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Halesowen Railway

C

Cutmonster

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Hi All - I've just joined this fabulous web ring and am having a great time learning more about our City; I wonder if anyone has any memories, recollections or photographs of the old Halesowen Railway, which started at Longbridge, went through the Austin Car Works and on to Halesowen and then Old Hill and Dudley? This old railway, long pulled up before I came on the scene, has been of immense interest to me ever since I was a kid and I am keen to learn as much as possible about it.

Thanks and all the best, David
 
Yes, those photos by D J Norton are a terrific record. I still have schoolday memories of getting off a Bristol Road tram in March 1951 at Northfield with a girl friend of the time and walking round past Kitwell to Woodgate, where we got a rare Midland Red bus to Bearwood. There was no motorway then of course - just quiet, peaceful countryside - and I well remember the first of the two Longbridge trains being driven over the viaduct about 3.30 or 4.00 in the afternoon. Never travelled on the line although I could have done, but I did do the Harborne line in 1950 I think.
Peter
 
Yes, those photos by D J Norton are a terrific record. I still have schoolday memories of getting off a Bristol Road tram in March 1951 at Northfield with a girl friend of the time and walking round past Kitwell to Woodgate, where we got a rare Midland Red bus to Bearwood. There was no motorway then of course - just quiet, peaceful countryside - and I well remember the first of the two Longbridge trains being driven over the viaduct about 3.30 or 4.00 in the afternoon. Never travelled on the line although I could have done, but I did do the Harborne line in 1950 I think.
Peter

Those are nice memories, I have had a look round both the Harborne and Halesowen lines myself. Were you a passenger on the June 1950 SLS Special to Harborne and other places, I've seen pictures of that!
 
The photos were a great reminder as one day I cycled there with a school friend and we walked to the centre of Dowrey Dell viaduct with our collection of bangers stored after bonfire night one year with a view to blowing it up. However, part way into our expedition we noticed a plume smoke rising from near the Bluebird factory and realized that a train was approaching.
We legged it off viaduct pretty sharpish but could have saved BR some money if had succeeded.
I decided with that success that perhaps I not cut out for the SAS.
 
The viaduct was perhaps the most important engineering structure on the Halesowen Railway, which was promoted by an independent railway company and took a few years to complete. The line through Longbridge was a branch from an originally intended main line that promised to link the Corngreaves Ironworks with Bromsgrove. Work started on the Longbridge branch first and all that was finally built was the line from Longbridge to Halesowen. Here a junction was made with the GWR branch from Old Hill. The Halesowen Railway was worked as a joint line GWR/Midland, then GWR/ LMS until British Railways took over
 
A colleague and myself are searching for a model locomotive in 00 gauge of 2F Johnson with Belpaire bolier and Deeley cab to run on a projected layout of the old Longbridge-Rubery-Hunnington-Halesowen branch line, but....do you think we can get one ??? NO WAY..... after searching for months it would seem they are few and far between, it was said that a model was made some years back in kit form but not now, if they do come up for auction on the 'usual' outlets they fetch a small fortune...so there is quite a demand for these locos yet no one seems to have grasped the gap in the market, coming from Brmingham...the workshop of the world that once was....it's quite surprising how things have changed and we rely on China and far east to produce our loco models, with all the modern technology & 3D printers...one would have thought there would have been a capable person out there......there usually was in Birmingham....at one time our city would produce just anything.......but however...I see the latest fantastic addition to our Birmingham Standard bus models are made in Canada......Rapido trains do a fabulous model of them
 

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Incidentally, it took some years for the railway line to disappear under development. As a youngster, me and my school-mates used to walk from Old Hill to Windmill End along the trackbed.
 
Interesting that both Halesowen Railway and the Harborne Railway are mentioned on this thread. Perhaps less well known is that the Harborne Railway was originally intended to continue on to Halesowen but vested railway interests prevented this.
 
Interesting that both Halesowen Railway and the Harborne Railway are mentioned on this thread. Perhaps less well known is that the Harborne Railway was originally intended to continue on to Halesowen but vested railway interests prevented this.
That's so true ...and I had a work colleague that used to be a fireman on a 2F Johnson loco on the Harborne line...he was based at Monument Lane shed.... he had some fascinating stories ...and of course on the Harborne Branch there was a line to Mitchells and Butlers.....another very interesting branch
 
There is a nice little film of the Halesowen line on you tube, not sure how to transfer it to this post though
 
Just put up the page address, or even just the name of the film.
And there is a great DVD of the line that is sold by Tennents trains of Halesowen...it was done by John Tennent......a very worthwhile purchase I might add.......in my collection of course
 
Very good DVD from Tennents Trains at Hayley Green....done by John Tennent...well worth the money and has some amazing footage of this railway branch line
 
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