South Staffordshire Line
Encyclopedia
The South Staffordshire Line was a railway line that connected Lichfield
in Staffordshire
, England
with Dudley
, formerly in Worcestershire
. However, it joined the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
's line just north of Dudley Station, where it, in essence, continued to Stourbridge
, in Worcestershire
(Dudley and Stourbridge were later to become part of the West Midlands conurbation
). The section south of Round Oak remains open for freight workings only, and is now officially referred to as the South Staffordshire Line. The line was built by the South Staffordshire Railway
.
at Stourbridge Junction.
which is one of the local area's most significant landmark
s. It also crossed Parkhead Viaduct
just south of Dudley
and for several hundred yards passed through Dudley Railway Tunnel
.
as far as Dudley station, which, in 1860, was opened as a joint venture with the OW&WR itself later to become amalgamated into the Great Western Railway
. This station was built ten years after the original connection, however, and trains on the South Staffordshire Line ran from Walsall to Stourbridge fairly early on. Dudley provided a useful change point for passengers from Walsall and Stourbridge to Wolverhampton
, though this wasn't utilised to quite the effect the OW&WR had hoped, due to the similar connection at Dudley Port by the SSR with the Stour Valley Line - which today forms part of the West Midlands section
of the West Coast Main Line
.
To the north of Dudley Port, a link to the Birmingham Snow Hill- Wolverhampton Low Level
route was added sometime between the inauguration of the line and the opening of Great Bridge South railway station in 1866.
All three of the above - Dudley Port, Great Bridge and Wednesbury - were completed in 1850, and the line was then opened accordingly. All other stations on the route - from Lichfield to Walsall - were in operation from 1849.
Passenger travel existed on this route from then through until 1964 with the fall of the Beeching Axe
. Only one station fell along the way - Rushall being closed in 1909. The OW&WR portion of the line was closed pre-Beeching, in 1962. The line was used as a through route from Walsall right up until the closure of the line on 19 March 1993, mainly being used for freight duties at the Dudley Freightliner Terminal
, which closed - despite being far more profitable than Birmingham's terminal - on 26 September 1989. Traffic on the line continued to slump after the terminal's closure, and decreased the line's viability. The section of railway north of Walsall
had already been closed, with the last train using the route on 19 March 1984 and the track being lifted two years later.
The Brierley Hill to Walsall section of the line officially closed on 19 March 1993, nine years to the day that the Walsall-Lichfield line had closed. However, there were a handful of other movements on the line after its official closure, including a cable-laying train which covered the route on 2 July 1993, on its journey from Birmingham
to Stafford
.
The line from Stourbridge Junction to Round Oak Steel Terminal
is all that remains of the South Staffordshire Railway and its line, though virtually all of the track on the closed section towards Walsall
is in place.
Cross-City Service to Redditch
via Birmingham New Street. Freight usage on the OW&WR portion of the route has once again become more common thanks to the Round Oak Steel Terminal
.
.
In terms of infrastructure, nearly all of the trackbed still remains, and indeed so does much of the track. The closed section South Staffordshire line has gradually fallen into disrepair over the last decade or so, with much of the trackbed heavily overgrown - in some areas almost totally concealed by vegetation. Most of the track between the Blowers Green Road and Highgate Road overbridges was removed in 1999 upon the construction of the Dudley Southern By-pass overbridge, leading up to the buffers at Harts Hill which mark the beginning of the line's closed section. A few yards of track just north of the Dudley Freightliner site have been removed, along with part of the track at Golds Hill crossing; this is believed to have been the work of vandals.
A number of fences have been placed along closed sections of the line in a bid to clamp down on anti-social behaviour which had been occurring. These fences are fitted at locations including the canal underbridge near Conygree Road, the entrances to Dudley Tunnel and the northern side of the level crossing near Wednesbury town centre. There is also a fence across the northern end of the closed line at Walsall; this encloses a heavily overgrown section of railway which includes many mature trees.
Approximately three years before the line's closure, the signal box in Dudley
was destroyed by arsonists, as was the signal box at Golds Hill crossing after the line closed. Another signal box on the active line (near Brettell Lane) was burnt down much more recently.
Three bridges have also been built over the line since its closure. In 1995, a four-span viaduct was completed over Golds Hill crossing to carry the new Black Country Spine Road; construction of this road had actually started while the line was still in use. 1999 saw the opening of a new overbridge to carry the Midland Metro
near Potters Lane in Wednesbury
and another to carry the Dudley Southern By-Pass. The bridge carrying Tipton Road over the line was rebuilt in 2005, and a new overbridge was built in 2006 to carry the line over a new road on a commercial development north of Wednesbury town centre.
In the 2000's the plan for Line 2 of the Midland Metro
, which would diverge at Wednesbury and follow the route of the South Staffordshire Line was put forward. It was planned this would be a single line venture. Any stops on the route (which would occur around the points of the old railway stations) are likely to be doubled as passing places. The Midland Metro plan was actually formulated back in 1992, a year before the line's closure. There were also plans afoot to reinstate the line to Walsall as a single freight line (frequency of trains along this route would never warrant a double line) to allow a quicker route to Bescot TMD
, which is currently only traversable by means of a lengthy run through Cradley Heath, diverging at Galton Junction and then later at Soho East. The most unlikely plan is that of Railtrack
in 1997 - which suggested passenger services may be laid on once more. This was part of a plan to give the Merry Hill Shopping Centre
its own heavy rail link. These plans never came to fruition and are unlikely to - although it is clear that a heavy rail link would make the centre far more attractive to those from far afield.
In March 2011, the business plan for the re-opening of the line from Stourbridge to Walsall, was handed to Network Rail, with work planned to start by 2014, subject to approval and securement of funding. The new plan is for tram-trains to share the line with freight trains, cutting overall construction costs. A quarter of the projects £268 million has already been found, with the owners of Merry Hill Shopping Centre, Westfield, pledging £36.5 million. A decision from Network Rail was expected in the late summer but as of September 2011, a decision is yet to be made.
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, 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...
with Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, formerly in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. However, it joined 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...
's line just north of Dudley Station, where it, in essence, continued to 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 Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
(Dudley and Stourbridge were later to become part of 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....
). The section south of Round Oak remains open for freight workings only, and is now officially referred to as the South Staffordshire Line. The line was built by 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...
.
The original line and route
The line officially began at Wychnor Junction, north of Lichfield, and ran through what is now Lichfield Trent Valley. Trains then continued through to Lichfield City itself. From there, a plethora of stations along the route were served. The line continued through to Walsall and a low-level station at Dudley Port. This was technically the terminus of the line but it was connected to the OW&WR's line and then ran through Dudley itself from 1860. It went on to serve other stations before eventually terminating at the south-western extremity of the Black CountryBlack 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...
at Stourbridge Junction.
Landmarks
Just before its termination at Stourbridge, it crossed (and continues to cross) the massive Stambermill ViaductStambermill Viaduct
Stambermill Viaduct is a viaduct situated in Stourbridge, West Midlands, England. It was constructed in 1850 to carry the new railway between Stourbridge and Walsall across the River Stour, and was open to passenger trains until 1964...
which is one of the local area's most significant landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
s. It also crossed Parkhead Viaduct
Parkhead Viaduct
Parkhead Viaduct is a railway viaduct located in Dudley, West Midlands, England. The original viaduct was a wooden structure erected in 1850 to carry the new Stourbridge to Walsall railway over Parkhead Locks on the Dudley Canal, near to the southern mouth of the Dudley Tunnel...
just south of Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
and for several hundred yards passed through Dudley Railway Tunnel
Dudley Railway Tunnel
Dudley Railway Tunnel is a railway tunnel located near to the former Dudley railway station in Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was opened in 1850 to allow the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line between Stourbridge and Wolverhampton to pass for several hundred yards beneath a hilly area of...
.
History and passenger usage
The line was opened on 1 May 1850.This was soon to become part of the London and North Western RailwayLondon 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...
as far as Dudley station, which, in 1860, was opened as a joint venture with the OW&WR itself later to become amalgamated into 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...
. This station was built ten years after the original connection, however, and trains on the South Staffordshire Line ran from Walsall to Stourbridge fairly early on. Dudley provided a useful change point for passengers from Walsall and Stourbridge to Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, though this wasn't utilised to quite the effect the OW&WR had hoped, due to the similar connection at Dudley Port by the SSR with the Stour Valley Line - which today forms part of the West Midlands section
Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line
The Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line is a railway line in central England. It is a loop off the West Coast Main Line between Rugby and Stafford via the West Midlands cities of Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.-Places served:The cities, towns and villages served by the line are listed...
of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
.
To the north of Dudley Port, a link to the Birmingham Snow Hill- 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...
route was added sometime between the inauguration of the line and the opening of Great Bridge South railway station in 1866.
All three of the above - Dudley Port, Great Bridge and Wednesbury - were completed in 1850, and the line was then opened accordingly. All other stations on the route - from Lichfield to Walsall - were in operation from 1849.
Passenger travel existed on this route from then through until 1964 with the fall of the Beeching Axe
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...
. Only one station fell along the way - Rushall being closed in 1909. The OW&WR portion of the line was closed pre-Beeching, in 1962. The line was used as a through route from Walsall right up until the closure of the line on 19 March 1993, mainly being used for freight duties at the Dudley Freightliner Terminal
Dudley Freightliner Terminal
Dudley Freightliner Terminal was opened on the site of Dudley railway station in October 1967, as one of Freightliner's first rail terminals. It was an instant financial success and by 1981 was one of the most profitable Freightliner terminals in Britain, but Freightliner UK announced plans to...
, which closed - despite being far more profitable than Birmingham's terminal - on 26 September 1989. Traffic on the line continued to slump after the terminal's closure, and decreased the line's viability. The section of railway north of 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...
had already been closed, with the last train using the route on 19 March 1984 and the track being lifted two years later.
The Brierley Hill to Walsall section of the line officially closed on 19 March 1993, nine years to the day that the Walsall-Lichfield line had closed. However, there were a handful of other movements on the line after its official closure, including a cable-laying train which covered the route on 2 July 1993, on its journey from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
.
The line from Stourbridge Junction to Round Oak Steel Terminal
Round Oak Steel Terminal
Round Oak Steel Terminal is a railway freight terminal dealing in steel from the Round Oak Steel Works until 1982 and from other sources thereafter, in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England managed by Corus Group.-History:...
is all that remains of the South Staffordshire Railway and its line, though virtually all of the track on the closed section towards 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...
is in place.
The line today
Very little of the South Staffordshire line is used today, although Lichfield City and the connection to Lichfield Trent Valley high-level remain as part of London Midland'sLondon Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
Cross-City Service to Redditch
Redditch railway station
Redditch railway station serves the town of Redditch, Worcestershire, England. It is the southern terminus of the Cross-City Line 23 km south of Birmingham New Street...
via Birmingham New Street. Freight usage on the OW&WR portion of the route has once again become more common thanks to the Round Oak Steel Terminal
Round Oak Steel Terminal
Round Oak Steel Terminal is a railway freight terminal dealing in steel from the Round Oak Steel Works until 1982 and from other sources thereafter, in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England managed by Corus Group.-History:...
.
.
In terms of infrastructure, nearly all of the trackbed still remains, and indeed so does much of the track. The closed section South Staffordshire line has gradually fallen into disrepair over the last decade or so, with much of the trackbed heavily overgrown - in some areas almost totally concealed by vegetation. Most of the track between the Blowers Green Road and Highgate Road overbridges was removed in 1999 upon the construction of the Dudley Southern By-pass overbridge, leading up to the buffers at Harts Hill which mark the beginning of the line's closed section. A few yards of track just north of the Dudley Freightliner site have been removed, along with part of the track at Golds Hill crossing; this is believed to have been the work of vandals.
A number of fences have been placed along closed sections of the line in a bid to clamp down on anti-social behaviour which had been occurring. These fences are fitted at locations including the canal underbridge near Conygree Road, the entrances to Dudley Tunnel and the northern side of the level crossing near Wednesbury town centre. There is also a fence across the northern end of the closed line at Walsall; this encloses a heavily overgrown section of railway which includes many mature trees.
Approximately three years before the line's closure, the signal box in Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
was destroyed by arsonists, as was the signal box at Golds Hill crossing after the line closed. Another signal box on the active line (near Brettell Lane) was burnt down much more recently.
Three bridges have also been built over the line since its closure. In 1995, a four-span viaduct was completed over Golds Hill crossing to carry the new Black Country Spine Road; construction of this road had actually started while the line was still in use. 1999 saw the opening of a new overbridge to carry the Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
near Potters Lane in Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
and another to carry the Dudley Southern By-Pass. The bridge carrying Tipton Road over the line was rebuilt in 2005, and a new overbridge was built in 2006 to carry the line over a new road on a commercial development north of Wednesbury town centre.
The future
Future re-opening of the line has been suggested several times in many different forms.In the 2000's the plan for Line 2 of the Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
, which would diverge at Wednesbury and follow the route of the South Staffordshire Line was put forward. It was planned this would be a single line venture. Any stops on the route (which would occur around the points of the old railway stations) are likely to be doubled as passing places. The Midland Metro plan was actually formulated back in 1992, a year before the line's closure. There were also plans afoot to reinstate the line to Walsall as a single freight line (frequency of trains along this route would never warrant a double line) to allow a quicker route to Bescot TMD
Bescot TMD
Bescot TMD is a locomotive traction maintenance depot in the West Midlands, England. It is situated adjacent to Bescot Stadium station. The depot is currently operated by DBS . The current depot code is BS but, in steam days, the shed code was 3A.Bescot Marshalling Yard is to the south-east of the...
, which is currently only traversable by means of a lengthy run through Cradley Heath, diverging at Galton Junction and then later at Soho East. The most unlikely plan is that of Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
in 1997 - which suggested passenger services may be laid on once more. This was part of a plan to give 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...
its own heavy rail link. These plans never came to fruition and are unlikely to - although it is clear that a heavy rail link would make the centre far more attractive to those from far afield.
In March 2011, the business plan for the re-opening of the line from Stourbridge to Walsall, was handed to Network Rail, with work planned to start by 2014, subject to approval and securement of funding. The new plan is for tram-trains to share the line with freight trains, cutting overall construction costs. A quarter of the projects £268 million has already been found, with the owners of Merry Hill Shopping Centre, Westfield, pledging £36.5 million. A decision from Network Rail was expected in the late summer but as of September 2011, a decision is yet to be made.
External links
- http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/
- http://www.freewebs.com/southstaffsrailway/
- http://www.railscot.co.uk/Oxford_Worcester_and_Wolverhampton_Railway/frame.htm
- http://www.southstaffsrail.webs.com