Wednesbury (1993)
The freight line between Bescot/Pleck Jct and Round Oak was closed with effect from Monday 22nd March 1993, and the last trains ran on Friday 19th March. The table below details all the movements through Wednesbury during the final week of normal service. Where the loco is shown in grey this indicates that this is the engine that should have worked the service according to the diagrams - but I wasn't able to confirm it.
When the end came there were three sources of traffic on the line between Bescot and Stourbridge. The steel terminal at Wednesbury had closed in late 1992, but the spoil tip was still in use right to the end. The site was subsequently used for the Midland Metro tram depot and railway spoil traffic from Bescot was re-directed to the tip at Honeybourne.
The second source of traffic was the steel terminal at Round Oak. This was operated by Round Oak Rail, a private firm. Traffic here consisted of steel, mainly in the form of coil, mostly manufactured at Llanwern (Newport) and Port Talbot (Margam) in South Wales. Round Oak remains open to this day, and is very busy with paths for three incoming trains a day. All trains must now reach Round Oak from the south, but as all the vast bulk of the current traffic comes from South Wales this isn't much of a problem.
The third traffic source was Brierley Hill, a steel terminal operated by British Rail itself. It also handled steel, but mainly in the form of wire and rod. In 1993 most of Brierley Hill's traffic emanated from the Allied Steel & Wire (ASW) plant in Cardiff docks, although traffic from other sources (including imports) was routed through Bescot. In recent years Brierley Hill has led a chequered existence, being closed and re-opened on a couple of occasions. It was operated by EWS in the post-privatisation years. For a year or so in 2004/05 it was being used for roadstone from Peak Forest (near Buxton), in addition to steel from Scunthorpe which was the staple traffic. However the stone trains ceased early in 2005, and in September 2006 Brierley Hill closed yet again - the Scunthorpe traffic having been diverted to Wolverhampton. That wasn't the end though, in the second half of 2007 stone trains started running Croft Quarry (in Leicestershire) to Brierley Hill. There have also been outgoing scrap trains to Southampton and Cardiff in recent years.
Other traffic referred to in the table below includes 6E58, another steel service originating from the ASW plant at Cardiff. During the final months this was the only train booked to take the direct Wednesbury - Walsall route rather than go into Bescot. Another regular train in 1993 was the china-clay service from St Blazey (near Par) in Cornwall to Cliffe Vale in Stoke-on-Trent. This was a long-standing railfreight flow which had no special reason to use the freight line through Wednesbury, other than the fact that it was the traditional and most convenient route. When the line closed it was simply re-routed to run via Bromsgrove, the Camp Hill line (through Birmingham but avoiding New St), Washwood Heath, Sutton Park and Walsall.
The tables show how the line was busiest during the morning, and even at the end there was a reasonable amount of traffic early in the day. Afternoons were normally quieter. As in 1989 the signal boxes were still open Monday to Friday on a two-shift pattern, but although the line was nominally open until about 21:00 the loss of the evening Speedlinks meant that the man on the afternoon turn could often get away earlier. As can be seen from the table 6V70 was usually the last train of the day in 1993.
It should be evident from the movements recorded below that trains from the south were unable to get into the sidings at Round Oak due to problems with the signalling and trackwork there. Consequently these trains were routed into Bescot where the locomotive would run-round the train and head back south to Round Oak. This arrangement rather inflated the number of trains through Dudley and Wednesbury. Look out too for the problems involved in getting the final spoil train out of Wednesbury on Friday 19th. This also increased the number of movements that took place on that last Friday.
For the uninitiated the four-character train codes such as "6M11" are used to identify particular services. The first character identifies the type of train, the second character the destination (usually defined in very broad geographical terms) and the last two numbers are an arbitrary value to identify a particular service. The significant thing to note here is that codes starting with "0" such as 0T46 are locomotives without a train in tow - "light engines" in railway parlance. On the line through Wednesbury "up" trains ran southbound (towards Stourbridge) and "down" trains ran northbound (towards Bescot and Walsall).
| Monday 15th March 1993 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Train | Wednesbury | Loco | Comments |
| 6E58 Cardiff - Wakefield | 06.02 | 56064 | |
| 6M11 Margam - Bescot | 06.17 | 56038 | |
| 6T46 Bescot - Round Oak | 07.26 | 56038 | |
| 0T46 Round Oak - Bescot | 08.09 | 56038 | |
| 6T50 Bescot - Brierley Hill | 08.34 | 47310 | |
| 6V05 Bescot - Llanwern | 10.26 | 56038 | Probably dropping traffic from Bescot at Round Oak and collecting empties there. |
| 0M12 Cardiff - Bescot | 10.40 | 56040 | Traffic deposited at Brierley Hill on way north. |
| 7Z09 | 12.25 | Tamper | Down direction. |
| 6T50 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 12.42 | 47310 | |
| 6V69 Bescot - Cardiff | 13.28 | 56040 | |
| 0X00 | 16.22 | 08xxx | Up direction. Believed to be a shunt-engine turning move from Bescot via Wednesbury and Pleck Jct. |
| 0X00 | 16.23 | 08xxx | Down direction. |
| 6V70 Cliffe Vale - St Blazey | 18.48 | 47200 | |
| Tuesday 16th March 1993 | |||
| Train | Wednesbury | Loco | Comments |
| 6M11 Margam - Bescot | 07.31 | 56038 | |
| 6M72 St Blazey - Cliffe Vale | 07.48 | 47200 | |
| 6T46 Bescot - Round Oak | 09.07 | 56038 | |
| 6T50 Bescot - Brierley Hill | 09.48 | 47330 | |
| 6T46 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 10.26 | 56038 | Probably with traffic from Round Oak. |
| 0M12 Cardiff - Bescot | 10.54 | 56040 | Traffic deposited at Brierley Hill on way north. |
| 0V05 Bescot - Round Oak | 11.37 | 56038 | For 6V05 Round Oak - Llanwern. |
| 6Z67 (South Wales) - Bescot | 13.00 | Additional steel train, probably ex-Llanwern or Margam, bound for Round Oak. | |
| 6T50 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 13.24 | 47330 | |
| 6Z67 Bescot - Round Oak | 14.37 | ||
| 0Z67 Round Oak - Bescot | 15.30 | ||
| 0Z67 Bescot - Round Oak | 16.33 | Presumably for the empties out of Round Oak back to South Wales. | |
| 6V70 Cliffe Vale - St Blazey | 18.07 | 47200 | |
| Neither 6E58 nor 6V69 ran on this day. | |||
| Wednesday 17th March 1993 | |||
| Train | Wednesbury | Loco | Comments |
| 6M11 Margam - Bescot | 05.49 | 56038 | |
| 6M72 St Blazey - Cliffe Vale | 07.28 | 47200 | |
| 6T50 Bescot - Brierley Hill | 08.53 | 47359 | |
| 0M12 Cardiff - Bescot | 10.29 | 56032 | Traffic deposited at Brierley Hill on way north. |
| 6T46 Bescot - Round Oak | 12.10 | 56040 | Running several hours late. Note change of loco from 6M11. |
| 7T90 Bescot (?) - Wednesbury | 12.15 | 31459+31273 | This was the last load of spoil to the CCE tip. |
| 0T46 Round Oak - Bescot | 13.03 | 56040 | |
| 6T50 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 13.33 | 47359 | 
This train stood on Bescot Curve from 13.38 until 15.30 waiting access into the yard. |
| 6T46 Bescot - Round Oak | 13.40 | 56040 | |
| 6T90 Wednesbury - Bescot | 13.46 | 31273+31459 | A permissive signalling arrangement allowed trains to stack up on Bescot Curve awaiting access to the yard. It was not uncommon to see this happen in the 1970s, but reducing levels of traffic meant it was a rare event by the late 1980s. But it happened one last time on this afternoon, with the 31s buffered right up behind 6T50. They were held on the Curve from 14:45-15:35. |
| 6V69 Bescot - Cardiff | 15.09 | 56032 | 
The last 6V69 with traffic from Bescot provided the unlikely sight of three trains on Bescot Curve simultaneously. The BDA on the
back-end of 6T50 can be glimpsed to the left of 56032, with the 31s on 6T90 buffered up behind. |
| 9X55 | 15.59 | Tamper? | Up direction. |
| 6V70 Cliffe Vale - St Blazey | 18.22 | 47200 | |
| No 6E58 on this day. | |||
| Thursday 18th March 1993 | |||
| Train | Wednesbury | Loco | Comments |
| 6E58 Cardiff - Wakefield | 05.55 | 56064 | |
| 6M11 Margam - Bescot | 06.25 | 56053 | Carried a headboard. |
| 0T84 Bescot - Wednesbury | 07.59 | 31407+31512 | |
| 0F80 Bescot - South Wales | 08.06 | 56053 | Loco had failed and was returning to the Western Region under its own power. |
| 6M72 St Blazey - Cliffe Vale | 08.34 | 47200 | |
| 8T84 Wednesbury - Bescot | 09.17 | 31512+31407 | Penultimate rake of empties from the CCE tip. |
| 6T46 Bescot - Round Oak | 09.37 | 56060 | Fresh loco provided to replace 56053. |
| 0T46 Round Oak - Lawley St (?) | 10.33 | 56060 | |
| 6T50 Bescot - Brierley Hill | 10.35 | 47344 | Running a bit late. |
| 0M12 Cardiff - Bescot | 11.21 | Traffic deposited at Brierley Hill on way north. | |
| 6T46 Lawley St (?) - Round Oak | 12.04 | 56060 | Details for this are a bit sketchy but it was believed to be a train of steel on container flats originating at Hull and sent to Lawley St in error. Assuming it did originate at Lawley St it would have been the last train to traverse the Pleck Jct - Bescot Curve Jct section of track heading south. |
| 6T44 Bescot - Round Oak/Brierley Hill | 13.00 | 37884 | |
| 6T50 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 14.03 | 47344 | |
| 0T44 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 14.25 | 37884 | |
| 0Z26 Bescot - Round Oak | 17.26 | For the empty flats, which appear to have gone south from Round Oak. | |
| 6V70 Cliffe Vale - St Blazey | 17.46 | 47304 | |
| No 6V69 on this day. | |||
| Friday 19th March 1993 | |||
| Train | Wednesbury | Loco | Comments |
| 6E58 Cardiff - Wakefield | 06.10 | 56048 | The last train to use the Bescot Curve Jct - Pleck Jct section of track. |
| 6M72 St Blazey - Cliffe Vale | 07.03 | 47304 | The last china-clay train via this route. |
| 0T84 Bescot - Wednesbury | 07.24 | 31178+31415 | The first of three attempts to remove the last rake of spoil empties from Wednesbury tip. This was foiled because one of the locos was discovered to be losing fuel. |
| 0T84 Wednesbury - Bescot | 08.42 | 31415+31178 | 
The 31s returned to Bescot without the train, and are seen here passing Wednesbury signalbox. Immediately in front of the leading loco
is the motor for the 16A points which were to cause problems later in the day. |
| 0Z98 ? - Bescot | 09.51 | 58003 | |
| 0M12 Cardiff - Bescot | 10.37 | 56032 | Traffic deposited at Brierley Hill on way north. |
| 0T84 Bescot - Brierley Hill | 10.58 | 31417 | The second of three attempts to remove the last rake of spoil empties from Wednesbury. This one was foiled by the 16A points at Wednesbury which couldn't be reversed to allow the loco into the sidings. It was eventually sent to Brierley Hill to cross over to the down line. |
| 6T50 Bescot - Brierley Hill | 11.20 | 47238 | Running late again, and further delayed because 31417 spent some time standing on the up line at Wednesbury waiting for the points to be reversed for it. 47238 was obviously fixed for this working because of its name: "Bescot Yard". It also carried two headboards. |
| 0T84 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 11.28 | 31417 | This might conceivably have reversed into the sidings at Wednesbury if the points were fixed, but it didn't. |
| 6T44 Bescot - Round Oak/Brierley Hill | 12.58 | 37884 | |
| 0T44 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 14.04 | 37884 | |
| 6Z11 (South Wales) - Bescot | 14.28 | 56053 | A special formed of steel coil on Freightliner flats bound for Round Oak. It was the last loaded northbound train. |
| 0V69 Bescot - Cardiff | 14.31 | 56032 | This loco would have collected empty steel wagons at Brierley Hill. |
| 0T84 Bescot - Brierley Hill | 14.45 | 31155 | This loco was actually bound for Wednesbury to collect the last spoil train, but it went to Brierley Hill to cross-over because the points at Wednesbury hadn't been fixed. |
| 6Z11 Bescot - Round Oak | 15.25 | 56053 | The steel special turned out to be the last southbound train. |
| 0T84 Brierley Hill - Wednesbury | 15.43 | 31155 | This third and last attempt to get the final rake of spoil empties out of Wednesbury was successful. |
| 6T50 Brierley Hill - Bescot | 16.43 | 47238 | Running very late. This was the last "revenue-earning" train, although it would have been formed of empty wagons. |
| 8T84 Wednesbury - Bescot | 17.00 | 31155 | The last train of spoil empties out of Wednesbury, and also the last train. |
| 0Z11 Round Oak - Bescot | 17.11 | 56053 | The last movement. 56053 stood on Bescot Curve until 17.34 awaiting access into Bescot. |
|
Friday turned out to be the busiest day of the week - all the messing about with T84 combined with the steel special made the afternoon
unusually busy. 6V70 didn't run on Fridays. It ran on Saturday mornings instead, but the Saturday train reached Stourbridge via Smethwick and Cradley Heath because the Wednesbury line wasn't open at weekends. |
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In fact there were one or two other movements on the line after it had formally closed. A cable-laying train traversed at least part of the route later in 1993, with Class 31s in charge. Over subsequent years the line began to fall into increasing disrepair. Vegetation slowly began to take over, with mature trees eventually growing on the trackbed. For the first couple of years after closure there was evidence of vegetation clearance on the southbound track, but by the time Railtrack took control all signs of maintenance disappeared. The signalling equipment was removed and the signal boxes at Wednesbury and Eagle Crossing (Great Bridge) were both destroyed by fire.
Since the line closed four significant civil engineering projects have required the construction of new bridges, three of which cross over the railway line and one which goes under it. The first of these was the construction of the Black Country Spine Road between Wednesbury and Great Bridge. This took place in 1994 and a dual-carriageway now crosses the line just a few yards south of Eagle Lane via a four-span viaduct. The extensive road works associated with this project saw Eagle Lane itself closed as a through-route to road traffic - it's now a footpath. The second project was the opening of the Midland Metro in 1999. This required a new bridge to carry the ex-GWR alignment - now the Metro route - over the South Staffs line at Wednesbury. Later in 1999 a new road bridge was built over the line at Cinder Bank to take the Dudley Southern Bypass over the railway. The alignment was carefully preserved, but the track was removed in the vicinity of these works - and not replaced of course.
The most recent bridge work occurred at the northern end of the closed section. A new industrial development is underway on the land to the east and west side of the South Staffs alignment, just south of where it crosses the Grand Junction line and goes underneath the M6 motorway (i.e. on the Wednesbury side of the motorway). This development will include land previously used by Bescot Drop Forgings and the Spear & Jackson factories, both of which stood on the east side of the abandoned railway and were accessed from St Paul's Road (Wednesbury). This road isn't suitable for modern lorries, and a new access road will link the new developments directly to Junction 9 of the M6. This new road needs to pass underneath the South Staffs railway, and thus a new bridge was built immediately alongside the existing Wood Green viaduct in 2007. This bridge butts up against the northern end of the viaduct, and carries the abandoned railway over the new road. However at the time of writing (March 2008) there had been no construction on the east side of the South Staffs line and the new access road was therefore unused.
Almost as soon as the line closed there was talk of re-opening in the air. For many years a Midland Metro route from Wednesbury to the shopping centre at Merry Hill (via Dudley) had been planned. This would use, or at least share, the freight line trackbed for much of its route. A decade later those plans are still alive, but arguments over funding continue, and no works have started. The earliest that trams might run is now said to be 2013, but past history suggests that further slippage can't be ruled out. By summer 2008 the Centro website had quietly introduced the possibility of running tram-trains on the Wednesbury - Brierley Hill route. This would provide the useful benefit of tram-trains and conventional trains being able to share the same tracks, in effect re-opening the conventional railway again. How much extra delay this change-of-plan might add to the project isn't made clear.
Railfreight had been in slow decline for many years, but there was a brief period of growth and optimism towards the end of the 1990s following the takeover of most British railfreight operations by EWS (English, Welsh and Scottish Railway). This led to talk of re-opening the line for freight, in large part as a way of bypassing the congested tracks around Birmingham for freight trains running on the south-west/north-east axis. Of course this would make much more sense if it was to occur in conjunction with the re-opening of the Walsall - Lichfield line, which closed as a through route in 1984. However this is another aspiration which isn't going to happen for some years, if at all. In early 2005 the Strategic Rail Authority's released a document entitled West Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy (bottom of page 55, see also footnote [1] below). This document briefly mentions the line and concludes thus: "The Route Utilisation Strategy does not propose to promote the reinstatement of the Round Oak - Bescot route but confirms the need for the route to be protected for the longer term". So no hope there then, but the tram-train suggestion mentioned above does offer a glimmer of hope.
Despite the plans it's clear that nothing is going to happen anytime soon. Fifteen years after closure the trees continue to grow unchecked, and for the majority of that period the amount of traffic and congestion on the local roads continued to rise inexorably. For the first time this might just change in 2008. The steep increase in the price of oil, and the corresponding rise in the price of petrol, could have an effect on the amount of traffic, which will probably shrink a little (especially elective journeys in the off-peak). Sadly the Metro system is in no position to be of any use to motorists looking for public transport alternatives - most of it still not having been built.
See the Pleck Jct - Round Oak page for more pictures of how the line looked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, compared with how it looked around 2004.
[1] The link to the West Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy document takes you to the version held on the excellent Railways Archive website. The original link to the version on the SRA website appears to be broken (as at March 2008 when the whole SRA website had disappeared).