to the south, or included through coaches for the extended routes. During the line's latter years excursion trains were seen, and in its final year the "Pines Express" between and used the line. Freight traffic was much more significant. Typically there were about twenty trains a day in each direction, of which two would be local goods, and the remainder would be through traffic, either non-stop over the line or stopping only at Market Drayton. Principally these carried manufactured goods from the Midlands to the Northwest, also fruit from the Worcester area. There was little coal and mineral traffic. Preservation/Future Use On New Year's Day 1992, The Market Drayton Railway Preservation Society (renamed Nantwich & Market Drayton Railway Society in 2010) was set up in order to preserve what remained of the old railway line between Nantwich and Market Drayton on the Cheshire–Shropshire Border. A new site would have to required for Market Drayton as the old site no longer exists now being a supermarket, while other parts of the line between Coxbank and Audlem have changed slightly since the line's heyday. As of April 2012 the society held meetings most months to provide talks about how a part of the line could be preserved. In 2017, the Shropshire Star released an article detailing calls by Owen Meredith who was a candidate for the constituency of Newcastle-Under-Lyme. He called for a feasibility study into reopening the entire line from Market Drayton to as far as Newcastle-Under-Lyme. He was quoted as saying "I want to see a feasibility study into re-opening the Market Drayton branch line or similar route to connect Newcastle with Stoke and HS2.“ This was further backed up by the MP for Stoudley near Market Drayton, Andrew Stanley, who was also quoted as saying "It would be better, and probably easier, to re-open the line through Audlem to Nantwich and on to Crewe to connect with HS2." In January 2019, Campaign for Better Transport released a report identifying the line between Stoke and Wellington which was listed as Priority 2 for reopening. Priority 2 is for those lines which require further development or a change in circumstances (such as housing developments). References External links The Gingerbread Line (Nantwich and Market Drayton Railway Society) Great Western Railway constituents Rail transport in Shropshire Rail transport in Cheshire Standard gauge railways in England 1860 establishments in England Railway companies established in