Pelsall railway station is a disused railway station that served the villages of

Pelsall Pelsall is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. Forming part of the borough's border with Staffordshire, Pelsall is located 4 miles north of central Walsall, midway between the towns of Bloxwich and Brownhil ...

and

Shelfield Shelfield is a suburb of Aldridge and Pelsall in the borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is conjoined by the nearby suburbs of Walsall Wood and Rushall. The name Shelfield derives from the Anglo Saxon ''Skelfeld'' for sloping gr ...

in the

Metropolitan Borough of Walsall The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, ...

, West Midlands, England. It was on the South Staffordshire Line between

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

and

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...

History

It was opened in 1849. It closed as part of the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

in 1965. The station was built and served by the

South Staffordshire Railway The South Staffordshire Railway (SSR) was authorised in 1847 to build a line from Dudley in the West Midlands of England through Walsall and Lichfield to a junction with the Midland Railway on the way to Burton upon Trent, with authorised share c ...

, which later became

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

(through amalgamation of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

). The station also had a small single track leave after the station to serve the

Atlas Brickworks An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographi ...

and Leighswood Colliery until the 1930s when Leighswood Colliery closed but continued to serve Atlas Brickworks until 1964 when the small branch line closed. The station closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching Cuts although the line that passed through the station remained open until 1984. It is preserved in case the railway line between Walsall and Lichfield reopens.https://www.wmca.org.uk/media/1371/2016-06-01-mfg-summary-document_wmca.pdf

Station site today

The trackbed through the former station site is now part of a footpath used by cyclists and dog walkers. In 2016, the bridge that carried the line to and from Walsall over Vicarage Road had a green fenced erected across both sides of the edges due to youths throwing stones and other rubbish at passing cars and people. Nothing remains of the station apart from parts of fencing on the Walsall platform and the former station masters house on Station Road to the immediate north.

References

Bring Back our railway including a Pelsall Station!
Disused railway stations in Walsall Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1849 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965 Beeching closures in England 1849 establishments in England 1965 disestablishments in England Former London and North Western Railway stations {{WestMidlands-railstation-stub