Forgotten Railways of the Midlands

[Steve K]

Forgotten Railways of the West Midlands (inc.Sutton C'field)

 

by Steve K

 

original page on Old RMweb

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:50 pm

 

OK, let's get one thing out of the way right off. This is never going to be the title of the new Indiana Jones film, and I'm not claiming to have discovered the Ark of the Covenant.

 

What I have found, however, is actually quite fascinating in its own small way. As anyone familiar with Birmingham's Cross-City line will know, Sutton Coldfield is a pleasant little town which is served by a station called, not too surprisingly, Sutton Coldfield. So far, so mundane, but there is also another railway line passing through Sutton, at roughly 90 degrees to the Cross-City, which cuts through Sutton Park and heads off in the general direction of Aldridge and Walsall. This lines serves only goods traffic nowadays, but I've always been vaguely aware that it once carried passengers, and that there used to be another station near the site of what is now a Royal Mail depot. I've recently been browsing on the excellent Rail Around Birmingham site, which includes a map and links to information about many long-abandoned lines and stations. Sure enough, this lists a Sutton Park station on the site in question, although unfortunately indicates that no station buildings remain.

 

However, I recently had to go to the Royal Mail depot to pick up a parcel, and after getting out of my car, noticed this (and I make the usual disclaimer about the quality of photos taken on my phone):

 

 

While waiting for the queue for parcels to go down a bit, I had a quick glance around the back of this building (which none of the RM employees in the area seemed to mind me doing), and by the side of the current rail lines (which you can just make out through the fence on the left) is a space which was clearly once a goods siding. If you look closely, you can still see the height gauge above the goods shed door (a parabolic curve just below the grey I-beam):

 

 

So, although there's nothing left to see of Sutton Park station itself any more (apart from a blocked-off road called Station Approach), there's definite evidence of goods activity. The website linked above seems to suggest that this goods shed is off-limits, but I was on the premises on Royal Mail business, and no-one raised any eyebrows at my photography, so I thought I'd share the results with you here.

 

But that's not all. Rail Round Birmingham mentions another station in Sutton Coldfield, so with an hour to kill the other evening, I decided to investigate for myself...

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:08 pm

 

I was intrigued to see mention, in addition to Sutton Park, of a Sutton Town station, which I'd never even heard of, despite living in the area all my life, so I just had to take a look. Sure enough, in Midland Drive, there is this office building, which has a definite station-y shape:

 

 

If further confirmation were needed, the brass plaque to the right of the door reads "Station House":

 

 

This building (naturally enough) backs onto the railway line, and is not much more than a quarter-mile from the site in the previous post. It seems that two stations on the same line within such a short distance was a bit too much, and so something had to give - this station, Sutton Town, was closed for business some time before the line itself stopped carrying passengers. Incidentally, if anything, the building looks even more stationlike when seen from the other end of Midland Drive:

 

 

Rail Around Birmingham's Sutton Town Station page contains photos very similar to mine, with the addition of one taken from the side of this building, and states "Above-right we have entered the car park of the building seen to the left of the station building in the previous shot to look at the track behind it: this is the best shot you can get of the station site" (My bold). That sounded distinctly like a challenge, so I headed back to the main road, crossed back over the railway, and decided to see what I could see...

[Steve K]

??? posted on Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:43 pm

 

Anyway, I parked up opposite the police station, because I'd noticed a path next to a railway bridge. It was a bit overgrown, to say the least, but while it didn't say "public footpath", I reckon there used to be a sign on the small post by the wall, and it didn't say "private - keep out" either. As it clearly didn't lead to anyone's house, I thought I'd have a peek:

 

 

Well, the path went on for some time, down past the sixth-form college, with the Sutton Park line running in a cutting to the right. After a few hundred yards, the path widened at a bridge, which was where the Cross-City line ran underneath. The path then became seriously brambly, with woods to the left, through which the ground could be seen to be sloping downwards. Finally, I reached the level of the tracks, and I was rewarded with this sight (I poked my camera through the substantial lineside fencing to get the best possible picture):

 

 

This is obviously the back of the "Station House" offices, and barring the lack of a platform, it doesn't take too much imagination to picture people waiting for the next train. So I'm happy to report that it is possible to get a different view of Sutton Town station than that shown on Rail Round Birmingham, if you're prepared to get friendly with nettles and various insects!

 

I continued to wrestle with the undergrowth, to try to get a picture of the station building from further along the line, but I was in for a huge surprise. As I drew level with the building opposite, I spotted something in the woods ahead...

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:48 pm

 

Naturally, there were hints of railway-related activity on my side of the tracks, such as this in the grass...

 

 

... and this bit of wooden fencing half-hidden in the undergrowth...

 

 

... but I wasn't expecting this:

 

 

Nothing I'd read had hinted at any other buildings on the opposite side of the rails to the station entrance, but perched as it was on a now fairly tall embankment, there wasn't really much doubt that I was standing on the site of another platform.

[Steve K]

__________________________________________

Comment posted by 10800 on Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:21 pm

 

I love stories like this!

 

According to Col. Cobb's railway atlas Sutton Coldfield Town was closed in 1924, and Sutton Park in 1965 (together with Penns to the SE and Streetly and Aldridge to the NW). This was originally a Midland Railway branch from Water Orton to Wolverhampton, with a colliery branch off at Aldridge, but now it just loops back at Walsall to Bescot. The existing Lichfield line is ex-LNWR.

 

More please!

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Andy Y on Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:31 pm

 

Excellent stuff Steve, I think the Sutton Park line is probably one of the most attractive lines in the West Mids, mostly because you can't see the West Mids from it.

 

For historical reference I can also recommend Mike Musson's Warwickshire Railways pages http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/sutton_town.htm and http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/suttonpark.htm

 

More recent commentary can be found here - http://loco-park.blogspot.com/ - our Phil is one of the contributors to the site.

 

Stepping back to 1980 Steve Jones documented disuse - http://www.electricnose.co.uk/gallery/suttonpark.html

 

A rather good plan for Sutton Park can be found here - http://bp1.blogger.com/_1gAO9VN4RMg/SHM ... N+1951.jpg

 

The Sutton Park station certainly had busier times with almost daily excursions from around the West Mids bringing local tourists out for the attractions. From B'ham City Council's pages:

The recreational use of Sutton Park began in the 19th century. There were two horse racing courses in the park. The first course was situated between Holly Knoll and the present day railway. A second, much larger, course was constructed near Westwood Coppice. Golf was introduced into Sutton Park by the Rector of Sutton Coldfield, the first nine hole golf course was built in 1880 around Meadow Platt and Holly Knoll.

 

When the railway to Sutton Coldfield opened in 1862, special excursion trains for trippers to the park ran practically every day. Activities for the daytrippers included boating on the pools, donkey rides, refreshment rooms and swimming facilities. In 1868, Job Cole laid out some pleasure gardens near Wyndley Gate which were extended with refreshment rooms and overnight accommodation. In 1878, Cole set up the Crystal Palace company which could accommodate up to 2000 people for exhibitions and events: the fun fair proved particularly popular.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Pete-Harvey on Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:47 pm

 

Thanks for posting the pictures Steve.

There are plans to re develop what is the postal section of the old Sutton Park Station but when that will happen is any ones guess all of the track plans and very detailed building drawings for all three of Sutton's stations are available to view at the main Library if you need them.

 

Pete

__________________________________________

Comment posted by F-UnitMad on Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:52 pm

 

Back in the Mid-80's Sutton Park Station buildings were still there (& platforms)... have they now gone? Also at that time the RM depot was rail-served... I knew that had been stopped some while ago, but I thought the whole place had closed/been levelled... nice to know how much is still there!!!

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Pete-Harvey on Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:59 pm

 

The platforms are there for Sutton Park station other than the goods shed the main station building are there but not in very good condition the goods shed is in the best condition at present.

 

Pete

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:41 pm

[Steve K]

Thanks for all the positive feedback, guys. There's a bit more to come, though - you didn't think I'd leave things there, did you? Having spotted the Eastbound waiting room, it would have been rude not to explore a little further...

 

Needless to say, with the current fencing and all the undergrowth, it was a little difficult to photograph the track-facing side of this building without a very wide-angled lens, but I did my best:

 

 

As you can see, most of the windows and doors are now blocked up. Most of them...

I said earlier that this building sits atop a fairly steep embankment, making photography of the back of it equally difficult, but not impossible:

 

 

Apart from the roof, most of the structure is in relatively good condition. Well, relative to a pile of rubble, at least. Graffiti and the usual detritus of a teenage hang-out testify to the fact that this building is known, if not generally, then at least to the local youth. The bottom of the embankment leads to the residential cul-de-sacs of Pages Close and South Drive. I'm not sure what sort of access to the site can be gained from these roads - I wasn't too confident of my ability to get back up the hill if I'd slipped down!

 

Back to the building, it's interesting to note that original tiles can still be found on the floor of the waiting rooms. Oops - now how did I find that out?

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:57 pm

 

OK guys, my final pair of photographs for this thread. As I said, most of the windows to this building were blocked up, but some kind hooligans had bashed themselves a couple of entrances, one of which was big enough for me to get through with minimal loss of dignity, and look what I found:

 

 

As you see, bits of the tiled floor and a couple of benches appear to be original, which is quite something for a station which apparently closed to passengers over 80 years ago. It was very hard to get an acceptable picture indoors with my phone (I've turned up the brightness quite a bit to emphasise the details of the roof), but I tried one final snap before I headed back to the car and civilisation:

 

 

It was quite a weird sense, being in this place that's been out of official use for so long. Quite eerie, in fact, and when the wind moved some branches across the roof, even though it was broad daylight outside, my heart skipped a beat. I came close to that sensation you get when you're alone in a dark wood, and you keep thinking that someone (or something) is right behind you. It was time to go, before I panicked and ran like a girl! I exagerrate, perhaps, but there was a distinct feeling of aloneness that threatened to turn into something nastier. Let's just say that, a least until the path widened, my journey back was somewhat quicker than my trip down.

 

All in all, though, I can heartily recommend looking this place up if you're in the area. I can't vouch for the ownership of the land, but I can say again that there are no "keep out" signs, and at all times, the railway itself is the other side of a fence, so there are no safety issues in that respect.

 

So that's Sutton Town station - another time, I might try to get permission to wander more freely over the Royal Mail site, to try and document Sutton Park station more fully, before there's nothing left. Seriously, if you live in the Midlands, have a look at http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk, and wonder at the number of interesting ex-stations on your doorstep.

[Steve K]

__________________________________________

Comment posted by mikeh on Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:17 pm

 

Fascinating thread Steve. I have spent a few hours on the old Sutton Park station photographing, particularly in the '80s when the sheer variety of traffic was fantastic.

 

The Sutton Park parcels ran into the late 80s. Here is a pic of 25059 taken in Feb1987:

 

 

The working was 0G20 1535 SX LD from Bescot HS arrive 1600 to work 3G20 1620 Sutton Park-Curzon St PCD. For years a Class 25 diagram, by 1987 it was booked a Bescot 31 and 25s were very rare indeed. The corresponding inward working in the morning was 3G18 0612 SX Curzon St PCD-Sutton Park arrive 0729 then LD to Saltley.

 

Regards

MikeH

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:41 pm

 

Thanks for sharing that great photo, Mike - it's fascinating to compare the view of the goods shed in my original post with your shot of it in use.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by big jim on Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:23 pm

 

Andy Y wrote:

Excellent stuff Steve, I think the Sutton Park line is probably one of the most attractive lines in the West Mids, mostly because you can't see the West Mids from it.

and one of the slippyest too, during leaf fall its a nightmare down there and theres no aws on the signals

 

its an incredibly spooky line at night too, very tall trees towering over the line

 

stevek: did you spot the marooned wagons next to the sorting office?, they have just cut the track round them and lifted it!!

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Phil on Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:57 pm

 

Another shot of the Sutton Park - Curzon St vans ;

 

http://phil-bartlett.fotopic.net/p12716114.html

 

This time at Ryecroft Jn - before it was decimated !!!

[Steve K]

??? posted on Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:29 pm

 

Well, in terms of "lost" railway rediscovery, I went from the sublime to the slightly ridiculous today. I work in Coleshill, where the railway station has recently reopened, under the name "Coleshill Parkway". This new station is a modern, not entirely unattractive concrete-y affair on the site of the former station. No evidence remains of this previous station, as far as I can tell, which was variously called Forge Mills or Coleshill. However, much like the stations in Suton Coldfield, I have discovered that Coleshill used to have an entirely different station, called "Maxstoke", which was situated, not entirely surprisingly, in Maxstoke Lane, which leads to the village of... well, you get the idea.

 

Having seen very old pictures on the net of the station and its adjacent level crossing, I thought I'd go and explore the site for myself. So it was this lunchtime that I found myself about 3/4 mile outside Coleshill parked at the entrance to a farm, whose drive (now I know what I'm looking for - I'd never had any inkling before) clearly follows the old trackbed Northwards from Maxstoke Lane. Standing in this farm entrance, and looking straight across the lane, this is the view:

 

 

Hard to picture this as the train's-eye view of a level crossing, I know, but crossing the stile, it was immediately apparent i'd come to the right place. The path extended in pretty much a straight line ahead, in a slight hollow just below the level of the fields on either side. It was difficult to get a picture in amongst the trees that showed anything but, well, lots of trees, but then I perceived that the raised ground to my left was very regular in shape. Not only that, but it had concrete edging! You can see the lip just above the discarded blue bag:

 

 

The other side of this raised area:

 

 

A platform! And lots of old bricks, too, evidence of some kind of long-demolished building. Nothing else remains, as far as I can see, certainly nothing that resembles an actual building. Maybe I'd got my hopes a bit high after "discovering" the other Sutton Town waiting room - I was half-hoping to find a carriage or two in the woods!

 

Never mind - as far as I'm concerned, that's another "lost" station bagged, and I thought I'd share it with you guys. I'm thinking of going after Whitacre and Kingsbury next, so watch this space!

[Steve K]

__________________________________________

Comment posted by 10800 on Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:05 pm

 

Thanks Steve . According to Cobb, Coleshill was closed to passengers in 1916 and was renamed Maxstoke as a goods station, itself closing in 1923. The line from Hampton in Arden to Whitacre was closed in sections from 1930, starting in the middle. The north section was completely closed from 1939, the south bit survived as far as Packington until 1965.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by F-UnitMad on Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:54 am

 

Steve, you'll be doing one of those "Past & Present" books next...!!!

 

BTW, re Sutton Park station, I never realised when I went there, (only when I saw pictures later) that the opposite platform to the Station Building one was at one time an island platform with a loop line along the back; you'd never guess from the state of it now...

__________________________________________

Comment posted by AndyK on Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:08 am

 

10800 wrote:

Thanks Steve

. According to Cobb, Coleshill was closed to passengers in 1916 and was renamed Maxstoke as a goods station, itself closing in 1923. The line from Hampton in Arden to Whitacre was closed in sections from 1930, starting in the middle. The north section was completely closed from 1939, the south bit survived as far as Packington until 1965.

I believe this was an important main line when it first opened, as it formed part of the principal route from London to the East Midlands

__________________________________________

Comment posted by dave47549 on Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:27 pm

 

Nice work Steve.

 

I'm familiar with both of the 'other' Sutton stations. I had a good mooch at Sutton Park in the early 90's, it was possible then to get into some parts of the station building, there was also an abandoned Grampus wagon there. I last visited it in 1999 with a friend who was showing me a 'short-cut' back from HobbyRail, this involved a hike up the opposite embankment & was about 3 times as long as the direct route....

 

The Sutton Town site is well known, this is on my 'authorized walking route' from Sutton centre to Hobbyrail

 

You mentioned the new station at Coleshill Parkway. Here's a view from April 2007, prior to opening:

 

 

Most of the station was up, the access road & bus drop-off points (forefront of pic) were still to be completed.

 

I too enjoy having a lineside mooch & walking old lines. Also worth a visit in the Midlands are:

 

1) Harborne branch. Not much in the way of recognisable relics, but between 1979-82, the stretch from Augustus Rd to Moor Pool Avenue was part of my convoluted route to & from Harborne Hill Comprehensive every day!

 

2) The 'old worse & worse' from WallHeath to Oxley. Very pleasant & quite a few recognisable features.

 

3) Studley & Astwood Bank. I used to work a stones throw from the station site ,buildings still intact & occupied then & i think now by Alleleys. Despite walking under the rail bridge on Green Lane every day, i never got round to investigating the track bed above, the nearest i got was a nearby footpath leading to Alexandra hospital.

 

Much looking forward to further updates on this thread, cheers

[Steve K]

Comment posted by pointstaken on Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:07 pm

 

This really is a fascinating thread. Thanks for all the photos and info. Look forward to seeing more when time affords.

The station plan in Andy's link looks quite adaptable for a country terminus or something on those lines.

 

Dennis

__________________________________________

Comment posted by big jim on Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:27 pm

 

i never realised until a few weeks back that there used to be a line from whitacre jn to hampton-in-arden until my route conductor told me..

 

when you drive from daw mill (furnace end) towards coleshill you go over a bit of a hump in the road which is where i think the line went under

 

fascinating area for lost lines

__________________________________________

Comment posted by dave47549 on Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:04 pm

 

big jim wrote:

i never realised until a few weeks back that there used to be a line from whitacre jn to hampton-in-arden until my route conductor told me..

 

when you drive from daw mill (furnace end) towards coleshill you go over a bit of a hump in the road which is where i think the line went under

 

fascinating area for lost lines

Using the OS link from the RMWeb 1km2 map game:

 

http://getamap.ordna...amap/frames.htm

 

Type in 'Shustoke'. The resulting map* shows Whitacre Jn to the north west. From there, you can clearly follow the route through to Hampton In Arden. Interestingly, the southern M6/M6 toll junction is right over the trackbed!

 

*For reference, Coleshill Parkway isn't shown on that map, but can be found at the intersection of gridlines 91 (horizontal) & 20 (vertical).

__________________________________________

Comment posted by big jim on Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:14 pm

 

not seen the os site before, intesesting to follow the old line from whitacre, the hump in the road is the old track bed going by the map

__________________________________________

Comment posted by mikeh on Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:23 pm

 

Anybody really interested in the Whitacre to Hampton line should try and get hold of "The Stonebridge Railway" by Roger Waring - ISBN 1 85858 045-5 published by Brewin Books in 1994. Has lots of fascinating pics, plans and details of the history of the line.

 

The station at Coleshill was renamed Maxstoke on 9th July 1923 and the erstwhile Forge Mills on the Water Orton-Whitacre line became Coleshill from that date. Coleshill/Maxstoke had a single platform and a siding controlled from a ground frame released by an Annett's Key on the train staff. Passenger trains ceased on 31st December 1916. Through freight finished on 24th April 1930 and the line closed south of Maxstoke, then goods from Maxstoke ceased on 1st May 1939. During the war the line was used to load sand from Packington for use in aerodrome construction and also to stable ammunition trains away from the Birmingham area. After the war redundant wagons were stored in some numbers. Track was finally lifted in 1951/52. Maxstoke station was finally demolished in 1962.

 

I do like this thread!

 

Regards

MikeH

__________________________________________

[Steve K]

Forgotten Railways of the West Midlands (inc.Sutton C'field)

 

by Steve K

 

original page on Old RMweb

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:00 pm

 

mikeh wrote:

The station at Coleshill was renamed Maxstoke on 9th July 1923 and the erstwhile Forge Mills on the Water Orton-Whitacre line became Coleshill from that date. Coleshill/Maxstoke had a single platform and a siding controlled from a ground frame released by an Annett's Key on the train staff. Passenger trains ceased on 31st December 1916. Through freight finished on 24th April 1930 and the line closed south of Maxstoke, then goods from Maxstoke ceased on 1st May 1939. During the war the line was used to load sand from Packington for use in aerodrome construction and also to stable ammunition trains away from the Birmingham area. After the war redundant wagons were stored in some numbers. Track was finally lifted in 1951/52. Maxstoke station was finally demolished in 1962.

 

I do like this thread!

Thanks for that summary, Mike (and for the nice comment at the end!).

 

I popped back to the site of the station at Maxstoke yesterday, but parked a little further down the road, to see if anything remains of the opposite end of the station to the old level crossing. There's a public footpath which crosses the line less than 400yds from my previous shots, so I went for a wander. Rather than cross the line level with the trackbed, I was surprised to find that the path went over a bridge. There was a small steep track just accessible through the undergrowth, so I descended carefully...

 

Well, a quick walk up and down the cutting revealed absolutely nothing more of the station than I'd already seen, but the bridge itself (which would have been very close to the station, and that's all the excuse I need for including it here!) was quite picturesque:

 

 

 

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:55 pm

 

Before I head off to explore more "lost" stations, today I revisited the scene of my very first post in this thread, Sutton Park station. I was intrigued by the suggestion from some posters, including F-Unit and Pete H, that the platforms and station building may still remain. Indeed, if you look at Sutton Coldfield on your well-thumbed A-Z of Birmingham (or other map of your choice), you will see a road called Station Approach, just off Upper Clifton Road. However, this road is no longer accessible to the public...

 

 

... so a rather more lateral approach is required. I grudgingly stuck 40p in machine at the Anchorage Road Pay & Display car park (just as well, because a moped-mounted Traffic Warden was checking tickets when I returned), crossed the road, and much as I'd done when looking for Sutton Town station, set off down a slightly overgrown unmarked path which started at the side of the road overbridge, and which descended, with the backs of gardens high above to the left, down towards track level.

 

After 300-400 yards, the path emerged into a clearing. I'd reached the station! Well, kind of. What I'd actually reached was a small logging/building site - lots of large lumps of wood lying around, 3 or 4 big yellow diggers, a few portakabins and a van. Aware that I didn't want to be accused of tresspassing, I proceeded slowly, calling out at regular intervals to make my presence known, but there was no need - there was no-one around. I didn't feel I should hang about, all the same, but a quick glance around showed that there was no sign of a station building or platform on this side (SW) of the tracks. To my left, a muddy road led back to the gates in the photo above. There seemed little to be gained by taking too many photographs of a pile of logs on what was, in any case, private property.

 

The other side of the rails was a bit more encouraging, however, so I stuck my camera through the fencing, and snatched this last shot:

 

 

Yay! It's a platform, or what's left of one. Confirmation, at least, if any were needed, that I was on the right spot. I'd been here for no more than 30 seconds when a Freightliner 66 (66507?) came out of the park and passed by with a smart line of hoppers behind. I raised my hand to the driver as he went past, and then turned and trudged back up the path towards my car. If you were that driver, it was me!

 

So that's it for Sutton Park station, really. No sign of waiting room or ticket office at all. As I mentioned before, the Royal Mail own most of the site now. Some of their buildings may have originally had some rail-related use, but apart from the goods shed shown before, none are particularly distinctive. For those of you who live in the area, you may notice that some maps show a path leading from Mulroy Road and/or Midland Road back towards this site, but on the other side of the rails. Your map may even show a path crossing the rails. I had a quick mooch to see what was what, and was rewarded by nothing more exciting than a view of the rail-side of the goods shed through the trees. The path itself seems to gradually veer away from the lines, and I stopped following it when it seemed more and more to be passing through people's back gardens.

 

Of course, if any of you are more adventurous than me, I'd love to see your own recent pictures of any of the stations I've sought out so far, or indeed any "forgotten" stations of the Midlands or elsewhere!

[Steve K]

Comment posted by mikeh on Sat Jul 19, 2008 5:34 pm

 

Well there's a challenge Steve...

 

How about this shot of 37198 running through Sutton Park station in July 1991 with 6T50, the 1105 Bescot Down Sdgs-Washwood Heath Up Sdgs trip.

 

 

The station buildings had been used by a coal merchant but I think were empty and starting to get derelict by the time this was taken. Pallisade fencing had yet to come!

 

Regards

MikeH

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Sat Jul 19, 2008 5:50 pm

 

Thanks Mike! I reckon that my last photo was taken from very close to the corner of the fence in your picture, so I can confirm that no trace remains today of the station building at the left of your shot. Any advance on 1991 for when this building still stood, anyone?

__________________________________________

Comment posted by F-UnitMad on Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:05 pm

 

SteveK wrote:

Any advance on 1991 for when this building still stood, anyone?

Can't help there... it was the mid-'80s when I last had a nose around down there; I don't think there was even any fencing between the building and the track. At the far end was a very small bay platform (ie beyond the far end of the buildings as shown above) that IIRC was fed from the Parcels Depot/Goods Shed loop. It was only short, doubt it was ever used by passenger trains.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by rugd1022 on Sun Jul 20, 2008 5:06 pm

 

Excellent stuff Steve' date=' I think the Sutton Park line is probably one of the most attractive lines in the West Mids, mostly because you can't see the West Mids from it. [img']http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif[/img]

 

Nice one Andy, that made me chuckle . I took a light engine over the Park a couple of weeks ago, my favourite stretch is the long tree lined straight at Streetly as you head up towards Aldridge, in daylight with the sun dappling through the trees its a very pleasant place to be but at night with just the locos lights in its quite spooky!

 

I've just got back online after having no net connection for two months - its nice to catch up on RMweb again

 

Cheers,

Nidge

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Phil on Sun Jul 20, 2008 5:46 pm

 

rugd1022 wrote:

 

(snip)

 

I took a light engine over the Park a couple of weeks ago, my favourite stretch is the long tree lined straight at Streetly as you head up towards Aldridge, in daylight with the sun dappling through the trees its a very pleasant place to be but at night with just the locos lights in its quite spooky!

 

I've just got back online after having no net connection for two months - its nice to catch up on RMweb again

 

Cheers,

Nidge

I was only thinking yesterday Nidge that I hadn't sen any postings from you for a while - You OK ? Are you coming to Chasewater ? - not a million miles from Sutton Park, and desperately trying to get this thread back on topic !!!!

__________________________________________

Comment posted by rugd1022 on Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:06 pm

 

Phil wrote:

rugd1022 wrote:

 

(snip)

 

Nidge

I was only thinking yesterday Nidge that I hadn't sen any postings from you for a while - You OK ? Are you coming to Chasewater ? - not a million miles from Sutton Park, and desperately trying to get this thread back on topic !!!!

Hi Phil, fine thanks mate, feels like I've been 'away' much longer than that. Chasewater . . . . more info please!

 

Going off topic for a second, though not a million miles off it - I actually worked a loaded stone train through New St last week which felt distinctly odd . . . didn't think I'd make it out of the dip at the south end for a brief moment until the momentum of the wagons pushed me all the way up to Proof House and down onto the Derby line at Landor St Jcn

[Steve K]

Well, since we're all no doubt in a Chasewater-y kind of mood, I thought I'd turn my attention (and this thread) towards some of the disused lines in that area. A couple of miles from Chasewater, heading towards Lichfield, lies the village of Hammerwich. It's been many years since any trains stopped there, but local maps show a railway line and a Station Road, so that would seem to be a good place to start looking...

 

Station Road, Hammerwich, is a very short lane, and a Cul-De-Sac to boot, but there's enough room to park at the end. And you'd want to park, too, when there's a railway footbridge at the end of the road! The bridge, I found, is still intact, although the steps at either end have been turned around to lead a footpath over the line, rather than to get from one platform to another. A path to the side of the bridge leads straight onto the rails. I investigated, and decided that, on balance, I was not endangering my life or anyone else's if I stepped onto the tracks:

 

 

I think it's safe to say that no trains have passed this way, never mind stopped, for quite some time. A bit of a wander revealed the other side of this bridge was where the station itself had been based, although of the platforms themselves, there was no sign. This is the view looking from the station site back towards Brownhills:

 

 

I climbed up onto the bridge, and standing on the right-hand parapet as seen above, I took another snap looking back across the rails towards the spot from where I'd taken the previous photograph. It seems very likely that the white house (the very last house in Station Road) is actually the station building, now extended as a private home.

 

 

 

So, where next? Do I head Southwest to Brownhills, or investigate the line the other way, back towards Lichfield?

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:17 pm

 

Well, to answer my own question, I first took the short trip to Brownhills, where the course of the old railway line passes beneath a roundabout which is now notable for a giant (and I do mean giant - it's flippin' huge!) metal sculpture of a miner in the middle of it. I say the course of the railway, as the tracks themselves now peter out just around where the line crosses the A5.

 

The station itself used to stand on the South side of where this roundabout now is, so I parked in the drive leading to some superstores, and had a poke around. A path led through some trees into a grotty cutting, for which the word "fetid" (and some rather less polite ones) could have been invented. Using some old tyres as stepping stones to cross the mire, I fired off one quick shot before returning to the car, not wasting too much time in battling with the uninviting undergrowth:

 

 

What do you think - a platform edge? Myself, I wouldn't like to say. The tops of the bricks are perhaps a little too rounded. From the lie of the land, it was pretty clear I was standing on the track-bed, but beyond that, it was nigh-on impossible to spot anything that shouted "station". I mean, where's Swampy when you need him? If anyone braver than me (and with a better constitution/stomach) wants to crawl around in the mud, and rediscover Brownhills station, then be my guest! It's maybe one to retry in winter, when the ground is frozen and the trees a bit thinner.

 

Seriously, it's another of those sites where there's something there, but I'm not sure how rewarding a proper exploration would be. Let's just say I'm glad I went, but I may not be hurrying back!

 

Anyway, there was still the other direction to explore, back towards Lichfield. Whilst chatting to Andy at the Chasewater do, he mentioned something about an old signal box in the area...

[Steve K]

??? posted on Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:35 pm

 

Leaving Chasewater yesterday afternoon, I cut along the lanes, back through Hammerwich, trying to keep as close to the railway line as possible. I turned off the A461 towards Wall, and after forking right at the first junction, presently came to a bridge. Looking over the parapet roughly Westwards (back the way I'd come), the now-abandoned railway line looked quite idyllic in the late afternoon sun.

 

 

The view the other way, towards Lichfield, was not as immediately arresting (which is my way of saying you'll get no picture of it here), but about a half-mile away, I could see a boxy building next to the line, so I retraced my journey back to the last junction and took what would previously have been the left-hand fork (but which from my direction required a three-point turn to get around).

 

I very soon arrived at a level crossing, where the modern lights and warning signs gave every indication of a line still in use.

 

 

However, a closer look at the rails, and the adjacent signal box, told a rather different tale.

 

 

All very picturesque, but rather sad and neglected at the same time. It's a shame to think that none of this will probably be around for much longer, and indeed, it's some sort of minor miracle that any sign of the box and the crossing still remain at all, so many years after the last train ran. Within a mile of the shot above, the line reaches the Southern portion of Lichfield (and relative civilisation, from a train point of view), where a bridge takes it over the A5127, with no obvious indication to the casual viewer that the line is disused.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Andy Y on Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:51 pm

 

As a comparison I took a shot of the box in March 2007 as I thought it wouldn't be long for this world and there's already been quite a bit more vegetation spring up!

 

 

And a view back toward Brownhills.

 

 

The line was still in use down to Anglesey Sidings until 2001.

[Steve K]

Comment posted by Pugsley on Mon Jul 28, 2008 5:38 pm

 

Fascinating If only I'd known it was there, I'd have gone for a quick grice after the members day!

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Phil on Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:59 pm

 

An interesting and nostalgic thread this one - but it don't half make you feel old !!!

 

The last passenger train I rode on over that route (South Staffs) was a footex when Walsall beat Rotherham in the Milk cup in 1984 (I think)

The loco was 45065 which had been languishing on our shed for a couple of weeks, with a set of Mk1s from Oxley crewed entirely by Bescot men. There was also a DMU relief but I don't know anymore than that.

 

Went over the road several times on freights - we used to have 8D04 2030 Bescot - Toton which was booked a pair of choppers, returning on (I think) 8G79 Toton - Bescot. The return train was usually quite heavy with a load of steel for the West Midlands industry and I recall the first trip over there we were rolling through Lichfield when our loco shut down. We just kept going with the other 20 doing all the work - very nice thrash !!!

 

Happy memories

__________________________________________

Comment posted by jjb on Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:38 am

 

AndyK wrote:

10800 wrote:

Thanks Steve

. According to Cobb, Coleshill was closed to passengers in 1916 and was renamed Maxstoke as a goods station, itself closing in 1923. The line from Hampton in Arden to Whitacre was closed in sections from 1930, starting in the middle. The north section was completely closed from 1939, the south bit survived as far as Packington until 1965.

I believe this was an important main line when it first opened, as it formed part of the principal route from London to the East Midlands

Sorry to come in so late. The line has a particular interest for me. Yes it was one of the first in to Birmingham (and one of the first to be closed) It was the original line opened in 1839 by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway to join the London and Birmingham at Hampton in Arden. As such it linked up with the North Midland Railway at Derby's Tri Junct station for travel between York and London. Along with the Midland Counties Railway the three amalgamated to form the Midland Railway. However there was so much aggro with the L&B sharing its line into Curzon Street that the B&DJR built a new station at Lawley Street and the bit of line fell into disuse.

[Steve K]

Well, I've been at it again, but the job of uncovering railway gems in the Midlands is becoming harder and more frustrating. I do have something to show for my recent efforts, but I'll come to that later. First let me tell you about my frustrations...

 

I had to pop into Birmingham today, so I went to have a look for the site of Granville Street station. Never heard of it? Well, no, neither had I until quite recently, but there you go. This was a station which was situated near to Broad Street and Gas Street, near the centre of Birmingham, in fact barely out of the tunnels which take you to the current Five Ways station. The line on which Granville Street stood in fact ran next to, and parallel to, the current Cross-City line. A tunnel from Granville Street led to the Central Goods station, of which I understand no sign now remains.

 

Anyway, that's my waffling introduction, but you will find better accounts of the history of this station elsewhere, and what you want to see is my evidence of what remains. I hope you do, anyway!

 

I parked my car in Granville Street itself - there were 3 or 4 meter-controlled spaces right on top of a likely looking bridge, and it was only going to cost me 50p for 1 hour, which is virtually unheard-of in Birmingham, so I thought my luck was in. Going from an old map, I knew that Granville Street station had been on the South-West side of the road itself, and sandwiched between the current railway line and the canal. 20 yards from my car, a path led down to the canal, so that's where I went.

 

As soon as I descended the first couple of steps, I knew I'd come to the right place. Down to my right, I could see a railway cutting, invisible from the road, with an overgrown trackbed leading into a tunnel. I'd seen tantalising photos of the site on the web, but it was exciting to be this close! Sadly, short of leaping from the steps which led to the canal, there was no access from this point. Fairly new spiked metal fencing separated the towpath from the greenery which descended into the railway cutting. Not to be daunted, I followed the towpath, firstly back under Granville Street itself, which led me nowhere except to Gas Street Basin, and then the other way, out of town.

 

The metal railing did its job admirably, without a break through which even a thin railway enthusiast could accidentally wander. Drinks cans and other assorted detritus on the other side of the fence attested to the fact that people did get to the other side, but frankly, I was as worried about getting back as much as, maybe more, than I was about getting over in the first place! Continuing along the towpath, the fence to my right gave way to a high brick way, which was just as much an obstacle. After perhaps a quarter of a mile, I came to another road overbridge with steps leading up. Halfway up these steps, I once again had a good look at the cutting below. At this point, it was wide and clear, with tyre marks indicating that road vehicles, perhaps vans or small lorries, had used it recently. Unfortunately, I also got a clear view of metal gates under the bridge, make to the same uninviting standards as the fencing I'd seen earlier. I'd drawn another blank.

 

Arriving at the top of the steps, I turned right, and then right again, walking back the way I'd come, but this time on the other side of the rails. Various industrial units and fenced-off building sites stopped me getting close enough to the rails to see anything except the top of a distant wall, and soon enough, I reached the corner of Granville Street without having once got a photographable view of the eponymous station. Pictures on http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/ give a good idea of what is to be seen, but the photographer must have visited before a lot of the current building sites and/or fences were there - either that, or he took his own ladders with him!

 

Me, I'm going to have to write off Granville Street station as a visitable site, unless I can get friendly with whoever owns the gates up the way. It's a shame, because I really wanted to investigate the tunnels...

__________________________________________

Comment posted by jeff mcghie on Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:21 pm

 

There is (or was when I worked there) an access point along the route of the old line.

 

2 ways in that I knew off, no idea how practical they are nowadays.

 

The 'way in' was down a narrow lane beside Stanier house (as was, the Axis now) off Holiday street itself although I understand there's been a lot of building work (new hotel) going on so don't know what happened to it. I seem to remember thou that there was a gate at the tunnel mouth.

 

From the other end, if you climb up the grassy banking behind five ways station (the out of town platform) this leads onto the old formation and you could, in theory, walk back along the formation towards town.

 

HTH

 

Jeff.

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:26 pm

 

That was a quick reply to a long-winded post, Jeff!

 

I think the second option might be a no-no because of the gate I saw under the second bridge, and I certainly didn't even see a narrow path that looked even vaguely promising, but I might take anothe peek when I'm in the area, just in case.

 

Anyway, for my next post, I do have some pictures of a "lost" station to make up for my excessive verbiage above...

__________________________________________

Comment posted by jeff mcghie on Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:37 pm

 

Steve,

 

A quick look in flashearth throws up this :-

 

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=52.476479&lon=-1.905593&z=17.8&r=0&src=msl

The tarmac road that leads round the triangular building (the new hotel?) and then disappears under bridge street is the start of the access road I remember.

 

At the other end,

 

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=52.470716&lon=-1.912241&z=17.8&r=0&src=msl

 

The light coloured strip on the South side of Five Ways station is where the above access road ends up,

 

HTH

Jeff.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Phil on Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:50 pm

 

Interesting one this Steve and Jeff.

 

We moved into floor 11 of the Mailbox in March, and one of the first items of interest pointed out to me from the northerly facing windows was a tunnel mouth for the Central goods branch. The branch appears to have run under the canal arm, the canal is on a N-S axis from Brindley Place, under a road, then pops out between us and a new block of luxury flats opposite.

 

This landmark was pointed out to me by a colleague who walked the route many years ago when he was a guard

 

I'll take my camera to work next time and try and get a pic of it.

 

To be honest Steve, you lost me with your description, me not being a brummay and all that

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:28 am

 

Phil wrote:

To be honest Steve, you lost me with your description, me not being a brummay and all that

I wasn't expecting anyone to follow my words without the aid of a map!

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:55 am

 

jeff mcghie wrote:

Steve,

 

A quick look in flashearth throws up this :-

 

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=52.476479&lon=-1.905593&z=17.8&r=0&src=msl

The tarmac road that leads round the triangular building (the new hotel?) and then disappears under bridge street is the start of the access road I remember.

I've had a better look at that link, Jeff - I take it the road you mean is the one that heads SW from the "Y" of "Holliday Street"? If so, I think the triangular building (really an "L" with an "I" leaning casually against it!) is the site of Central Goods. TBH, it didn't even occur to me to look for the other end of the tunnel, but I'll definitely take a look when I'm next in the area.

 

That's a good map in your link, actually. With reference to my main post above, I parked at about the "V" of "Granville Street", and walked SW along the canal to the next bridge. The gates I saw blocking the trackbed were under the junction of Bath Row and Bishopsgate Street, and I returned to the car along communication Row and the Southern portion of Holliday Street.

[Steve K]

??? posted on Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:16 pm

 

Anyhow, I earlier promised something more visually exciting than my huge waffle above, so it's time to return to my roots (at least as far as this thread is concerned), and show some pictures of a long-gone station in the Sutton Coldfield area. The Sutton Park line, as it always seems to be known, heads out of Sutton in a SE direction, towards the suburb of Walmley. Where it crosses beneath Penns Lane, there used to be a small station serving the local area. No station buildings now remain, and what used to be the entrance is now a car park for a church centre. However, if you stand on the Penns Lane bridge, and look NW, it is still possible to make out the remains of a platform on the right-hand side:

 

 

There's very little left, to be sure, but the shape of the stonework is still recognisable. The aforementioned church car park is through the trees to the right of the above photograph. The bridge in the background carries a pathway which leads from the nearby Penns Lake Road towards some open parkland, and from that direction, too, it's not too hard to picture a small halt on the left as the rail curves around:

 

 

Actually, the footbridge over Penns Lake Road is quite interesting, because it's not what it first seems. Looking back along it, there is the usual stone bridge parapet on one side, but metal railings on the other.

 

 

Clambering onto the parapet (at its end, not over the railway, I hasten to add!), and looking over the railings, another stone wall is visible through the undergrowth.

 

 

Without poring over old maps, it's my guess that Penns Lake Road once continued, and carried traffic, over this bridge, though quite where it led, I have no idea. As things stand, this is a fairly substantial railway bridge of which most people are entirely unaware.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Phil on Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:22 pm

 

jeff mcghie wrote:

Steve,

 

A quick look in flashearth throws up this :-

 

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=52.476479&lon=-1.905593&z=17.8&r=0&src=msl

The tarmac road that leads round the triangular building (the new hotel?) and then disappears under bridge street is the start of the access road I remember.

I've had a better look at that link, Jeff - I take it the road you mean is the one that heads SW from the "Y" of "Holliday Street"? If so, I think the triangular building (really an "L" with an "I" leaning casually against it!) is the site of Central Goods. TBH, it didn't even occur to me to look for the other end of the tunnel, but I'll definitely take a look when I'm next in the area.

 

SteveK wrote:

That's a good map in your link, actually. With reference to my main post above, I parked at about the "V" of "Granville Street", and walked SW along the canal to the next bridge. The gates I saw blocking the trackbed were under the junction of Bath Row and Bishopsgate Street, and I returned to the car along communication Row and the Southern portion of Holliday Street.

Hi both

Had a look at the link to Jeff's map.

 

The tunnel mouth I am referring to is where the railway popped out from under Bridge St.

 

In the middle of Bridge St, more or less where the word "Bridge" appears on the map, is the tunnel mouth. The track bed has however been built on by those three rectangular bulidngs you can see, and I am guessing Central Goods was in that area which is showing quite green on the map.

__________________________________________

[Steve K]

Right, I think that's clear - it's the road that goes around two sides of the triangle I need to look at. Thanks, chaps!

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:29 pm

 

Right, I had to pop into Brum again today, so guess where I went? Yep, back to Granville Street to follow the clues left by Jeff & Phil.

 

Standing on Bridge Street (which is now mainly a private road, but gives good views across Holliday Street), you can see an opening where the line which enters the tunnel at Granville Street itself briefly emerges into daylight in front of a "NiteNite" hotel, before plunging once more into Stygian gloom:

 

 

 

Sadly, as far as this thread is concerned, these pictures are something of a red herring. The line in this rectangular cutting is, of course, the Cross-City line, where trains from Five Ways see their last bit of natural light before New Street, a few hundred yards to the North-East. The line from Granville Street to Central Goods actually forked off the line above, and emerged from its tunnel the other side of the new hotel, as Jeff described earlier. It no longer carries any railway features, but the line pretty much followed the hotel's rear service drive, and the building seen on the right below, I'm sure, is the one that occupies the former site of Birmingham Central Goods:

 

 

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty. Walking behind the NiteNite Hotel, and standing next to the nearest car in the photo above, I took another picture.

Jeff McGhie wrote:

The tarmac road that leads round the triangular building (the new hotel?) and then disappears under bridge street is the start of the access road I remember

Is this the access road you mean, Jeff?

 

 

Some selfish swine has decided to end that access! Still, this is confirmation, if needed, that I was fishing in the right area. Sticking my phone into the gap between the yellow gates, I snapped off another picture:

 

 

Granville Street station is, quite literally, the light at the end of the tunnel, but without trespass and/or criminal damage, there's no way I, or anyone else, will reach it from the Bridge Street end. However, I must repeat my hearty thanks to Jeff and to Phil, who have been most forthcoming with hints and clues to enable me to get as far as I have. Thanks, guys.

[Steve K]

Comment posted by Phil on Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:12 pm

 

Not at all Steve

 

Just nice to see that tunnel mouth from zero feet rather than the eleventh floor to your left !!!!

__________________________________________

Comment posted by jeff mcghie on Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:43 pm

 

SteveK wrote:

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty. Walking behind the NiteNite Hotel, and standing next to the nearest car in the photo above, I took another picture.

Jeff McGhie wrote:

The tarmac road that leads round the triangular building (the new hotel?) and then disappears under bridge street is the start of the access road I remember

Is this the access road you mean, Jeff?

Thats the one. Its the only (easy) vehicle access between New Street and Five Ways so is fairly regularly used by railway bods.

 

I was pretty sure that it used to have just a mesh gate back in the day. I don;t recall anything blocking access at the five ways end thou.

 

Jeff.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by P4 on Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:58 am

 

This is what you need:

 

 

(The 1917 County Series 1:2500 map)

[Steve K]

Nice one, Alan! So the goods depot covered what is now the Mailbox and the NiteNite hotel.

 

jeff mcghie wrote:

I don't recall anything blocking access at the five ways end though.

 

Well, Jeff, funny you should say that, but I took some more pictures the other day, but didn't have time to post them...

 

Above is the view looking towards Granville Street if you stand on the bridge opposite Five Ways station. The old trackbed runs next to the canal, and now encounters some very solid gates as it passes beneath Bishopsgate Street. The barrier can be seen much more clearly from canalside:

 

I wonder what persuaded the Powers That Be to close off this access? Probably the hordes of railway historians legging it over the banking at the back of Five Ways!

 

For those of you who aren't familiar with the area, if you stand on the dual carriageway on the same side of the road as Five Ways station, and look over the bridge in the opposite direction to the two pictures above, then the view is, from an historical point of view, quite interesting.

 

To the left, obviously, is the canal. In the middle, you see the old line which terminated (a half-mile behind the camera) at Central Goods, and on the right, equally obviously, is the current passenger line to Longbridge and all parts South. The two lines, old and new, converged at just about the point where they pass beneath the next bridge. The slightly odd thing is that the old line is only tarmac-ed in the short section shown in the two earlier photographs. I'm not sure why that should be, as the only vehicular access I saw was via the locked yellow gates shown earlier. Very odd!

__________________________________________

Comment posted by jeff mcghie on Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:29 pm

 

SteveK wrote:

The slightly odd thing is that the old line is only tarmac-ed in the short section shown in the two earlier photographs. I'm not sure why that should be, as the only vehicular access I saw was via the locked yellow gates shown earlier. Very odd!

ahh, those flats (?) are new. I suspect that the errecting of the fence and gate, along with the tarmacing were part of the deal to build them. Possibly there is access required on occasion to the rear of the flats?

 

Jeff.

[Steve K]

</FONT>??? posted on Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:30 pm

 

In order to take those last few pictures, I had parked just around the corner from Five Ways Station. As I was getting back into the car, I recalled reading about another former station, a mile or two out of town from Five Ways, and decided to take a look, while I was in the area.

 

I drove to Somerset Road, which is only a few hundred yards from the modern University Station (and which was my destination every school day, back in the 80s), and parked on the overbridge in a quiet, but well-to-do, residential area.

 

Immediately I could see a small, but tangible, sign, that there had once been more to this place than merely a bridge.

 

Some mis-matched red bricks and an odd 6-foot stretch of wall told their story. This would once have been the entrance to Somerset Road Station, the top of a staircase leading down to railside. The section of bridge to the right of the entrance is the part of the bridge which goes over the canal, a feature which adjoins the line pretty much all the way from Central Goods to University. On my side of this bridge was a gap in the wall, and a set of steps leading canal-side, so I descended and crossed back under the bridge to see what I could see...

 

Sadly, the answer was a big "nothing much". On another site, I've seen a photo of this rail bridge which shows discolouring on the brickwork from where the steps to the station, and the passenger footbridge to the opposite platform, once attached. All I can say in my defence is that the photo in question must have been taken in winter, when the vegetation was a bit less lush, as there was absolutely nothing to be seen the other day. On top of that, peering through the canalside fencing, there wasn't any sign of a platform either. A small pile of old red bricks which may once have been part of something lay on the opposite embankment, but that was about it.

 

Heck, it was raining, and I was getting fed up. Hearing an approaching train, I managed to ignore the weather for a few more seconds, and I held my phone as high above the railings as I could, and fired off a quick snap. I could claim it was for posterity, but really, it was just out of bloody-mindedness. I was standing in the rain, and it would have been even more pointless not to take a picture of a non-existent station.

 

 

It's a bridge! Woo-hoo! Can I go home and get dry now?

[Steve K]

Comment posted by Phil on Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:24 pm

P4 wrote:

This is what you need: It's the 1917 County Series 1:2500 map.

Hi P4.

I've just discovered that map reproduced in "Birmingham to Leicester line" by Chris Banks, published by OPC.

 

It is interesting in that part of the Mailbox is built on the site of those sidings. The pavement of Severn St is adjacent to the side of the Mailbox building, which was obviously built on the two right hand sidings, furthest away from the West Suburban lines of BR.

 

There was quite a fan of sidings out of the tunnel mouth which sprouted from under Holliday Street.

__________________________________________

Comment posted by

krhgcrr

on Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:12 am

 

Interesting thread, I can remember a few times going to Sutton Park old station to work the GF, also once having to go to a failed 37 on some hoppers failed in the

middle of Sutton Park itself about 0200 one morning, bit of a pain as you cannot drive into the park at night so had to climb the fence and walk down to the loco

until the assistance arrived!

 

I seem to remember the old station building where in a right state but in one of the photos above looked they looked refurbed?

 

Regarding holiday street, it was still possible to access the tunnel and drive down to the back of Five Ways station on the former track bed, presume this is

still the case. I never did it as it was not my area... The BR HQ Stanier House was build on some of the yard area...

 

cheers

Keith

[Steve K]

??? posted on Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:20 am

 

krhgcrr wrote:

I seem to remember the old station building where in a right state but in one of the photos above looked they looked refurbed?

There are plenty of buildings near the goods shed - the Royal Mail depot still operates from there - but the station itself is now demolished (see my post near the top of page 2).

 

krhgcrr wrote:

Regarding holiday street, it was still possible to access the tunnel and drive down to the back of Five Ways station on the former track bed, presume this is still the case

Certainly the bed is still passable, but the heavy yellow gates guarding the tunnel and the steel gates at the Five Ways end have made this route impassable to the curious explorer.

__________________________________________

 

??? posted on Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:20 pm

 

I had to head over to the Black Country today, not something I try to make a habit of - I don't know what it is, but none of the roads that side of Birmingham actually seem to lead where you want to go. It's all twisty and turny, and frankly, it's all I can do not to get lost. Anyhow, inspired by Engineer London's excellent recent thread on the old Longbridge station, I thought I'd better take my camera with me to record anything of interest along the way. In truth, my camera is built into my mobile phone, so I'm rarely without it, but I'm trying to set the scene here!

 

Taking, once again, the fine Rail Around Birmingham website as inspiration, I had been amazed to see just how many old lines and stations there are (or were, in any case) between Dudley and Stourbridge. There are railway tracks everywhere! Indeed, merely peering over a bridge parapet on High Street, Brockmoor (less than a mile West of the infamous Merry Hill shopping centre), I was presented with this view:

 

 

Heavily overgrown tracks lead South, and after a couple of miles or so, join up with the existing passenger line just North of Stourbridge Junction. You'll appreciate that I wasn't even looking for anything in particular here, but every random bridge seems to throw up a similar sight.

 

Travelling back towards Dudley, there were a couple of sites that I definitely wanted to visit, so first, I took a brief detour down Peartree Lane, Netherton. Dudley Canals Trust have restored the canal basin there beautifully, but it was the point where the old railway crossed the canal that I was more interested in.

 

 

Can you tell what it is yet?

[Steve K]

This is the mightily impressive Parkhead Viaduct, which once carried the lines from Stourbridge to Dudley, via any number of intermediate stations. As I say, the canal basin is very nicely kept, with tidy towpaths and freshly mown grass, and the viaduct stands as an impressive centrepiece to a surprisingly lovely piece of parkland.

 

The weather yesterday was pretty miserable, but actually, that only served to accentuate the greens in my pictures.

 

 

 

As you can see, although the structure of this viaduct is in remarkably nice condition, there is a veritable forest now growing on top of it, proving, if proof were needed, that no trains have passed this way in the last 40 years. I have no idea whether the trackbed is passable at this point, or even, if it is, whether one is allowed to walk along it, but if the other bits of old railway in the area are anything to go by, there is likely to be some remnant of the tracks still visible. On a nicer day, the route from Brierley Hill to Dudley along these tracks would make a fantastic walk. If anyone finds themselves with a spare hour in Dudley, I would heartily recommend a visit to the Parkhead canal basin.

 

Anyway, I was supposed to be working, so I headed off to the second site I wanted to see, in New Road, Dudley. Just before I reached my next destination, I spotted a gap in a fence as I was driving next to the old railway. I hopped out, ducked through the fence, and almost immediately found myself on the remains of a double-track line. On the right-hand side (looking NE) were wooden sleepers, but no rails, and on the left-hand, Dudley-bound track, this was what remained:

 

 

For those to whom these things matter, I took the above picture with Shaw Road to my left, the newish Dudley Southern By-Pass on my right, and the bridge carrying Blower's Green Road over the tracks was immediately behind me. Anyway, this sight confirmed that I was, literally, on the right track, so I got back in the car and made my way to New Road, less than half a mile away...

__________________________________________

Comment posted by rugd1022 on Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:07 am

 

Very evocative photos Steve, thanks for sharing them . . . I can just picture a 25 pottering over the viaduct on a Class 7 or 8 tripper . . .

 

Look forward to seeing any more you may have - I need perking up, just been told that the D1015 tour to Falmouth has been caped

 

Nidge

[Steve K]

Just for you, then, Nidge...

 

I parked up on New Road, just where the bypass (A461) crosses overhead. On the NW side of the A461, and parallel to it, runs the bed of the old railway. This is the site of the former Blower's Green station. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to recognise the old station building, which is in surprisingly good nick considering how long it's been shut. I took this snap which, as it turns out, is almost identical to the one on Rail Around Birmingham, except the foliage is a little more overgrown on my shot.

 

 

The elevated road in the background is the A461, and you can just see the bridge over the railway cutting - the parapet is the solid panel of grey at the extreme right of shot. It is possible to get behind the station building - what fencing there was is all but gone - and descend to rail level, but since it was very soggy, I didn't want to push my luck, and find that I couldn't get back up the embankment again. Which is a shame, because there's something quite intriguing just up the way!

 

Not in this direction, particularly, though. Here's a shot looking SW from the New Road bridge, back towards the previous close-up shot of the rails. I would imagine that this track is passable on foot, at least as far back as the viaduct, which is no more than a mile ahead (although, again, I wouldn't like to comment on the legality of such a journey):

 

 

No, the far more intriguing view from New Road is to the North-East. Here, we are looking at the site of the station itself, and I should imagine that the wall to the left of shot (the building is just out of frame, further to the left) was once a retaining wall behind one of the platforms. Of the platforms themselves there is no sign, at least not from bridge level.

 

 

The eagle-eyed among you will, however, have found your gaze drawn further along the tracks, towards the top of the picture. A tunnel, and quite a big one, at that. My Birmingham A-Z shows that this tunnel is about a mile long, travelling right under the middle of Dudley and emerging next to the cinema and bowling alley on the A4037 Tipton Road. This is not to be confused with the more well-known (and twice as long) Dudley Tunnel which takes the canal from the Black Country Museum right back to the basin by the viaduct in the previous post.

 

I'd have loved to have investigated further, but time was pressing on, and as I said earlier, it would be far better to attempt this on a drier day, and perhaps one with rather less vegetation, too! A few yards past the station building, to the North up New Road, there is a pathway which seems to lead parallel to the rails, and might well lead towards the tunnel entrance, but this was rather overgrown, and to be fair, I'd already spent enough of the company's time on my own private meanderings, so I had to leave it there on this occasion.

 

Heading back to base, I rejoined the Dudley Bypass to the South of New Road, so that I could have a quick final glance at this site from above. Sure enough, as I crossed over New Road, the station building was obvious - now I knew it was there! The roof is not in quite such good condition at the back as at the front, and a largish hole in the tiles meant that the inside is doubtless now quietly rotting away. Nevertheless, I was happy to see a fairly unknown station in such good condition, and I have resolved to explore further if I am in the area again.

[Steve K]

Comment posted by krhgcrr on Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:28 pm

 

The line from Lichfield to Stourbridge should never have been allowed to close, a great shame and I just don't see it returning

even though there has been talk over the years. It always seemed daft the freight to/from Bescot yard having to come via the

Lickey, Camp Hill and Sutton Park line when it could have routed direct via Stourbridge etc.

Plus I cannot help thinking that if the lines had still be open there would have been a busy passinger service serving Merry Hill,

just like Meadowhall,Metro centre etc....

 

cheers

keith

__________________________________________

Comment posted by rugd1022 on Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:11 pm

 

Brilliant stuff Steve, ta for posting ! I'd love to get a closer look myself sometime . . . maybe a few of us could meet up and go exploring on a dry day . . . ?

 

Fully agree with with what you say Keith, there are far too many closed / lifted lines around the West Mids which would be a godsend if they were still usable now. I work trains over the Sutton Park line and around Bescot / Washwood Heath etc, when things go wrong it causes no end of delays which always have a knock on effect. We have a job to Brierly Hill via Worcester which takes all day, if it went 'over the top' via the old Bescot Curve Jcn-Dudley-Stourbridge route we'd be laughing

 

Progress eh . . . !

 

Nidge

__________________________________________

Comment posted by nobby on Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:03 pm

 

rugd1022 wrote:

Brilliant stuff Steve, ta for posting

! I'd love to get a closer look myself sometime . . . maybe a few of us could meet up and go exploring on a dry day . . . ?

Nidge

Count me in , if you don't mind!

Nobby

__________________________________________

Comment posted by eetype3 on Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:32 pm

 

Great stuff, Steve, all the better for being of my old stamping ground!

 

If you're ever near Halesowen, I believe that the station site can still be discerned at the bottom of Mucklows Hill, and I've heard rumour that the alignment can be traced quite easily and that there are still some buildings of railway origin in the immediate area...

[Steve K]

Well, I've been snapping away with my camera phone again in the North Birmingham area, and as usual, I'm sharing the modest fruits of my labours here with you.

 

Castle Bromwich is a not particularly well-known part of the Midlands (not if you don't live in the region, in any case, I shouldn't think). If people have heard the name, it's probably because Jaguar have a factory there. Formerly, this factory made a well-known model of fighter plane - the roundabout outside the building is known as Sptifire Island, and has in its centre a modern (but not wholly unattractive) sculpture of Sptfires in flight. The road heading South from this roundabout, towards the nearby M6 Junction 5, passes over a railway line (just after B&Q!) after a mere couple of hundred yards or so. There's no sign from a car of any station, or indeed much evidence of the railway at all, but it's there all the same, and not so long ago, within living memory (though not mine!), there was a Castle Bromwich station at this point.

 

The other day, for the first time in my life, I walked across this bridge, rather than driving, and this is what I saw over the parapet.

 

 

 

Ignoring the train for the time being, you will see that it is passing the remains of a platform. After doing a little homework, I can tell you that this was the platform for trains to Derby and beyond. This is a difficult site to get close to, with a stream and trees behind the tracks in the photo, and Castle Vale beyond that. On the near side of the rails is an industrial estate, which also makes things a little tricky, but there is one access road that terminates immediately below the point where the above picture was taken. Poking my phone through the sturdy fencing, I was rewarded by this slightly better view of the site:

 

 

 

Not terribly exciting, but concrete proof (or brick, at least) of a former, but long-forgotten, station. Obviously, I was now at the bottom of a bridge, and looking under it, to my left, I was interested to see that it was in fact two bridges - the newer, nearer one and a much older-looking one beyond, which still carries the northbound lanes of the A452 dual carriageway.

 

Sadly, I took this picture whilst trying to balance against the top of a spiked metal fence, rather than the sensible option of poking my camera through it, which resulted in a nasty bout of camera-shake, but I hope you'll see what I was trying to explain about the two different bridges.

 

That's about as good as it gets for Castle Bromwich, I'm afraid. To get a better view of the station, you'd really have to be on a train, and take a snap as you were passing. Passenger trains still ply this route, of course, but the first stop along the way is now Water Orton, and despite that station not being disused or totally forgotten, that's my next port of call on this thread...

__________________________________________

Comment posted by rugd1022 on Sat Oct 04, 2008 6:15 pm

 

Nice one Steve . The 66 is running west along the 'down and up goods' which starts at Water Orton West Junction and goes all the way past Castle Bromwich, Washwood Heath and ends right outside Saltley PSB by the entrance to Lawley Street liner terminal. As you drive along it you can see the gaps where the platforms were at Castle Brom and a bit further west at Saltley (near where the canal goes under the line). This whole stretch of line would make a fantastic 'watching the trains go by' layout . . . . .if you had enough room of course . . . . .

 

Nidge

__________________________________________

Comment posted by Dukedog on Sat Oct 04, 2008 6:57 pm

 

Nice(?) to see the shots of the Stourbridge, Dudley, Wolverhampton Line (The OWWR) I started my interest in railways by doing most of my spotting at Brierley Hill station back in the 1950's.

The last time I looked the line was still open from Stourbridge to Round Oak, but looking at Steve's pictures it's pretty obvious it is no longer!

The line to Old hill and Nertherton goods left the main line at Blowers green and I think traces of that line remain.

Next time I'm over that way I'll take a camera with me.

__________________________________________