43-572: The Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line is a railway line which runs from Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester via Stourbridge and Kidderminster in the West Midlands , England. It is one of the Snow Hill Lines , with trains operated by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways using a variety of rolling stock including Class 172 and Class 168 diesel units. It is a future aspiration of Network Rail to electrify
86-469: A competitor for traffic for the north west. The S&BR had opened its line as far as Wolverhampton on 12 November 1849, but was unable to get access to Birmingham. Perkins wrote in 1952, referring to the Shrewsbury and Birmingham and the Shrewsbury and Chester companies: [The LNWR] became the bitter enemy of both of the smaller systems, and strove to crush them by every means in its power. The story
129-554: A connection at the Birmingham end; this was authorised separately after considerable debate over the preferred site; opinion at first was that there would only be one main station. The station selected was what became New Street station, although that name was not used at first. It too was authorised on 3 August 1846, by the London and Birmingham Railway (New Street Station) Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. ccclix), which included nearly
172-425: A diversionary route for through passenger services, and it too was electrified: Bescot – Bushbury – Stafford was opened to electric trains on 24 January 1966, and Stechford - Bescot on 15 August 1966. A major modernisation of Birmingham New Street station was undertaken as part of the work. In the 1960s a number of branch lines had been closed as road-based passenger transport, and private car ownership, increased. It
215-520: A mile from Wolverhampton, although there was a Wolverhampton station. So it was that the LNWR projected a direct line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. In the 1846 session of Parliament, the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway was promoted. Its concept had originally included a branch towards Stourbridge ; this was now omitted, but the reference to the Stour in the title remained. In fact
258-667: A mile of route from near Curzon Street, as well as the new station. The authorised capital was £35,000. So the Stour Valley Line was authorised, with the LNWR, the Birmingham Canal and the S&;BR having large holdings. However an act of Parliament of 1846 gave the LNWR control of the Birmingham Canal Navigation company's system, so that the LNWR at once became the majority shareholder of
301-468: A variety of service patterns (see map). Some trains terminate at Shrub Hill, whereas some reverse there before going to Foregate Street. Other trains take the direct curve to Foregate Street avoiding Shrub Hill. Some trains continue beyond Foregate Street to Malvern Link and Great Malvern . Chiltern Railways run services to London Marylebone in the morning rush hour, which start from Stourbridge Junction rather than Moor Street, and reverse journeys during
344-488: Is sordid and remarkable, and it seems almost incredible that a great public institution should have descended to such paltry devices to injure or destroy its competitors. The Stour Valley line was practically complete in 1851, but the LNWR made no attempt to finalise the work or prepare it for opening. In response to an application to Parliament by the S&BR, the LNWR announced that the Stour Valley Railway
387-750: Is the next calling point for most CrossCountry services, and thus offers a convenient alternative when the Lickey Incline is closed. Several charter trains can often be seen on the line due to the existence of the Severn Valley Railway which has a mainline connection at Kidderminster. Railway line Rail transport terms are a form of technical terminology applied to railways. Although many terms are uniform across different nations and companies, they are by no means universal, with differences often originating from parallel development of rail transport systems in different parts of
430-604: Is the present-day name given to the railway line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton , in England. It was authorised as the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway in 1836; the title was often shortened to the Stour Valley Railway . The line opened in 1852, and the line is now the main line between those places. Associated with its construction was the building of the major passenger station that
473-537: The International Union of Railways in its official publications and thesaurus. Also Centering spring cylinder . Also Railway air brake . Also Main Reservoir and Reservoir . Also see Reverser handle . A metal casting incorporating a slot that allows the casting to fit over the rail near the wheel of a derailed car. The locomotive then pushes or pulls the car so that
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#1732772931886516-679: The Midland Railway and the LNWR had both given guarantees of dividend to the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway . In time the B&;GR company was absorbed by the Midland Railway, and the LNWR guarantee remained as that company's obligation. On the opening of New Street station, an agreement was reached that the guarantee from the LNWR would be cancelled, and in return the Midland Railway was given access to New Street station. (It had been using Curzon Street station.) The allegiance of
559-588: The Railways Act 1921 , into one or other of four new large companies. The LNWR and the Midland Railway were constituents of the new London, Midland and Scottish Railway (the LMS), which from 1923 operated the Stour Valley Line and New Street station. In 1948 the railways were nationalised, following the Transport Act 1947 and British Railways were the new owner. In the 1960s a major scheme of modernisation
602-480: The Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line , an important and very heavily used part of the railway network. Birmingham's first main railway passenger terminal was Curzon Street station ; it opened in 1838, although it was not given that name until 1852; at first it was simply the Birmingham station. The Grand Junction Railway opened to a temporary station at Vauxhall on 4 July 1837, approaching by curving round
645-533: The Grand Junction Railway's sweep through Aston, and instead cutting through the high ground in central Birmingham. There was to be a Dudley branch, though this was not built in the form originally authorised. There were sixteen railways proposed in the immediate area in the 1846 session, and there was much controversy over which of them should be authorised. There was a strong body of opinion that only one line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton
688-585: The Midland Metro between Snow Hill and New Street, or change at Smethwick Galton Bridge. This did however add much needed extra capacity to the Stour Valley Line into Birmingham New Street and free up platform space there. This service took the connection between Galton and Smethwick Junctions near Smethwick West. Services were once hourly from Worcester to Birmingham New Street via Stourbridge. Two CrossCountry services are timetabled to use
731-477: The S&BR was given a better route over the GWR line. In 1966 it was reopened for the electrification, giving access for Shrewsbury trains to Wolverhampton High Level station, and electric train access to the important carriage sidings at Oxley, on the S&BR line. The 1960s modernisation of Birmingham New Street station was considered by many to be unsatisfactory; the platform areas were dark and cold, and access to
774-465: The S&BR. The latter company then announced its intention of running a train anyway, on 1 December 1851. However the running powers held by the S&BR were for the Stour Valley line, which did not include entry to New Street station, which was part of a separate construction, and the LNWR physically obstructed the running of the train. The S&BR threatened a parliamentary bill to resolve
817-409: The Stour Valley Railway. A further act of Parliament of 1847 permitted the LNWR to lease the (unbuilt) Stour Valley Line. The LNWR embarked on a prolonged and underhand attack on the S&BR, which it saw as a competing line for Lancashire and Cheshire traffic that the LNWR wished to have exclusively. It purposely delayed completing the line, in order to disadvantage the S&BR, which it now saw as
860-483: The company was colloquially referred to as the Stour Valley Railway. The route was to run between a new central station at Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, joining the Grand Junction Railway at Bushbury , north of Wolverhampton. The line was to start in central Birmingham and run broadly north-west, following the Birmingham Canal , which had already attracted much industry to adjacent areas. This meant avoiding
903-590: The derailed wheel runs up the rerailer and back on to the track. Also see Extended Wagon Top Boiler . Also see Waist sheet . Also see Expansion knee . Also see Valve gear. Also see Grate Also see Train air signal apparatus. Also see Control system. Also Adhesion railway . Also Adhesion railway . Also see Hub. Also Adhesion railway . Also see Whistle stem. Also Coupler Yoke , Bell Yoke , Guide Yoke , Valve Yoke . Stour Valley Line The Stour Valley Line
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#1732772931886946-554: The end of the nineteenth century, duplicating the tunnel section and diverting the Midland lines from Derby and Gloucester (via Camp Hill). This work was completed in May 1896. The Midland Railway had their own part of New Street station from 8 February 1885, and the entire station was made joint between the LNWR and the Midland Railway from 1 April 1897. Most of the main line railway companies of Great Britain were "grouped" following
989-472: The entire line, as well as the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebone . The line is one of two railway routes between Birmingham and Worcester, the other route runs via Bromsgrove . The line was used mostly by GWR trains from Snow Hill, but some London and North Western Railway and Midland Railway trains from Birmingham New Street to Worcester and Hereford via Galton Junction also used
1032-468: The evening. Before the reopening of Snow Hill, trains along this route ran into Birmingham New Street, where they terminated. Even after the Snow Hill reopening a lower level of service to New Street was maintained, but this link was axed altogether at the May 2004 timetable change, to much local consternation. Passengers for New Street must now either walk between Moor Street and New Street stations, use
1075-616: The industries of Lancashire. However, on 1 January 1846 they, and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway , amalgamated to form the London and North Western Railway. Birmingham was a major centre of industry and the workshops and manufactories of the district proliferated. The L&BR and the GJR had been planned as inter-city railways, and numerous locations that had gained in importance now demanded rail connection. The GJR route passed more than
1118-507: The line each day — one service from Birmingham New Street (via Smethwick Junction and Galton Junction ) in the early morning and a pair of reverse services in the evening. None of these call at any of the stations along the line and are scheduled to ensure drivers retain knowledge of the route. During congestion or mainly during engineering works, the line sees much more frequent service as a diversionary route. The line from Worcester Shrub Hill continues to Cheltenham Spa railway station , which
1161-446: The line, until 1917, when all trains on the line ran into Snow Hill. In the late 1960s, services to Snow Hill were run down. In 1967 most services on the line were diverted to Birmingham New Street. However a skeleton service of four trains per day, was retained between Snow Hill and Langley Green until March 1972, when Snow Hill station, along with the line to Smethwick West was closed to passengers. A single line as far as Handsworth
1204-583: The lines to Worcester and Hereford with those to Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa ". The line serves the following places: Passenger services are provided by West Midlands Trains between Birmingham and Worcester and beyond, and by Chiltern Railways between Birmingham and Kidderminster only. The local service provided by West Midlands Trains comprises: All local services continue beyond Birmingham to either Dorridge , Whitlocks End or Stratford-upon-Avon , with some peak hour trains running to Leamington Spa . A triangular junction at Worcester allows
1247-461: The matter, and in February 1852 the LNWR opened the Stour Valley Railway to its own goods trains, and to passenger trains on 1 July 1852. Still the LNWR found reasons to exclude the running of S&BR trains, and it was only on 4 February 1854 that this usage started. The station was opened on 1 June 1854. The Midland Railway had been using Curzon Street and that company transferred its trains to
1290-428: The new station on 1 July 1854. On 14 November 1854 the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley Railway opened for traffic. This was a rival scheme in GWR hands, and the S&BR, now amalgamated with the GWR, transferred its trains to the friendly line, which used the GWR stations in both Wolverhampton and Birmingham. The Birmingham station was known at first by the title Navigation Street Station. Some years before this
1333-502: The north and north-west of the city by way of Bescot and Aston . The London and Birmingham Railway opened to Curzon Street station from the south on 9 April 1838, completing its line to London on 24 June 1838. Through communication between London and Lancashire was achieved. The London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway were not always harmonious allies, and the L&;BR courted alternative means of connecting with
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1376-408: The platforms was congested. In 2006 Network Rail a regeneration scheme was announced, and work started in 2010. The shopping area above the station was extended and upgraded, and re-opened with the title Grand Central . It was completed in 2015. The new concourse is three times larger than the former, and is enclosed by a large atrium, allowing natural light throughout the station. Electrification in
1419-464: The residential districts and neighbouring towns grew in prosperity, the suburban traffic using New Street station expanded considerably. The approach to Birmingham New Street station from the east became very congested, with the LNWR's own main line traffic, supplemented by that from the Aston lines, as well as the Midland Railway's use of the station. A scheme for widening the approaches was undertaken at
1462-688: The restored route: Smethwick Galton Bridge , The Hawthorns and Jewellery Quarter . Smethwick Galton Bridge station was built as a two-level interchange with trains on the Birmingham New Street-Wolverhampton Line , and it replaced the nearby Smethwick West station which closed soon after. The reopening cost £28.5 million in 1995 prices, with the majority of the funding coming from Centro . It allowed cross-city rail services to operate through Snow Hill, and freed up much needed capacity at New Street station. According to Centro, it created "a third cross city line linking
1505-461: The two lines between Birmingham and Wolverhampton was entirely polarised, the Stour Valley Line being in the LNWR group and the BW&;DR being a Great Western Railway line. Both had been formally leased or absorbed. The Stour Valley Line became an important trunk route, but it also served numerous communities and industrial centres in its short length. As Birmingham itself grew in importance, and as
1548-757: The world, and in the national origins of the engineers and managers who built the inaugural rail infrastructure . An example is the term railroad , used (but not exclusively) in North America , and railway , generally used in English-speaking countries outside North America and by the International Union of Railways . In English-speaking countries outside the United Kingdom, a mixture of US and UK terms may exist. Various terms, both global and specific to individual countries, are listed here. The abbreviation "UIC" refers to terminology adopted by
1591-421: Was considered useful to have an intermediate passenger railhead without entering the centres of Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and Oldbury station was selected for development. It was retitled Sandwell and Dudley , and opened on 14 May 1994. Selected main line trains called there. The original connection between the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway and the LNWR route at Wolverhampton had been closed in 1859, when
1634-648: Was induced to omit the section of its line south of Wolverhampton, taking instead a one-quarter share in the Stour Valley Railway; the LNWR had a quarter, as did the Birmingham Canal; private investors collectively took the other quarter. Finally, despite the earlier presumption that only one connecting line was needed, both the Stour Valley Railway and the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway (Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley Lines) Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. cccxxviii) received royal assent , on 3 August 1846. The Stour Valley Railway would need
1677-462: Was justified. As well as the Stour Valley Railway, two other lines between Birmingham and Wolverhampton were proposed in the same session: the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley Railway , taking a more northerly route, and joining the (proposed) Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway at Priestfield; and the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway . During the parliamentary process the S&BR
1720-458: Was kept open for freight traffic (cement & scrap metals). Snow Hill station was reopened to services from the south in October 1987. In 1993, as part of the project to restore services through Snow Hill, work began on reopening the 4 miles (6 km) of line between Smethwick and Snow Hill as the "Jewellery Line"; the line was reopened on 24 September 1995. Three new stations were opened on
1763-459: Was later named New Street station, and also lines in tunnel each side of the station, connecting to the existing routes. The station was opened in 1854. Before completion, the Company became controlled by the London and North Western Railway , which used dubious methods to harm competitor railways that were to be dependent on its completion. The line was electrified in 1966 and now forms part of
Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-536: Was ready for opening by 1 December 1852, but the LNWR refused the S&BR access, on the grounds that the S&BR had announced its intention to amalgamate with the GWR. It had not actually done so, merely announced the intention, but this gave the LNWR the opportunity to prevaricate. When judgment in Chancery was found against the LNWR, it refused to open the line to the S&BR, stating that it would be unsafe, as certain safety undertakings had not been formalised by
1849-574: Was undertaken on British Railways. Part of the scheme was the electrification at 25 kV overhead, 50 Hz, of the West Coast Main Line and certain branches. The main line itself came first, but electrification on the Rugby – Coventry – Birmingham – Wolverhampton – Stafford route followed. On 6 December 1966 the Birmingham – Wolverhampton section was inaugurated. The Grand Junction route via Bescot had become important for freight, and as
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