The Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) of track over a large area of mid Wales.

This had been opened in 1816 as part of the Hay Railway, a tramroad worked by horses connecting the town of Hay-on-Wye with the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal at Brecon.

The building still stands today, although detached from modern network main railway lines, and was in use for commercial purposes until 2004.

After restoration in 2005, this building was reopened as the Cambrian Visitor Centre in June 2006; but on 11 January 2008 closed due to the terms of the lease not being settled.

It has since reopened and, amongst other things, is as of 2009[update] being used as the headquarters for the newly formed Cambrian Heritage Railways (CHR) restoration project.

The largest station premises on the line were at Aberystwyth (part of which has been restored and reopened as a J D Wetherspoon in the mid-2000s).

On vesting its headquarters in July 1865 in Oswestry, the company built the Cambrian railways works to the north of the station on Gobowen Road.

Built of local red brick and costing £28,000,[3] the locomotive erecting shop had a central traverser which was hand-operated, serving 12 roads on each side.

[4] Power to the machines was provided by a large steam engine via overhead shafting and belts.

After becoming part of the London Midland Region in 1963, the depot closed in January 1965, the works in early 1966.

An unidentified first class passenger body also stands on the Tanat Valley Light Railway.