South Staffordshire Railway Walk
Location
County County A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain... :	Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
Walk
Length:	5.5 miles [8.85km.]
Type:	Railway Walk
Established:	unknown
Administration
Administrative authority:	Ranger Service of the South Staffordshire District Council

The South Staffordshire Railway Walk is located in Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

, 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...

It runs for five and a half miles [about 8.85km] from Castlecroft to Wall Heath.

History

As the name suggests South Staffordshire Railway Walk was originally part of the Wombourne Branch Line built between 1912 and 1925 by the Great Western Railway Company.

However it was not very successful and passenger Services were withdrawn in 1932.

In the aftermath of the D-Day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

 landings in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 during The Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 it was used to transport wounded allied

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 soldiers to various hospitals in the area.

It became part of the Western Region of British Railways in 1948 after the nationalization of the railways

Transport Act 1947

The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...

.

The line was finally closed in 1965 under the Beeching Report after decline in traffic throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, with the last train running on 24 June 1965.

Walk

The South Staffordshire Railway Walk starts at Castlecroft

Castlecroft

Castlecroft is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, located on the edge of the city, WSW of the city centre. It is situated where the Merry Hill, and Tettenhall Wightwick wards meet, and also borders South Staffordshire.-History:...

 and runs for five and a half miles [about 8.85km] to Wall Heath

Wall Heath

-Geography:Wall Heath is a small village on the western fringe of the Black Country and the West Midlands conurbation in the United Kingdom. It is located on the A449 road, approximately seven miles south of Wolverhampton and 9 miles North of Kidderminster....

 passing through other villages such as Wombourne

Wombourne

Wombourne is a very large village and civil parish located in the district of South Staffordshire, in the county of Staffordshire, 4 miles south-west of Wolverhampton. Local affairs are run by a parish council. At the 2001 census it had a population of 13,691...

 where the Railway Café is located en-route. It has an all weather surface making it accessible to wheelchairs users, pushchairs and cyclers with free car parking located at the Old Wombourne Station and Himley Station.
The walk also forms part of the Smestow Valley Leisure Ride

Smestow Valley Leisure Ride

Smestow Valley Leisure Ride is an approximately long cycle path linking Aldersley Leisure Village in Aldersley, Wolverhampton following the route of the disused Wombourne Branchline to the disused Wombourne railway station. From Wombourne station, the route follows the Staffordshire and...

from Castlecroft until Wombourne Station.