Spring Road is a small

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

in the

Acocks Green Acocks Green is an area and ward of southeast Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family, who built a large house there in 1370. Acocks Green is one of four wards making up Yardley formal district. It is occasionally spelled "Aco ...

area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

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 ...

. It is situated on the

North Warwickshire Line The North Warwickshire Line (also known as the Shakespeare Line) is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It runs from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, now the southern terminus of the line, al ...

, between

Tyseley Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Acocks Green, Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal. Etymology Tyseley means "Tyssa's clear ...

and

Hall Green Hall Green is an area in southeast Birmingham, England, synonymous with the B28 postcode. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Historically it lay within the county of Worcestershire. Politics Hall Green i ...

stations. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by

West Midlands Railway West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

History

The station was opened in 1908 as a halt named ''Spring Road Platform'' to ease traffic from the station at Tyseley, and to serve a cluster of cottages on the nearby land, which were owned until 1925 by the landowner at

Fox Hollies Hall Fox Hollies Hall was a manor house situated in Acocks Green, Fox Hollies, Birmingham, England, belonging to the Walker family. The Hall itself was built as a mock-Italianate in 1869 to replace the nearby Hyron Hall, and was commissioned by a reti ...

, Zaccheus Walker IV. The station consisted of two platforms with shelters, with ramps leading from street level to the station below. Passengers had to purchase their tickets on the train. The station served as a request stop for the

railmotor Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it. Steam railcars Overview In th ...

excursions throughout the years before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, with Acocks Green building up around it. Zaccheus Walker IV, who was a well-respected

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

in the area, used the station for school trips (paid for by him personally) to the countryside and

Stratford upon Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-w ...

. At the end of the

Second World War 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a factory consisting of two buildings was built alongside the station, belonging to Lucas. The larger of the two known as BW3 and BW4 were later sold to

Magneti Marelli Magneti Marelli S.p.A. () is an Italian developer and manufacturer of components for the automotive industry. The firm is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and includes 86 manufacturing plants, 12 R&D centres, and 26 application centers in 19 c ...

in the early 1990s, before passing into the hands of Denso in 2003. The smaller BW5 stayed in the hands of Lucas as part of Lucas Aerospace. Lucas was bought out by TRW in 1998, BW5 has been in the hands of Goodrich since October 2002 when TRW sold off all its aerospace businesses. In the 1950s, a permanent ticket-office was placed at the top of the ramp leading to Platform 1 (towards

). An older shelter at the top of this ramp built after the

was converted into a toolshed, which it is used as today. Workers at the factory first used the station to travel to and from work, which kept the station open during the era 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 ...

, but traffic became less with the appearance of the private car.

Services

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

run local services every 30 minutes as part of the Snow Hill lines: The off-peak service pattern Mondays to Saturdays is as follows: * 2 trains per hour westbound to via

Birmingham Moor Street Birmingham Moor Street is one of three main railway stations in the city centre of Birmingham, England, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Snow Hill. Today's Moor Street station is a combination of the original station, opened i ...

, Birmingham Snow Hill and

Stourbridge Junction Stourbridge Junction is one of two railway stations serving the town of Stourbridge, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It lies on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line and is the junction for the ...

, with some evening services continuing onward to

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

. * 2 trains per hour eastbound to , one of which continues to

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-w ...

. On Sundays, there is an hourly service each way – westbound to via Birmingham, and southbound to Stratford-upon-Avon.

References

External links

Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Spring Hill railway station
{{West Midlands railway stations, open Railway stations in Birmingham, West Midlands DfT Category E stations Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1908 Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains 1908 establishments in England