The Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line was part of the
Great Western Railway's London Paddington
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...
to
Birkenhead Woodside route. As the name suggests, it ran between
Birmingham Snow Hill and
Wolverhampton Low Level in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. The line was
dual-gauged, both and .
The line opened in 1854 and the final section was closed in August 1992, following the closure of other sections during the 1970s and 1980s. The opening was delayed for two months because a bridge collapsed near
Winson Green
Winson Green is a loosely defined inner-city area in the west of the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the ward of Soho.
It is the location of HM Prison Birmingham (known locally as Winson Green Prison or "the Green") and of City Hospi ...
, which caused chief engineer
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...
to order strengthening on several other bridges. Passenger services had been discontinued in 1972, although parts of the line continued to be used by goods trains.
History
The
Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley Railway
The Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley Railway was an English railway company promoted to connect those places by rail. It was authorised by Parliament in 1846. It became apparent that it would be advantageous to merge with the Great Western Ra ...
was authorised on 3 August 1846.
It quickly joined forces with the
Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway
The Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway was an English railway line promoted by the Great Western Railway to gain a route from its southern base towards the industrial centres of the West Midlands, and in due course the north-west. It overto ...
and both companies were bought by the Great Western on 14 November 1846. Construction began at Birmingham Snow Hill in 1851 and the line opened on 14 November 1854.
Stations were:
Birmingham Snow Hill -
Hockley
Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...
-
Soho & Winson Green -
Hawthorns Halt -
West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area ...
-
Swan Village -
Wednesbury Central -
Bradley & Moxley -
Bilston Central -
Priestfield -
Wolverhampton Low Level.
Dudley Branch
This particular stretch of line had many intermediate stations and included a branch to
Dudley railway station
Dudley Railway Station was a railway station in Dudley, West Midlands, England, built where the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line and the South Staffordshire Line diverged to Wolverhampton and Walsall and Lichfield respectively.
History
...
. Travelling towards Wolverhampton, the branch diverged north of
Swan Village railway station
Swan Village railway station was a station on the Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead via Birmingham Snow Hill line. It was opened in 1854. It was the junction station where the Dudley Branch of the line diverged from the ...
, and joined the
South Staffordshire Line east of
Dudley Port railway station
Dudley Port railway station serves the Dudley Port and Great Bridge areas of Tipton, West Midlands, England, Situated on the Stour Valley Line, the station is operated by West Midlands Railway.
Upper Level station
History
The station opened ...
. Trains called at
Great Bridge South railway station
Great Bridge South railway station was a station on a link line between the South Staffordshire Line and the Birmingham Snow Hill-Wolverhampton Low Level Line. It served the village of Great Bridge and town of Tipton in Staffordshire, Engl ...
,
Dudley Port railway station
Dudley Port railway station serves the Dudley Port and Great Bridge areas of Tipton, West Midlands, England, Situated on the Stour Valley Line, the station is operated by West Midlands Railway.
Upper Level station
History
The station opened ...
and
Dudley railway station
Dudley Railway Station was a railway station in Dudley, West Midlands, England, built where the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line and the South Staffordshire Line diverged to Wolverhampton and Walsall and Lichfield respectively.
History
...
on the branch. This line closed in 1968.
Closure
Despite being featured in the second
Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. Either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames' ...
, ''The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes'' in February 1965 as being a line the should be further invested in, all stations on the line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton closed to passengers in 1972. The line was closed between Snow Hill and Wednesbury at this point.
Wolverhampton Low Level remained open until 1981 as a parcels depot. The northern section of the railway beyond the scrapyard at Bilston closed in December 1982, and the final section from Wednesbury to Bilston stayed open until August 1992, but by this time plans were afoot for the bulk of the line to be reopened within a few years as the first line of the
Midland Metro
The West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. Opened on 30 May 1999, it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmi ...
tram network.
Reopening
In 1995, the 'Jewellery Line' saw the relaying of tracks as far as a short distance past
The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the cl ...
before the line branched off, crossing the
Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line at the also-new
Smethwick Galton Bridge and joining the main
Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line
The Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line is a railway line which runs from Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester via Stourbridge and Kidderminster in the West Midlands, England. It is one of the Snow Hill Lines, with trains operated by W ...
, which previously routed into
Birmingham New Street
Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...
.
The rest of the original GWR line was reopened in May 1999 as the first phase of the
West Midland Metro tram network. Although the lines leave the original trackbed between
Priestfield and Wolverhampton Low Level due to Low Level being closed and eventually partly demolished for use for housing and commercial use. The other areas around Wolverhampton, Bilston, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Smethwick and the western side of Birmingham that were served before the closure of Snow Hill are now served by the Metro. The Metro runs parallel to the Jewellery Line from Snow Hill to a point north of The Hawthorns and makes it the only time the metro is on the same line as heavy rail and it remains side by side with heavy rail from the south of the Hawthorns to Birmingham Snow Hill before it continues on street level into the city centre.
References
External links
{{Commons category, Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line
Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Swan Village StationRail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: West Bromwich StationRail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: The Hawthorns Station
Closed railway lines in the West Midlands (region)
Rail transport in Wolverhampton
Rail transport in Birmingham, West Midlands
Rail transport in Sandwell
Rail transport in Dudley
Railway lines opened in 1854
1854 establishments in England