The Midland Railway branches around Walsall were built to give the Midland Railway independent access to Wolverhampton, and to a colliery district at Brownhills. The Midland Railway had a stake in the South Staffordshire Railway giving it access to Walsall, and the Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway (W&WR) was opened in 1872. At first the W&WR was independent and neutral, but it was acquired by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), and then sold by that company to the Midland Railway.
The South Staffordshire Railway too was acquired by the LNWR and the Midland Railway's rights over it were uncertain. The Midland company sponsored the Wolverhampton, Walsall and Midland Junction Railway (WW&MJR), running east from Walsall to join the Midland Railway main line at Water Orton. It opened in 1879. A Brownhills branch line was opened from a junction on the WW&MJR line in 1882.
Although the Midland Railway got its desired access to Wolverhampton, the LNWR developed a network of lines that dominated the area, and the Midland never established itself, although it did open its own goods station at Wolverhampton. The W&WR section closed completely in 1965 and the WW&MJR section lost its passenger service in 1965, although it remains open for freight traffic and occasional special passenger trains.
Black Country industry Wolverhampton, Walsall and the Black Country had been active in industry since well before the beginning of the nineteenth century. This was due to many factors, including the availability of raw materials, transport facilities on rivers and, later, canals, and relative freedom of employment. Iron production, and non-ferrous metal production were dominant, but many other industries were supported, including leather and glass, pottery, and for a time calico printing, although this last was not successful locally in the long term. There were extensive coal deposits near the surface, with iron ore and beds of fire clay.
A particular feature was specialist work, where companies provided components and raw materials to manufacturers elsewhere, who then assembled a finished product. For that reason, local transport within the area became increasingly important.G C Allen, The Industrial Development of the Black Country 1860 – 1927, George Allen and Unwin 1929, reprinted Routledge & Co, Abingdon, 2018, , chapter II, ebook not paginatedVic Mitchell, Walsall Routes, Middleton Press, Midhurst, 2013, , "Geographical Setting", not paginated
First railways The first modern railway in the area was the Grand Junction Railway, which opened its line in 1837, running from a station in Birmingham to Warrington, connecting on to Manchester and Liverpool.Norman Webster, Britain's First Trunk Line: the Grand Junction Railway, Adams and Dart, Bath, 1972, page 92 Its somewhat roundabout route passed near, but not through, Walsall and Wolverhampton, both of them important industrial towns.Wolverhampton became a city in 2001.Bob Yate, South Staffordshire Railway, volume one, Oakwood Press, Usk, 2010, , page 9 Neither place was given a convenient station. There was a Walsall station, well over a mile from the centre of the town, and there was a Wolverhampton station, a mile from the town centre. Webster, pages 77 to 79
In 1846 the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) was formed by amalgamation of the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. At once in control of a large geographical area, the LNWR set about expanding its network and deepening its control, in many cases by the use of affiliated local companies.Wilfred L Steele, ‘’The History of the London and North Western Railway’’, The Railway and Travel Monthly, London, 1914, page 132
The LNWR sponsored a nominally independent company called the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway (BW&SVR); it was incorporated in 1846Donald J Grant, Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain, Matador, Kibworth Beauchamp, 2017, page 49 and it was to build a direct line from Birmingham through Tipton to Wolverhampton, joining the old Grand Junction Railway route at Bushbury, north-west of Wolverhampton. The route became known as the Stour Valley Line. A new central station called New Street station was to be built in Birmingham. The BW&SVR was substantially completed in 1852 and immediately leased in perpetuity to the LNWR. It gave Wolverhampton a proper station, served directly from Birmingham. The Birmingham station was completed later, in 1854.Rex Christiansen, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume VII: the West Midlands, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973, , pages 135 to 137Steele, page 199
The Midland Railway was formed in 1844 by amalgamation of earlier lines. It too had a large network and it too sought to expand its territory. In the Birmingham area it had a line north-eastwards to Burton upon Trent and Derby, and another south-westwards to Gloucester; these routes passed Birmingham on the eastern side, with an inconveniently located terminal at Lawley Street.Clement E Stretton, The History of the Midland Railway, Methuen & Co, London, 1901, page 44
Connecting Walsall: the South Staffordshire Railway The South Staffordshire Railway (SSR) was authorised by the South Staffordshire Railway Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. clxxxix),Yate, page 10 to build a line from Dudley through Walsall and Lichfield to join the Midland Railway main line at Wichnor, some distance south of Burton. This was to the Midland Railway's advantage, as with running powers over the SSR it would get access to Walsall and the manufacturing districts west of Birmingham. At the same time the LNWR could connect to the SSR and, with running powers, get access to Derby over the Midland Railway beyond Wichnor Junction. Relations between the Midland Railway and the LNWR were co-operative at the time, and the mutual benefit led the two companies to subscribe share capital to the SSR; private subscribers were also involved.
The South Staffordshire Railway opened its first section from a temporary station in Walsall (at Bridgeman Place) to a junction on the GJR main line, called Bescot Junction, on 1 November 1847. This secured access to Walsall for the LNWR, but passenger transits from there to Birmingham had to go round to the east via Aston and Vauxhall.Yate, page 17 The SSR pressed ahead with construction, and on 9 April 1849 it extended northwards from Walsall to Lichfield and Wichnor Junction.Yate, page 19 At Walsall a well-appointed new station was opened in Station Street, a short distance further north of the temporary station, which was now closed. Now the Midland Railway too had access to Walsall, and the LNWR had its desired access to Derby.Yate, page 23
The line southwards to Dudley did not pass the Board of Trade inspection for passenger operation at first; goods traffic only, not needing the approval, started on 1 March 1850, and on 1 May 1850 the line southwards to Dudley from the Walsall to Bescot line was passed, and opened. This opening included an east-to-south spur enabling direct running from Bescot Junction (and Birmingham) to Dudley.Yate, page 26
Wolverhampton stations With the opening of the Stour Valley Line in 1852, its station at Wolverhampton became the general station there for the LNWR group. From 1885 to 1972 it was called Wolverhampton High Level station, but since then it is the only Wolverhampton station and is simply named "Wolverhampton".Steele, page 192Regional History, pages 110 and 111 The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) was constructing its line from south to north; in 1852 it had reached Dudley, and in 1854 it reached Wolverhampton, where it had its own station.E T MacDermot, History of the Great Western Railway, volume 1, 1833 – 1863, part II, published by the Great Western Railway, London, page 867 The OW&WR station was later (1856 – 1972) called Wolverhampton Low Level. The Great Western Railway used it, also from 1854; MacDermot, volume 1 part II, page 860 the OW&WR and the GWR eventually merged, but for now relations were strained. MacDermot, volume 1 part II, pages 525, 552 and 553
The old Grand Junction Railway route past Wolverhampton connected to the extension of the Stour Valley Line at Bushbury, north of Wolverhampton, but there was no convenient link from Wolverhampton to the GJR line east of Wolverhampton. There was considerable commercial trade between Walsall and Wolverhampton, and the poor railway connection was a source of dissatisfaction.Yate, page 6
Walsall and Wolverhampton Railway
Planning A proposal was formulated for an independent "Walsall and Wolverhampton Railway" (W&WR), directly connecting them. A line about miles long was planned; at Wolverhampton there were to be connections both to the BW&SVR station at Wolverhampton, and to the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway station.
The projected route of the Walsall and Wolverhampton Railway was arranged to enter Walsall from the north, joining the South Staffordshire Railway at Ryecroft Junction.Yate, page 7 The incorporation of the W&WR by act of Parliament, the (28 & 29 Vict. c. clxxxi), took place on 29 June 1865, but there were later several changes of plan, involving four acts of Parliament intermediately before completion of construction. Regional History, pages 108 and 109Grant, page 622
In particular, the route was changed: the line connecting to the Stour Valley Line at Wolverhampton was omitted, leaving only the connection at Wolverhampton to the GWR. The route into Walsall also changed, now approaching from the south, with a new station on the west side of the existing SSR station. The line would have had to make a huge sweep to the south as it approached Walsall to achieve this. A connection with the Stour Valley line was reinstated in a second act of Parliament, the (29 & 30 Vict. c. cclxxvi), dated 23 July 1866, specifying that a connection was to be made at Crane Street Junction, east of the Wolverhampton station. In the 1867 session of Parliament, the route at Walsall was altered to make a northern entry, at Ryecroft Junction, and this was authorised by the (30 & 31 Vict. c. clxxx) of 12 August 1867.
Next in the 1868 session, minor changes were made to the alignment of the junction at Ryecroft, and a further small change was made at Willenhall. In addition, a branch railway in Wednesfield was inserted. This act of Parliament, the (31 & 32 Vict. c. cxvi) of 13 July 1868, also authorised a bridge to replace two level crossings.Yate, pages 10 and 11
Opening, and a dispute Construction proceeded, and the line was at last opened for passengers, and probably for goods, on 1 November 1872.Yate, pages 12 and 13 In the first years there seem to have been eight or nine return passenger train workings, worked by the LNWR.
During the planning phase, the W&WR had secured a commitment from the LNWR to use the W&WR for all relevant goods traffic between the towns. However once the line was in operation, the LNWR realised that it was to its advantage to forward such traffic over its own line (via the old GJR route or via Wednesbury), and it started to divert traffic that way. The W&WR was naturally displeased by this and sought a court order requiring compliance. They eventually had the requirement confirmed at arbitration, but this soured the co-operative spirit between the companies. The LNWR decided that, rather than fight the W&WR continually, absorption of the smaller company was the best way forward, and on 1 July 1875 an act of Parliament giving authorisation for this, the London and North Western Railway (New Lines and Additional Powers) Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. clii), was obtained. It took effect on 19 July 1875, from which date the W&WR ceased to exist.Yate, pages 14 to 16