Wednesbury Town railway station

This article is about the disused station on the South Staffordshire Line. For the other disused station in Wednesbury operated by the Great Western Railway, see Wednesbury Central railway station.

Wednesbury Town
Station site in 2003.
Location
Place	Wednesbury
Area	Sandwell
Grid reference	SO986945
Operations
Original company	South Staffordshire Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Platforms	2
History
1850	Opened as Wednesbury
1950	Renamed as Wednesbury Town
1964	Officially closed
1970	Closed to diverted trains, specials and rail tours
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

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

History

It was opened in 1850. The station was built and served by the South Staffordshire Railway, which later became London, Midland and Scottish Railway (through amalgamation of the London and North Western Railway). 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's industrial past.

A picture of Wednesbury Town railway station in 2003.

The rail crossing outside closed Wednesbury Town station in 2011.

As the local industry declined and road transport became more common, the station entered a post-World War II decline. The station was known as Wednesbury until it was renamed Wednesbury 'town' in 1950 as part of nationalisation. British Rail closed the station through the Beeching Axe in 1964 due to decline in freight and passenger custom.

While the electrification of the West Coast Main Line 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 West Coast Main Line had been re-reopened the diverted trains were removed and the additional services quickly reduced. The last Paddington to Birkenhead express train 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 arsonists 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.

Today's usage

The station ruins were fenced off and partly built over by a growing Biffa waste disposal plant by 2010. The plant has been built at least 10 years earlier in one of the station car parks, 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, Dudley Port railway station, Dudley railway station and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre for trams on one track and for freight on the other. The freighters would continue on part Brettell Lane railway station and on to the mainline at Stourbridge Junction.^[1]

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^[2]

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Walsall		South Staffordshire Railway Later LNWR, then LMS, finally BR South Staffs Line (1850-1964)		Great Bridge North

References

External links

Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Wednesbury Town railway station

Railway stations in the West Midlands county

Open stations

Birmingham	Acocks Green Adderley Park Aston Blake Street Bordesley Bournville Butlers Lane Chester Road Duddeston Erdington Five Ways Four Oaks Gravelly Hill Hall Green Hamstead Jewellery Quarter Kings Norton Lea Hall Longbridge Moor Street New Street Northfield Perry Barr Selly Oak Small Heath Snow Hill Spring Road Stechford Sutton Coldfield Tyseley University Witton Wylde Green Yardley Wood

Coventry	Canley Coventry Coventry Arena Tile Hill

Dudley	Coseley Lye Stourbridge Junction Stourbridge Town

Sandwell	Bescot Stadium Cradley Heath Dudley Port Langley Green Old Hill Rowley Regis Sandwell and Dudley Smethwick Galton Bridge Smethwick Rolfe Street Tame Bridge Parkway The Hawthorns Tipton

Solihull	Berkswell Birmingham International Dorridge Earlswood Hampton-in-Arden Marston Green Olton Shirley Solihull Whitlocks End Widney Manor

Walsall	Bloxwich Bloxwich North Walsall

Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton

Outside West Midlands county, but within the Transport for West Midlands area	Wythall

Disused

Birmingham	Bromford Bridge Camp Hill Castle Bromwich Central Goods Church Road Curzon Street Granville Street Hagley Road Handsworth & Smethwick Handsworth Wood Hazelwell Hockley Icknield Port Road Kings Heath Lawley Street Lifford Longbridge (1915-1964) Monument Lane Moseley Penns Rotton Park Road Rubery Saltley Soho & Winson Green Soho Road Somerset Road Sutton Park Sutton Coldfield Town Winson Green

Coventry	Coundon Road Daimler Halt Foleshill Longford and Exhall

Dudley	Baptist End Blowers Green Brettell Lane Brierley Hill Brockmoor Halt Bromley Halt Darby End Dudley Gornal Halt Halesowen Harborne Harts Hill Old Hill High Street Pensnett Halt Round Oak Windmill End

Sandwell	Albion Great Bridge North Great Bridge South Newton Road Oldbury Princes End & Coseley Rood End Smethwick West Soho Spon Lane Swan Village Tipton Five Ways Wednesbury Central Wednesbury Town West Bromwich

Walsall	Aldridge Bentley Brownhills Brownhills Watling Street Darlaston Darlaston James Bridge North Walsall Pelsall Pleck Rushall Short Heath Streetly Walsall Wood Willenhall Bilston Street Willenhall Stafford Street Wood Green

Wolverhampton	Bilston Central Bilston West Bradley and Moxley Bushbury Compton Halt Daisy Bank Dunstall Park Ettingshall Road Heath Town Monmore Green Portobello Priestfield Tettenhall Wednesfield Heath for Wolverhampton Wednesfield Wolverhampton Low Level

Heritage

Tyseley, Warwick Road

List of West Midlands railway stations
Transport in the West Midlands
Transport for West Midlands

Coordinates: 52°32′55″N 2°01′20″W / 52.5486°N 2.0222°W / 52.5486; -2.0222

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