Wednesbury Town railway station was a station on the South Staffordshire Line.

History

Wednesbury Town railway station 2003 (2)

The station was opened in 1850. 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 ...

, 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 line had reasonable passenger usage until about the early 1880s, when it began to slump at several stations, leading to the line becoming a largely freight only operation in 1887. It would remain open for goods traffic, which was considerable at this time, as the district had become highly industrialised in the then heyday of the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...

's industrial past. It also served as the terminus of the Darlaston Loop which ran from Walsall to Wednesbury via Darlaston and it branched off on the present-day Walsall-Wolverhampton Line. It closed to passengers in the 1880s and then to freight and excursion trains in the 1960s. It is now a footpath between Darlaston and James Bridge but is built on towards Wednesbury Town. Wednesbury town crossing 2011

As the local industry declined and road transport became more common, the station entered a post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

decline. The station was known as Wednesbury until it was renamed Wednesbury 'town' in 1950 as part of nationalisation.

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

closed the station through 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 1964 due to decline in freight and passenger custom. While the electrification of the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

was underway the former GWR line did see a large increase in its traffic and a reopening of the station appear likely, but once the

had been re-reopened the diverted trains were removed and the additional services quickly reduced. The last

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than Local train, local trains that stop at most or all of the s ...

ran on the line in March 1967, and after 1970 it was normally only used by goods trains. The station buildings were demolished shortly after their closure, but the platform remains intact more than 50 years later. The signal box was still in use when the Walsall-Round Oak section of the line closed in March 1993, but it was destroyed by

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

ists in 1995. The level crossing was fenced off around the same time in order for the Midland Metro to be built across the line nearby, although the fence was later vandalized and the line between Wednesbury and Great Bridge is often used a route for pedestrians and dog walkers.

Since closure

The station ruins were fenced off and partly built over by a growing

Biffa Biffa plc is a waste management company headquartered in High Wycombe, England. It provides collection, landfill, recycling and special waste services to local authorities and industrial and commercial clients in the United Kingdom. , it was the U ...

waste disposal plant by 2010. The plant has been built during the 1990s in one of the station

car parks A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...

, while the buildings of several small enterprises occupy the other side.

Midland Metro

A £1,100,000/15-year-long regeneration project will see the station become part of the local tram network with the line reopening 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 ...

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 ...

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 Th ...

and the

Merry Hill Shopping Centre Merry Hill (formerly Westfield Merry Hill and The Merry Hill Shopping Centre) is a large shopping complex in Brierley Hill near Dudley, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several subsequent expansion and renovation projects ...

for trams on one track and for freight on the other. The freighters would continue on past

Brettell Lane railway station Brettell Lane railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line which served the town of Brierley Hill in England. History It was opened in 1852 by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. Local coal mining a ...

and on to the mainline at Stourbridge Junction. In March 2011, the business plan for the reopening of the line between Stourbridge and Walsall was submitted to Network Rail. Trams would run along the South Staffordshire line through Wednesbury and Dudley, sharing the line with freight trains.

Andy Street Andrew John Street (born 11 June 1963) is a British businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who was the managing director of John Lewis & Partners, John Lewis from 2007 to 2016, when he resigned to run for Mayor o ...

pledged in his mayoral campaign to reopen the line, however there is still no timeline.url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/walsall-stourbridge-trains-run-again-12592078

References

External links

Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Wednesbury Town railway station
{{West Midlands railway stations, disused Disused railway stations in Sandwell Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964 Beeching closures in England Former London and North Western Railway stations