Great Bridge North railway station

Coordinates: 52°31′59″N 2°02′08″W / 52.5331°N 2.0356°W / 52.5331; -2.0356
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Great Bridge North
General information
LocationGreat Bridge, Sandwell
England
Coordinates52°31′59″N 2°02′08″W / 52.5331°N 2.0356°W / 52.5331; -2.0356
Grid referenceSO976927
Platforms2 (3)
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companySouth Staffordshire Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1850Opened as Great Bridge[1]
1950Renamed Great Bridge North'[1]
1964Closed to passengers
1972Closed outright

Great Bridge North railway station was a station on the

South Staffordshire Line that served the village of Great Bridge and town of Tipton in Staffordshire, England
.

History

The station was built in 1850 and was initially served by the South Staffordshire Railway. The South Staffordshire Railway was later absorbed by the London and North Western Railway, which amalgamated with several other railways in 1923 to create the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. The station shared the name Great Bridge with its Great Western Railway counterpart built in 1866. North was appended to the name of the station just after nationalisation.

Passenger usage declined in the early 1880s, and the line became mainly freight in 1887. It remained open for goods traffic as the district became highly industrialised in the heyday of the

Beeching Axe
in 1964, but it continued as a freight station for local factories until 1972. Goods trains continued to pass through the site of the station until 1993. By that date no sign of the station or the goods yard remained. It is now derelict and mostly fenced off.

Midland Metro

A £1,100,000/15-year-long regeneration project is expected to re-open the closed section of railway through

Midland Metro tramway with a separate heavy rail line for goods trains. The old station site is earmarked as the location of a Midland Metro stop on the local tram network's second line between Walsall, Dudley Port railway station, Dudley railway station and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre and was scheduled for opening upon completion in 2011.[3][needs update] The freighters would continue on past Brettell Lane railway station and on to the mainline at Stourbridge junction.[3]
Due to a combination of the COVID-19 lockdown, cost overruns and delays the Metro line is expected to open as far as Dudley in 2025. Extension beyond that point is subject to further funding being made.

Gallery

  • Great Bridge North looking down from the crossing and past the signal box, 2003
    Great Bridge North looking down from the crossing and past the
    signal box
    , 2003
  • Great Bridge North station, 2003
    Great Bridge North station, 2003
  • Great Bridge North station, 2005
    Great Bridge North station, 2005
  • Great Bridge North signal box, 2001.
    Great Bridge North signal box, 2001.
  • Great Bridge North's road crossing by the signal box, 2003.
    Great Bridge North's road crossing by the signal box, 2003.
  • Great Bridge North railway station, walking down from the crossing and past the signal box, towards the modern warehouse in 2003. The canal bridge is fenced off and collapsing.
    Great Bridge North railway station, walking down from the crossing and past the signal box, towards the modern warehouse in 2003. The canal bridge is fenced off and collapsing.
  • The former siding and platform entrance outside Great Bridge North station, 2011
    The former siding and platform entrance outside Great Bridge North station, 2011

See also


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Wednesbury Town  
South Staffs Line (1850-1964)
  Dudley Port
Walsall
or
Terminus
 
South Staffs Line (inc. Dudley-Stourbridge Junction to 1962) (1852-1964)
  Dudley Freightliner Terminal

References

  1. ^ a b Doherty, Andrew. "Great Bridge North Station". Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Timetable, Funding and Support". Midland Metro. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b Chadwick, Edward (25 November 2010). "Plans for £1.1 bn West Midlands Metro system unveiled". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.