Windmill End railway station
Encyclopedia
Windmill End railway station was a station on the former Great Western Railway's
Bumble Hole Line between Blowers Green
and Old Hill
.
It opened in 1878, was destaffed in 1952 and closed in 1964. It was immortalised in that year as the closing words of the song "Slow Train
" by Flanders and Swann
. The railway, however, remained open for another four years.
The site of the railway and the station had been obliterated by the end of the 1970s
. It has now been largely reclaimed by nature.
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...
Bumble Hole Line between Blowers Green
Blowers Green railway station
-History:It was opened in 1862 by the Great Western Railway intending to serve the communities of Woodside and Netherton. It was then upgraded and renamed Dudley Southside & Netherton in 1878....
and Old Hill
Old Hill railway station
Old Hill railway station serves the Old Hill area of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. The station is managed by London Midland, who provide the majority of train services; Chiltern Railways also operate a small number of trains. It is situated on the Birmingham-Stourbridge...
.
It opened in 1878, was destaffed in 1952 and closed in 1964. It was immortalised in that year as the closing words of the song "Slow Train
Slow Train
"Slow Train" is a song by the British duo Flanders and Swann, written in 1963.It laments the loss of British stations and railway lines in that era, due to the Beeching cuts, and also the passing of a way of life, with the advent of motorways etc....
" by Flanders and Swann
Flanders and Swann
The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann , who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs....
. The railway, however, remained open for another four years.
The site of the railway and the station had been obliterated by the end of the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. It has now been largely reclaimed by nature.