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Private Railways In Birmingham

Hobbler

proper brummie kid
Before the railways were nationalised many businesses had their own fleets of railway wagons which they either purchased or leased from the Wagon Builders.

The majority served as an advert for the firm as well as a transport method for bringing in raw materials and despatching finished product so were often painted in a bright and smart livery giving the name of the firm , address , telephone number, company logo and quite often a description of their business.

Typical firms to have their own wagons in the Midlands were Chance and Hunt of Oldbury or Cadburys of Bourneville and Utility Companys such as West Midlands Electricty Board also had their own wagons . It wasnt necessary to have rail connected premises as many coal merchants had their own wagons which were sent to the collieries for loading and then sent to a public goods yard near the customers premises for delivery of the coal to be completed.

For other areas of the country a number of books have been published giving details of the firms and their wagons for example PRIVATE OWNER WAGONS of BRISTOL AND DISTRICT by Ian Pope and I was wondering if there are any similar books for the Birmingham , Black Country or Midlands areas that anyone has come across ?
 
I've seen chapters on this subject in books about Metro-Cammell and BRCW (Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Co Ltd). Wagon builders would have "hire fleets" which could be painted in user's livery if required.
 
According to Wikipedia Metro-Cammell was for a time in the 1920s Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company Ltd. I am aware that several wagon builders had Finance in their name signifying that they were in the business of hiring out wagons as well as making and repairing them.
 
Whilst the public railways are often talked about, those serving industry are often ignored. Birmingham had a number of private sidings where industrial locomotives were employed.

Examples include

(A) Standard Gauge
(1) The Car Works- at (a) Longbridge- Austin, & b (Ward End)- Woseley/Morris
(2) The Wagon Works- Metropolitan Cammel (Saltley & Washwood Heath) & Birmingham Railway & Carriage (Handsworth)
(3) Tube Works - Bromford- Stewarts & Lloyds
(4) Rubber Factory- Dunlops
(5) Gas Works- Saltley, Nechells and Adderley Park
(6) Coal Mines - Sandwell Park and Hamstead
(7) Munitions Factories- Kynochs at Witton
(8) Chocolate Factory- Cadbury at Bournville

(B) Narrow Gauge
(1) Sewage Works at Nechells, Minworth and Coleshill
(2) Brickworks Railways (a) Hay Mills & (b) Bromford
 
The locomotives at Minworth were 2ft gauge built at Bedford by Motor Rail, Simplex works, they were all 40 HP. Looks like they were at Lagoon Works. These internal combustion engines at Minworth were no doubt photographed towards the end of their time there. It was once an extensive narrow gauge system that initially employed steam engines and some early battery locomotives.
 
Extensive yes, from the Minworth end of Castle Vale, Sludge Treatment Works over to Minworth Works via crossing Water Orton Lane, down to Curdworth area, and onto Coleshill Works
 
There was even once a link to Guanogen, which treated sludge to make manure in some of the old aircraft hangars
 
Does anybody remember the steam locomotives at Nechells Power Station. They worked from the exchange sidings at Bromford Bridge. Here were also a group of sidings once connected with the Gas Board wagon repair shops. Many old wooden bodied wagons were to be found there in the 1960's.

The steam locomotives that worked to the power station were the six coupled side tanks by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn. There was also a Peckett saddle tank locomotive.
 
This is one of Kynoch's loco s. It was loaned (1914) to Kynoch's but they eventually bought it (1919). As it's numbered 4, I presume there were at least 3 others. But was Kynoch's a private railway ? I read somewhere that there was an extensive internal railway at Kynoch's but can't find anything out about it except that they loaned, then bought this loco. Viv.

image.jpeg

Information from the National Railway Museum, York
 
The Kynoch private railway connected with the LNWR/LMS/BR at Witton. 12 steam locomotives and 2 diesels handled the internal traffic there. The first locomotives (3) were supplied by Aveling & Porter.
 
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