The Stour Valley Line

Beginnings
It was originally known as the Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Stour Valley
Railway, its construction was authorised by an Act of Parliament passed on
3rd August 1846. The capital was equally divided between four sources; the
company itself, the Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway, the Birmingham Canal
Company,  and local interests. The line was to start at New Street station which
was initially known as Navigation Street station until its name changed in
timetables in November 1852. The route was to run from the London &
Birmingham line at New Street station to Bushbury where it would join the Grand
Junction Railway. There would also be a short branch to Dudley from Dudley Port.
There were seven intermediate stations; Smethwick, Spon Lane, Oldbury &
Bromford Lane, Dudley Port, Tipton, Deepfields & Coseley, and Ettingshall Road
& Bilston. The route was called the Stour Valley Line because of a projected line
from Smethwick through the valley to Stourbridge, which never happened. Right
from the beginning the London & North Western Railway wanted to gain control
of the line, which after all ran from their station at Birmingham to the old Grand
Junction line which was also in their possession. It strengthened its control in three
ways:

1)    It took over the Birmingham Canal Company.

2)    It leased the line under the terms of an Act passed on 1st July 1847 which
       would prevent the Shrewsbury & Birmingham from using the line if they
       joined the Great Western Railway, who were intense rivals of the London
       & North Western.

3)    By making the Wolverhampton General station (High Level) and the section
       to Bushbury joint property with the Shrewsbury & Birmingham in an Act of
       9th July 1847, which also gave the Shrewsbury & Birmingham running
       powers over the Stour Valley Line.

Having secured control of the line they could begin its construction.


            The Stour Valley Line, showing the stations listed in the text

Construction
This was split into three sections; Birmingham to Winson Green, Winson Green to
Oldbury, and Oldbury to Bushbury. The engineers in charge were Robert
Stephenson and William Baker, and initially work proceeded briskly. Their report
of August 1847 indicated that one third of the 845yard tunnel into New Street was
already complete. Having secured control of the line, the London & North Western
were in no hurry to complete the task and so the remaining work proceeded at a
more leisurely pace. The progress was also slow on the section near Bushbury due
to difficulties in acquiring land. Work finished on 21st November 1851, and was
officially announced on 1st December, it had taken just over four years.

           
          The Queen's Hotel, and entrance to Birmingham New Street station

Running
After the December announcement the Shrewsbury & Birmingham fully expected
to start running their trains into Birmingham, but the London & North Western
had other ideas. On the 10th January 1851 the Shrewsbury & Birmingham signed
a traffic agreement with the Great Western Railway which led to an offer to
amalgamate in 1856 or 57. The London & North Western had heard about this
and so invoked the terms of their 1847 agreement. They denied access to the
Shrewsbury & Birmingham which set the scene for the bitter dispute that followed.
On 1st February 1852 the line was opened for London & North Western goods,
and from 1st March 1853 a half hourly service started from Wolverhampton to
Birmingham which was designed to prevent the Shrewsbury & Birmingham from
gaining access . The London & North Western claimed that due to the frequent
service it would now be dangerous for Shrewsbury & Birmingham trains to run
alongside their own. The Shrewsbury & Birmingham finally accepted an arbitration
award that set a high fixed rent for their use of New Street station and their trains
started running to Birmingham on 4th February 1854. They finally joined the Great
Western on 1st September 1854, and were granted an extension which allowed
them to continue to run their trains on the Stour Valley line until the Great Western
line could be opened. In the event it remained closed until 14th November 1854
because a bridge had collapsed at Handsworth.

    
    Ettingshall Road & Bilston station was a typical London & North Western
    Railway construction. It closed in 1964 during the electrification scheme

After opening, several new stations were quickly added, they were:

Bushbury on 2nd August 1852
Albion on 1st May 1853
Monument Lane on 1st July 1854
Monmore Green on 1st December 1863

Once the Shrewsbury & Birmingham had departed, the line soon became a great
success. In the 1870's as many as 120 passenger trains and 50 goods trains ran
daily in and out of Wolverhampton.