Walsall to Stourbridge Line, open or closed?

[jamie92208]

Havibg just had a day out riding the Cross Country diversions round Birmingham (The Wichnor Junc. and Sutton Park Lines) We went past the north end of the Walsall to Stourbridge Junction line near Bescot.  In my Baker's rail atlas it is shown as disconnected at the Walsall end and mostly disused.  Today when we went past teh junction near Bescot  the whole Juncxtion looked to have been newly relaid with new track all in good order but with light rust on the rails.  Does anyone know what the current status of the line is please.

 

Jamie

[Weaselfish]

Big Jim has posted this on the Disused Railways of the Midlands thread in the Dusused Railways section of the forum:

 

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/2848-forgotten-railways-of-the-midlands/page-14

 

Post 332 (or thereabouts) if the link doesn't work.

[SM42]

The line has officially been mothballed since around 1993.

 

The only parts still open are from Stourbridge North Jn to the Round Oak Rail terminal at, errr, Round Oak and the newly installed run round loop at Pleck Jn (installed as part of the Cannock Line resignalling last year)  as mentioned above which isn't in use yet.

 

There have been many suggestions for re-openiing, including as mixed tram / train route ( the route crosses the Old Snow Hill - Wolverhampton route, now part of Midland Metro, at Wednesbury) but so far nothing has come to fruition.

 

Andy

[jamie92208]

Thanks to both of you for posting that link and the info.

 

Jamie

[Bruce Depot]

Shame, it never got a station for Merry Hill shopping centre built, would have been a great success. Had Lichfield-Walsall not been closed, it could have

been a very useful route frieght and passinger wise.

Would love to see it  re-opened but not sure it ever will

Keith

[SM42]

Back in 93,(I'm sure it was 93) there was talk of running trains to Merry Hill. It would have been a good excuse to extend the long gone Merry Hill Monorail up to a new station to connect the railway and shopping centre. As it is, it's change at Cradley Heath for a bus.

 

However I believe sectorisation and ( impending privitisation) of the railways scuppered any hope. The story I heard  was there was some disagreement about who would pay for maintaining the line.

 

Railfreight would have happily kept on using it if Regional Railways paid for maintainance and Regional Railways would run a service if Railfreight paid. In the end no-one paid so the line closed.

 

It's a shame really as it would be a really useful bit of railway and could provide another cross city route from Stourbridge to Walsall via Dudley, with Metro interchange at Wednesbury.  ( and if the will and track was there through to  Lichfield)

 

Andy

[giz]

About 5 or 6 years ago the bridge carrying Tipton Road, Dudley, over the line was completely renewed. Not sure who paid for it.

 

One of the big sticking points for re-opening the line must be the condition of Parkhead Viaduct, I work just up the road from it and it looks like a forest is growing on top of it and the sides of the brickwork bulge in places. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the cost of repairs to the viaduct was one of the factors leading to the mothballing of the line.