The coming of the
railway to Presteigne
in 1875
connected the town with a great network of railways right across Britain,
and in particular improved communications with English towns and cities.
This did not really help travel westward into Wales though. 
Captain Otway of Presteigne, an important man in the town,
set up a coach service in 1876 to
maintain connections between Presteigne and the coast as they had been
at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign. (see
first page on
coaches).
