Forming an independent group of similar investors, a Private Act of Parliament authorising the construction of the Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Chester Junction Railway passed in 1845. Initially the proposal was to build a completely new line from a junction south east of , it would cross the River Dee near Farndon completely by-passing the North Wales Mineral Railway between Wrexham and Chester. The route would then go through Overton-on-Dee across the Dee again near Chirk before reaching Oswestry and then heading to Shrewsbury. However, in July 1846, the North Wales Mineral Railway merged with the Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Chester Junction Railway to form the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway.