Ruabon Brook Tramway

[1] The area was rich in coal, clay and minerals, and this was part of an extensive network in the Ruabon, Minera and Brymbo areas.. Notice of an application to build the 'railway or road' from 'a certain brook near Ruabon' to the Ellesmere Canal was published in 1803 along with the application to feed the canal with water from the River Dee at Llantysilio.

From this it is clear that the tramway was horse-drawn throughout its life, on which basis the weight loading, signalling, clearances, and other factors would need to be upgraded before it could pass inspection as a railway.

At this time the ability to load rail wagons and send them anywhere in the country in a matter of days, meant the canals were in financial trouble.

The conversion of a tramway originally designed to feed the canal trade, to a railway connected to the rail network was very much a sign of the revolution in transport occurring at the time.

[4] Following the conversion, a portion of the tramway no longer used in Cefn-Mawr became a public nuisance due to rubbish, and was sold to the Wrexham and District Highways Board in January 1867 for £150 to become a road.