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Halesowen Railway

I think it's amazing what the members on here find in their archives......and a colleague and I are still researching the Longbridge Halesowen Branch line and we both are astonished at photos coming out of the woodwork so to speak, what have you got hidden away ?? my colleague is planning a layout of this branch line and it's so good to come across photos so useful, D J Norton had so many that were handy and we recently saw one in Mike Hitches book....you just don't know who or where the next ones will appear from ....anyone sorting out their old photos ?????........PLEASE !!!!
 
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I think it's amazing what the members on here find in their archives......and a colleague and I are still researching the Longbridge Halesowen Branch line and we both are astonished at photos coming out of the woodwork so to speak, what have you got hidden away ?? my colleague is planning a layout of this ranch line and it's so good to come across photos so useful, D J Norton had so many that were handy and we recently saw one in Mike Hitches book....you just don't know who or where the next ones will appear from ....anyone sorting out their old photos ?????........PLEASE !!!!
what gauge is the layout?
 
I walked this line last summer with my son. Its suprising how much of it is left. I was building a wall in my garden, so the following week, my son and i went back with some sacks to collect a few bricks from the remains of Dowery Dell Viaduct. We got quite a few, (there are hundreds lying about) and carried them back to my car. Trust me to choose the hottest day of the year to do this. When we got to the car the sweat was running off us. Anyway i now have a part of the Viaduct in my garden, and the bricks are as good as the day they were made. If you have the pleasure of walking this old line, look out for items such as bolts chairs, sleepers etc, you never know what you might find. Further along the line to Halesowen, is Hunnington Station, as im sure many of you already know. This is now a private dwelling, but has kept its station character, which is a credit to the owner.
 
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Talking of the Halesowen line, if you have Facebook, check out the 'Rubery Station' page .... the remains of the station platforms and foundations of the building have been part-revealed, the area tidied up and scrub cleared. Great effort by all those involved. We even found some of the glazed white tiling from the gents' urinal :)
 
Thanks for the welcome guys. About 18 months ago i walked some of this line with a friend, we found a couple of sleeper chairs, and i took one home with me, i didnt need to go to the gym for a week after carrying this. Anyway i rubbed it down and there was LMSR with a couple of numbers on it. I painted it up and highlighted the castings on it, and it is now a feature in my garden. Further up the line towards Longbridge, the old line passes through Frankley. There is a bridge in situ here, and in good condition. There was one a bit further down ,but due to mindless vandalism the council demolished that one. At the Longbridge end of the line, although this site has been re-developed, the bridge is still there, and has been restored. It is fenced off but i managed to get under it, and there is still soot on the roof. The old Longbridge platform was removed about 4 years ago.
 
Having walked this line a few times, i remember once we had just walked past New Street bridge ( not the Birmingham one ), They have filled the cutting in about 15 years ago. We were happily walking along the top of the embankment, and i noticed an apple tree growing out the side of the of it. I clambered down the bank to it and tried an apple or two. They tasted lovely, so we took a few with us. I should imagine that it got there because of a passenger throwing his/her apple core out of the window many years ago. This old line must still hold a few suprises and secrets.
 
Talking of the Halesowen line, if you have Facebook, check out the 'Rubery Station' page .... the remains of the station platforms and foundations of the building have been part-revealed, the area tidied up and scrub cleared. Great effort by all those involved. We even found some of the glazed white tiling from the gents' urinal :)
Good to hear, I'll check it out.
 
Picture taken 1955.

(1997) A century of railways around Birmingham and the West Midlands : a personal selection. Vol. 2

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When the railway was first built (1883) Longbridge was a very small village. According to Macdermot's "History of the GWR", the railway went from Haleowen to Northfield junction. Would they have had separate tracks to Northfield, or was Longbridge just so small as to be ignored. It would be interesting to view a c 1889 map ,, which we could have done on the old maps site, but unfortunately is not (yet?) available on the NLS site
 
This might have something to do with it as well. From https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/longbridge.htm :

Longbridge Station​

A station at Longbridge on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway opened on 15th November 1841, but this was short lived and had closed by 1849. When the Halesowen Railway was opened on Monday 10th September 1883, there was no station at Longbridge on either railway. An additional platform was to have been constructed at Northfield Station to act as an interchange with the Midland Railway, but the early Great Western Railway passenger services from Old Hill all terminated at Rubery, while the Midland Railway passenger services operated between Kings Norton and Halesowen. Only after the rapid expansion of the Austin Motor works during the First World War was a platform constructed on the Halesowen Railway at a position 26 chains from the Midland Railway’s main line junction and this was specifically for the workers. At the same time extensive private sidings for the works were also under construction paid for by the government.
 
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“Passenger trains between Halesowen & Kings Norton stopped at Rubery. There were 5 trains per day. It was necessary to change trains at Kings Norton to get to Birmingham. This passenger service ended in 1919 but the line did not actually close until July 6th 1964. It was used for goods trains and a works service to Longbridge.”

A Postcard from the Lickeys.
 
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