The Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen Railway was a standard gauge railway line that connected Corwen with Denbigh via Ruthin in North Wales. The line was promoted independently as part of rivalry between the London and North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway for access to Rhyl. It opened in stages from 1862 to 1865, and was worked by the LNWR, and vested in that company in 1879. The line was never busy, serving a rural community, and it was closed to passenger traffic in 1962, and completely in 1965. Conception The Chester and Holyhead Railway completed its main line in 1850, transforming the transport environment in North Wales; however its main focus at opening was the Irish Mail traffic rather than local traffic. It allied itself with routes to London via Crewe, and shortly merged with other lines to form the London and North Western Railway, in 1858. The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway had already opened in 1848; it was not aligned to larger lines at first, but in time it became aligned to the Great Western Railway, so that the two railways were in competition. Denbigh was an important regional centre, and in 1856 the Vale of Clwyd Railway was authorised by Parliament to build from Rhyl to Denbigh. Relations with the LNWR at Rhyl were not completely cordial. On 1 August 1859 the Vale of Llangollen Railway was authorised by Parliament, to build from a junction south of Ruabon, on the Shrewsbury and Chester line, now in the control of the Great Western Railway. This branch was definitely in the GWR camp, and the GWR was attracted by the possibility of reaching Rhyl. If the gap between Llangollen and Denbigh could be closed, the GWR would achieve its aim; the LNWR made efforts to frustrate that ambition. The following year two ostensibly independent lines were authorised, the Llangollen and Corwen Railway and, on 23 July 1860, the Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen Railway. Opening, in stages Raising the capital to construct the line proved difficult, and in the end the contractors David Davies and Thomas Savin formed a partnership and funded nearly all of the cost. The two men fell out and Davies severed his active involvements with the company, leaving Savin to control progress. He became the dominant force on the board. Part of the line opened, from Denbigh to Ruthin on 1 March 1862; there were