Dudley railway station
Encyclopedia
Dudley Railway Station was a passenger railway station located at Dudley
, England
, built where the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line and the South Staffordshire Line
diverged to Wolverhampton
and Walsall
and Lichfield
respectively.
(which was soon to fall into the hands of the Great Western Railway
, and the London and North Western Railway
(which had taken control of the South Staffordshire Railway - the company that had constructed the line from Lichfield
, via Walsall
, to Dudley
). The latter eventually became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
. The station was completed in 1860.
A racecourse had been situated just north of the station until the mid 1840s when it was closed to make way for the railway, but its name was revived during the 1980s when Racecourse Colliery, a model colliery, was opened on the site as part of the Black Country Living Museum
.
The line had reasonable passenger usage until about the early 1880’s, 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.
As the local industry declined and road transport became more common, the station entered a post-World War 2 decline, although not as heavily as most others on the line.
to Wolverhampton Low Level closed to passengers in 1962, but Dudley remained as a terminus for trains from Walsall
on the South Staffordshire Line
, Old Hill
on the Bumble Hole Line and Birmingham Snow Hill until the Beeching Axe
had its effect in 1964 despte of the station's high passenger turnover at the time.
The South Staffordshire Line's uses were complicated, since some trains terminated at Dudley
from Lichfield
and Walsall
, and some continued through to Stourbridge Junction. Similarly, the same applied with the journey in reverse.
. It was one of the first of its kind in Britain.
The Freightliner Terminal closed in 1989, and the line passing through Dudley closed to all traffic in 1993. Most of the track remains in place, although a few lengths of track around the site of Dudley Station have been removed and the site of the Freightliner Terminal is now little more than an overgrown field.
, 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 past Brettell Lane railway station
and on to the mainline at Stourbridge junction.
The Midland Metro
is expected to open on the adjoining track in 2012 or 2013, with trams leaving the traditional line near the former terminal site and passing through Dudley town centre before rejoining the line at the north mouth of the Dudley Railway Tunnel
. One track on the line is also expected to re-open to goods trains, and part of the terminal site will be occupied by an expansion to Dudley Zoo
. The closed section of railway through Dudley
is expected to re-open during the 2010s, as a combined Midland Metro
tramway and a heavy rail line for goods trains.
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, built where the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line and the South Staffordshire Line
South Staffordshire Line
The South Staffordshire Line was a railway line that connected Lichfield in Staffordshire, England with Dudley, formerly in Worcestershire. However, it joined the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway's line just north of Dudley Station, where it, in essence, continued to Stourbridge, in...
diverged to Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton Low Level railway station
Wolverhampton Low Level was a railway station on Sun Street, in Springfield, Wolverhampton, England .It was built by the Great Western Railway, on their route from London to Birkenhead via Birmingham...
and Walsall
Walsall railway station
Walsall railway station is the principal railway station of Walsall, West Midlands, England and situated in the heart of the town. It is operated by London Midland, who run all of its train services...
and Lichfield
Lichfield Trent Valley railway station
Lichfield Trent Valley is a split-level railway station on the outskirts of the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire, England. It is one of two stations in Lichfield, the other being in the city-centre.-History:...
respectively.
History
The station was built as a collaboration between the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton RailwayOxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway was a company authorised on 4 August 1845 to construct a railway line from the Oxford and Rugby Railway at Wolvercot Junction to Worcester, Stourbridge, Dudley, and Wolverhampton, with a branch to the Grand Junction Railway at Bushbury...
(which was soon to fall into the hands of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, and the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(which had taken control of the South Staffordshire Railway - the company that had constructed the line from Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
, via Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, to Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
). The latter eventually became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
. The station was completed in 1860.
A racecourse had been situated just north of the station until the mid 1840s when it was closed to make way for the railway, but its name was revived during the 1980s when Racecourse Colliery, a model colliery, was opened on the site as part of the Black Country Living Museum
Black Country Living Museum
The Black Country Living Museum is an open-air museum of rebuilt historic buildings, located in Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The museum occupies a urban heritage park in the shadow of Dudley Castle in the centre of the Black Country conurbation...
.
The line had reasonable passenger usage until about the early 1880’s, 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
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
's industrial past.
As the local industry declined and road transport became more common, the station entered a post-World War 2 decline, although not as heavily as most others on the line.
Closure
The station was popular with local people who appreciated its convenient locations and frequent trains, with high numbers of passengers still using the services as recently as the 1950s. The OW&WR line from Stourbridge JunctionStourbridge Junction railway station
Stourbridge Junction railway station is a railway station on the Birmingham, Worcester and Kidderminster Line in West Midlands, England. Stourbridge Town Branch Line runs from the station to Stourbridge town centre...
to Wolverhampton Low Level closed to passengers in 1962, but Dudley remained as a terminus for trains from Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
on the South Staffordshire Line
South Staffordshire Line
The South Staffordshire Line was a railway line that connected Lichfield in Staffordshire, England with Dudley, formerly in Worcestershire. However, it joined the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway's line just north of Dudley Station, where it, in essence, continued to Stourbridge, in...
, Old Hill
Old Hill
Old Hill is a locality in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in West Midlands, England. It is a district of Cradley Heath.-General description:...
on the Bumble Hole Line and Birmingham Snow Hill until the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
had its effect in 1964 despte of the station's high passenger turnover at the time.
The South Staffordshire Line's uses were complicated, since some trains terminated at Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
from Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
and Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, and some continued through to Stourbridge Junction. Similarly, the same applied with the journey in reverse.
Use since closure
The buildings of Dudley Station remained open for parcels until early 1967, when they were knocked down and replaced by Dudley Freightliner TerminalDudley Freightliner Terminal
Dudley Freightliner Terminal was opened on the site of Dudley railway station in October 1967, as one of Freightliner's first rail terminals. It was an instant financial success and by 1981 was one of the most profitable Freightliner terminals in Britain, but Freightliner UK announced plans to...
. It was one of the first of its kind in Britain.
The Freightliner Terminal closed in 1989, and the line passing through Dudley closed to all traffic in 1993. Most of the track remains in place, although a few lengths of track around the site of Dudley Station have been removed and the site of the Freightliner Terminal is now little more than an overgrown field.
Metrolink
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 WalsallWalsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, Dudley Port railway station
Dudley Port railway station
-History:There was a Low Level Station on the former South Staffordshire line that had opened in 1850. 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...
, Dudley railway station and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Westfield Merry Hill is a shopping centre in Brierley Hill near Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number...
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
-Brettell Lane railway station:Brettell Lane railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line built to serve the communities between Brierley Hill and Stourbridge in England.-History:...
and on to the mainline at Stourbridge junction.
The Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
is expected to open on the adjoining track in 2012 or 2013, with trams leaving the traditional line near the former terminal site and passing through Dudley town centre before rejoining the line at the north mouth of the Dudley Railway Tunnel
Dudley Railway Tunnel
Dudley Railway Tunnel is a railway tunnel located near to the former Dudley railway station in Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was opened in 1850 to allow the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line between Stourbridge and Wolverhampton to pass for several hundred yards beneath a hilly area of...
. One track on the line is also expected to re-open to goods trains, and part of the terminal site will be occupied by an expansion to Dudley Zoo
Dudley Zoo
Dudley Zoological Gardens is a zoo located within the grounds of Dudley Castle in the town of Dudley, in the Black Country region of the West Midlands, England...
. The closed section of railway through Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
is expected to re-open during the 2010s, as a combined Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
tramway and a heavy rail line for goods trains.
External links
- Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Dudley railway station
- -://chasewaterstuff.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/some-south-staffordshire-railway-byways/
- http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Wednesbury/Transport.htm