in Wrexham owned by Crosville Wales.

Crosville Wales was swallowed up by Arriva.

The buses of Midland Red North could also be found in Wrexham.

First Ysgol ran school buses in Wrexham back in the early 21st century.

The GWR ran buses out to nearby Brymbo.

Wrexham has long been known for its many independent bus companies. Let's have a look at some. First up, Bryn Melyn Motor Services from Llangollen.

A one bus operator was Challoner's.

D Jones & Son had a variety of buses.

E Jones & Sons (I've no idea if the two are related).

A lesser known independent was Dyma-Fo.

Edwards Coaches ran out towards the firm's home village of Bwlchgwyn.

GHA Coaches no longer exist.

Huxley's Coaches, based at Threapwood in Cheshire.

An excellent name for a Wrexham area bus company - John's Travel.

As we saw in the previous post, M. A. Evans ran an ancient fleet of old Bedfords on services within the town.

Pats Coaches were using this Dennis Dart in 2010.

Back in the mid 1970s, Phillips were running regular services into Wrexham.

Townlynx is a relatively new operator. This is the rebuilt bus station in 2010.

Wright's grew big after deregulation, but then went out of business. This Seddon was once the mainstay of operations.

To cope with expanded operations, Wrights bought loads of second-hand buses, including this ex Hyndburn Leyland Atlantean, pressed into service before repainting.

Other independents have included Williams and Vale of Llangollen.

Wrexham was once well known as a brewing town. By the church was Border Brewery, destined to be bought and closed by Marstons.

The Wrexham Lager Brewery succumbed to the might of Carlsberg-Tetley in the early 2000s. Here it is in 1985.

The Old Swan Brewery was once a fine old Border Ales pub, but no real ale these days.

The Elihu Yale is the town's Wetherspoons.

The Black Horse seems to have closed.

Wrexham is not a great place to drink cask beer these days. The Cross Foxes and the Railway Inn no longer sell it. 

The Oak Tree is long closed.

However, the Seven Stars has recently reopened as Saith Seren, a community owned Welsh Language pub.

Phew! That's all for Wrexham. Next time, a look at the industrial valleys around the town.