Brettell Lane railway station

Brettell Lane railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line built to serve the communities between Brierley Hill

Brierley Hill

Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...

and Stourbridge

Stourbridge

Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...

in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

History

It was opened in 1852 by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway

Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway

The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway was a company authorised on 4 August 1845 to construct a railway line from the Oxford and Rugby Railway at Wolvercot Junction to Worcester, Stourbridge, Dudley, and Wolverhampton, with a branch to the Grand Junction Railway at Bushbury...

. Local coal mining and steel mills lead to rapid industrialisation of the area and heavy usage of the station in the early 20th century, but numbers had declined badly by the 1960s .
In 1858 a coupling broke on an excursion train at the station and the rear portion rolled back down the gradient from Round Oak railway station

Round Oak railway station

-History:It was opened in 1852 to serve the town of Brierley Hill. Two railways/routes served the station - originally the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and the South Staffordshire Railway, which later became the Great Western Railway and London, Midland and Scottish Railway ...

towards Brettell Lane where it collided with another train (which was actually part of the same excursion, the train already having been safely divided once due to its extreme length) 14 passengers were killed and 50 more injured.

The line had reasonable passenger usage until about the early 1880s, when it began to slump at several stations, leading to the line becoming a largely freight only operation in 1887. It would remain open for goods traffic, which was considerable at this time, as the district had become highly industrialised in the then heyday of the Black Country

Black Country

The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

's industrial past.

As the local industry declined and road transport became more common, the station entered a post-World War 2 decline.

British Rail

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

closed the station pre-Beeching in 1962. Two railways/routes served the station - originally the OW&WR and the South Staffordshire Railway

South Staffordshire Railway

The South Staffordshire Railway was the railway company responsible for building several lines in and around the area of Staffordshire, England.The Chief Engineer was John Robinson McClean...

, which later became the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

and London, Midland and Scottish Railway

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

(through amalgamation of the London and North Western Railway

London and North Western Railway

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...

) respectively.

Today's usage

Today, only freight train

Freight train

A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...

s pass through the site where the station was formerly sited, on to the now declining Moor Lane Goods Yard a few hundred yards away on its own spur line. The station has been largely built over with a factory and several warehouses on one side and fenced off on the other.

Its usage has declined further since the early 1990s, with the closure of the line between Round Oak and Walsall in 1993 and the branch to Pensnett a year later.

A signal box

Signal box

On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...

was situated in the vicinity of the station was burnt down by arson

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

ists in 2003, and was replaced by a ground frame.

Kingswinford Junction

Kingswinford Junction is a railway junction

Junction (rail)

A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...

on the old Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line (OWW), which allows trains to diverge on to the Wombourne Branch Line. It is located north of Brettell Lane railway station, just before the line passes through Moor Lane Goods Yard.

History

Both the OWW line and the Wombourne Branch Line were constructed, or overseen, by the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

. The OWW line was a significant route between Stourbridge Junction

Stourbridge Junction railway station

Stourbridge Junction railway station is a railway station on the Birmingham, Worcester and Kidderminster Line in West Midlands, England. Stourbridge Town Branch Line runs from the station to Stourbridge town centre...

and Wolverhampton Low Level

Wolverhampton Low Level railway station

Wolverhampton Low Level was a railway station on Sun Street, in Springfield, Wolverhampton, England .It was built by the Great Western Railway, on their route from London to Birkenhead via Birmingham...

while the Wombourne Branch was originally an important freight-only route bypassing the congested railway routes through the West Midlands conurbation

West Midlands conurbation

The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....

. Modifacations to Kingswinford Junction, north of the station allowed passenger trains to traverse the Wombourne Branch Line for a short period between 1925 and 1932. The latter was host to passenger services for just seven years between 1925 and 1932, and the OWW closed pre-Beeching

Beeching Axe

The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...

in 1962. The junction's use decreased sharply with the closure of the Wombourne Branch in 1965, although the line remained open as a link to the Pensnett Trading Estate until 1994.

Today's usage

The junction remains since it also allows access to Moor Lane Goods Yard. Trains rarely use this yard and it would appear the junction's use is minimal, if used at all, save for the odd Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

maintenance train.

The former Moor Lane signal box

The signal box

Signal box

that operated the junction was still used on a small scale until the late 1990s, when Moor Lane's usage heavily declined. It was burnt down by arson

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

ists in 2003. A manually operated ground frame replaced the former relic of the West Midlands railways. This ground frame must be cleared for use by Stourbridge Junction's Middle Box.

Moor Lane Goods Yard

It was a once important goods yard that lay a few hundred yards from Brettell Lane railway station and across the tracks at Kingswinford Junction. Local coal milning and steel mills lead to rapid inustrialiseation of the area and heavy usage of the station in the early 20th century, but numbers had declined badly by the 1960s . The former carriage sidings and truck sidings are now out of use and current freight turnover is low and relates to a few nearby factories and wear houses.

History

It opened in 1852 to serve the local town and later took on transport significance with the nearby coal mines at the Delph/Amblecote pits, Amblecote Bank, not far from both from the Stourbridge Canal

Stourbridge Canal

The Stourbridge Canal is a canal in the West Midlands of England. It links the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal with the Dudley Canal, and hence, via the Birmingham Canal Navigations, to Birmingham and the Black Country.-History:The Stourbridge and Dudley canals were originally proposed as a...

near Brettell Lane station.

Today's usage

It is now owned by the EWS

EWS

DB Schenker Rail , before 2009 known as English, Welsh and Scottish Railway is a British rail freight company. EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation in 1996 by acquisition of five of the six freight companies created by the privatisation of British...

freight company and is occasionally used by both themselves and by Network Rail.

Midland Metro

Phase 2 of the Midland Metro will see the station become part of the local tram network with the line reopening between Walsall

Walsall

Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...

and Stourbridge

Stourbridge

, via Dudley Port railway station

Dudley Port railway station

-History:There was a Low Level Station on the former South Staffordshire line that had opened in 1850. The line had reasonable passenger usage until about the early 1880s, when it began to slump at several stations, leading to the line becoming a largely freight only operation in 1887...

, Dudley railway station

Dudley railway station

Dudley Railway Station was a passenger railway station located at Dudley, England, built where the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line and the South Staffordshire Line diverged to Wolverhampton and Walsall and Lichfield respectively.-History:...

and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre

Merry Hill Shopping Centre

Westfield Merry Hill is a shopping centre in Brierley Hill near Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number...

for trams which will share the line with freight trains. In March 2011, the business plan for the reopening of the line between Stourbridge and Walsall was submitted to Network Rail

External links

-://chasewaterstuff.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/some-south-staffordshire-railway-byways/
http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Wednesbury/Transport.htm
Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Brettell Lane railway station

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.