In addition to running narrow boats on the canals, they had a thriving business carrying goods across the River Mersey, between Liverpool, Ellesmere Port, and Birkenhead.

Government subsidies sustained them until 1920, but rising wage costs and the 8-hour day resulted in them ceasing to act as a carrier, and the LNWR bought the company in late 1922.

The Ellesmere Port to Autherley section and the branch to Middlewich remained open, and have since been named the Shropshire Union Canal.

Although they had already tried using a steam tug to haul a train of boats, they realised that not all of their canals were suitable for such use, and that a locomotive on a railway with good gradients offered a better solution.

[2] The committee met with the railway engineer Robert Stephenson on 24 July 1845, who suggested that various schemes should be joined together to avoid competition in Parliament.

The second would run from the North Staffordshire Railway at Stone or Norton Bridge to Stafford, continuing through Newport, Donnington and Wellington to Shrewsbury.

[4] The intent behind the acts was to build railways at a reduced cost, by using the existing routes of the canals the company owned.

The three companies would support the Shropshire Union, against the Grand Junction Railway, who were proposing an alternative route between Wolverhampton and Crewe.

[7] By the autumn of 1846, the LNWR had offered to lease the Shropshire Union, and the directors felt that a guaranteed income from a powerful company was probably better than most other options.

The arrangement of the lease was not fully completed until 25 March 1857, but the LNWR, struggling with their own success, persuaded the Shropshire Union not to build any more railways, in exchange for a commitment to servicing the canal debts.

The Shropshire Union thus lost its independence after a very short period, but continued to manage the canals under its control, and in this they had a remarkably free hand.

Instead, they obtained an Act of Parliament in 1857, which allowed them to buy the canal for £62,500, close the northern section from Wrockwardine Wood to the Windmill inclined plane, and build a railway line along its course.

[12] At that time, the Shropshire Union were busy converting and extending a tramway which ran from Pontcysyllte to Afon-eitha to allow locomotives to run on it.

[13] By 1869, the Shropshire Union had a thriving business carrying goods from a base at Chester Basin, Liverpool, across the River Mersey to Ellesmere Port and Birkenhead.

Under the terms of the lease with the LNWR, the company was limited in the types of goods they could carry, and although they made a healthy operating profit until the late 1860s, this did not cover the interest on debts or dividends.

The Shropshire Union spent £37,850 constructing a new quay next to the gates, 1,800 feet (550 m) long, and suitable for ships up to 4,000 tons.

While the ship canal was under construction, the Shropshire Union investigated the cost of upgrading their line from Ellesmere Port to Autherley to take larger barges.

Neither scheme came to fruition, but the Shropshire Union spent large amounts of money on building better wharves and warehouses at many of the Pottery towns.

[17] For the final 30 years of the 19th century, the Shropshire Union network had made a small operating surplus, although it did not cover dividends or interest in its debts.

Government subsidies propped up the operation when hostilities ceased, but wages had increased significantly, the eight-hour day had been extended to boatmen and rivermen, and raw materials were more expensive.

The Ellesmere Port facilities were leased to the Manchester Ship Canal, for a period of 50 years, while the Great Western Railway took over those at Liverpool.

The other main sources of water were the Belvide Reservoir, near the A5 road at Brewood, and the outflow from the Barnhurst Sewage Treatment Works at Autherley Junction.

Goods services ceased between Stafford and Newport on 1 August 1966 and this branch from Wellington was cut back to Donnington on 22 November 1969.

In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies, in its Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network report, which proposed a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe, including seven new parkway stations, identified the line from Stafford to Wellington as a potential link that could feasibly be re-opened.

[26][27] As of 2017, the main line from Ellesmere Port to Autherley and the branch to Middlewich are still open; they are known as the Shropshire Union Canal.

[32] The Welsh Government have announced the spending of Levelling Up Fund money on removing two dropped bridges west of Llanymynech and other works.

[34][35] A short section of the Shropshire Canal including the Hay Inclined Plane has been incorporated into the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.