Newton Road railway station was a station of the London and North Western Railway in Sandwell between

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, c ...

and

Great Barr Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Bir ...

, England. It lay between Hamstead and the later Tame Bridge Parkway stations on what is now known as the

Chase Line The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham New Street, to Walsall, and then Rugeley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley Line. The name of the li ...

. As one of the original

Grand Junction Railway The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...

stations, Newton Road opened in 1837, (at ; ) but under subsequent

LNWR 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 L ...

control, it was deemed that a more suitable site should be found, and the station was shifted a short distance north-west along the track in 1863 to the junction of Ray Hall Lane with the railway (at ; ; a location now buried under the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

). However, this move yielded few dividends in passenger numbers, so the station was shifted back near its original position on Newton Road in 1902, where it stayed until final closure in 1945.

Incidents

On 2 September 1848 a LNWR express train, comprising a locomotive, tender, luggage van and three passenger carriages, from Stratford to Birmingham departed from Wolverhampton 25 minutes behind schedule. Passengers noticed unusual osculations, and those in the rear carriage, which belonged to the

Scottish Central Railway The Scottish Central Railway was formed in 1845 to link Perth and Stirling to Central Scotland, by building a railway line to join the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Castlecary. The line opened in 1848 including a branch to South Alloa. T ...

, reported a series of bangs, after which the train derailed, coming to rest about a quarter of a mile past Newton Road station. A light engine travelling in the other direction - and with

Francis Trevithick Francis Trevithick (1812–1877), from Camborne, Cornwall, was one of the first locomotive engineers of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Life Born in 1812 as the son of Richard Trevithick, he began the study of civil engineering ar ...

aboard - struck the wreckage and was also derailed. At least one passenger died as a result of the initial derailment.

References

External links

Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Newton Road
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1837 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1945 Disused railway stations in Sandwell Grand Junction Railway Former London and North Western Railway stations {{WestMidlands-railstation-stub