Wolverhampton Railways Through Time

In the twenty-first century, as Britain's heavy industry has declined, the railways are no longer central to the life of Wolverhampton as they once were. Many trains which still pass through the town, but they now carry tourists and business people rather than hauling coal. Wolverhampton Railways Through Time brings to life the intricate and fascinating story of the Black Country's rail network.

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Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway

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Get in touch Local information. A shareholders' committee was appointed, alarmed at the repeated deferral of construction, and opening of the line. The Board of Trade heard of this and sent Captain Simmons to investigate. His report of 27 November resulted in the Board of Trade instructing the Great Western Railway to complete the line itself. Matters stalled for the time being.

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When the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway was built, its route avoided Worcester by some distance, and this remained a sore point with the city. It was in effect a single line branch; it opened to Midland Railway trains on 5 October There were five trains to Bristol daily and six to Birmingham Curzon Street ; the latter journey took over two hours.

On 18 February [note 8] the section from Droitwich to Stoke Works Junction, on the Birmingham and Gloucester line now owned by the Midland Railway was opened, completing the Worcester loop for the Midland.

Now all their Gloucester to Bristol passenger trains ran via Worcester and Droitwich, leaving their own main line to goods traffic and a very light local connecting service. This too was reduced and was discontinued from the end of September , with all the Midland intermediate stations on their old main line between Abbotswood and Stoke Works Junctions closing permanently. In January a further special shareholders' meeting was held.

The contractors Peto and Betts were contractors for the construction as well as Treadwells. This was in conflict with the Company's authorising act, and in May a group of shareholders secured a restraining order preventing this "illegal act". Parson soon agreed a working arrangement with the Great Western Railway.

When the shareholders were asked to ratify this, at Parson's urging they insisted on a clause requiring the GWR to purchase the line after four years. Parson and Peto decided to occupy the tunnel works and seize Marchant's plant by force, and went there with a gang of workmen. Brunel became involved and he too tried to seize Marchant's equipment, but a magistrate had been called and the Riot Act was read. In the small hours of 23 July a large force was mustered by Brunel in the absence of the magistrates and a violent skirmish took place, during which Marchant and his men were routed. Structures with at least one span over 60 feet All except a footbridge were reconstructed by The Evesham to Stourbridge section of line was practically ready in March and a date of 1 May had been fixed for the opening of that part of the line.

The financial resources of the Company had long been exhausted and the acquisition of the necessary rolling stock was beyond it. A contractor, C C Williams, was engaged to work the line and he appointed a young locomotive engineer, David Joy to be his superintendent.

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Joy took the post on 19 April and now scrambled to get hold of locomotives. He found four, one six-coupled long-boiler engine in good condition, and three small contractors' engines. A special service duly opened on 1 May and a full public service on 3 May There were four services between Stourbridge and Evesham , taking a little over two hours; in addition there were two short workings between Stourbridge and Kidderminster, and two Sunday services.

All this was done with six second hand locomotives. At first only a single line was available, but by July a double line was opened between Norton Junction and Evesham. Joy had no proper workshop facilities and had to use a local blacksmith for repairs to the engines at first; in fact he did some of the specialist metalwork jobs himself. A proper workshop was finally available to him by March The Stourbridge to Dudley section was opened to goods traffic on 16 November , and passenger traffic followed on 20 December ; at first this was single line north of Brettell Lane.

By now the Company was able to order locomotives to its own specification, and by the end of eleven out of an order of twenty engines had arrived from R and W Hawthorn. The passenger engines were of the type and the goods engines were The part of the line between Wolvercot Junction and Evesham was nearing completion and was planned to open on 21 April , as a mixed gauge single line. When there was an earth slip near Campden tunnel this was postponed to 7 May, but Captain Galton of the Board of Trade refused to sanction passenger opening as the broad gauge track was incomplete, as was the junction at Wolvercot.

A special excursion for the Directors was run anyway on 7 May. Three more inspections took place before opening was sanctioned and passenger operation started on 4 June The line between Evesham and Wolvercot Junction was soon doubled, but the second track was narrow standard gauge, contrary to the authorising Act.

Wolverhampton Railways through time - Black Country Living Museum

Parson took a combative line when this was queried by the Board of Trade, and this resulted in their obtaining an injunction against use of the unapproved track. On 18 March the line reverted to mixed gauge single line, and Parson refused for some time to comply with the BoT requirement. At length the second line was reopened on 20 March when a broad gauge rail had been installed, and the line was doubled as far as Campden. This was encouraged by Parson who still wished to ally the line with the LNWR, and trains could now run to Wolverhampton over that company's line from Tipton.

Its line connecting at Priestfield was not yet ready. After some failed Parliamentary bills for a new line from north of Oxford to London, they managed to get approval for the Buckinghamshire Junction Railway , more usually known as the Yarnton Loop, a short link between Yarnton and a junction with the London and North Western Railway's line from Oxford to Bletchley. This was something of a Pyrrhic victory as the route was very lengthy. The service was discontinued in September On 13 April a broad gauge train travelled the entire length of the main line between Oxford and Wolverhampton.

Early in the company terminated the working arrangement with C C Williams. In the Great Western Railway took over narrow standard gauge railways around Shrewsbury, and its attitude to narrow gauge traffic began to soften. This needed legislative approval, and this was gained in February The effective date was 1 July The arrangement was authorised in Parliament on 13 July and the effective date was 1 August The branch was about a mile long.

It was later extended to the Earl of Dudley's Railway at Pensnett.

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The Company experienced considerable difficulty over land acquisition, and two extensions of time had to be sought; the line did not open until 11 July The branch started northwards from Honeybourne, and there were intermediate stations at Long Marston and Milcote , and the Stratford terminus was in Sanctuary Lane. The line was single-track, with sharp curves because of its intended minor branch status. In the following year, , the GWR branch from Hatton to Stratford opened to its own independent station in Stratford.

This was completed on 24 July The line was doubled in - Hitherto there had been a through service to Euston over the Yarnton Loop, but that ceased on the same day. Morton Peto was the contractor, and the line opened on 1 March