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Harborne Railway

Does anyone have any memories of the Harborne railway when it was in operation, as I live down the road from where Harborne station was located. Feedback is appreciated!
 
Hi old harborne
Do you recall the old bones line track taking goods carriage,s running up behind the summer field park and edbaston
I believe old beeching closed it it was an only a one track from Birmingham carried coal As well people used to throiw rubbish down on the tracks
Astonian,,,,
 
Astonian said:
Hi old harborne
Do you recall the old bones line track taking goods carriage,s running up behind the summer field park and edbaston
I believe old beeching closed it it was an only a one track from Birmingham carried coal As well people used to throiw rubbish down on the tracks
Astonian,,,,
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Sadly I've only known the line as the Harborne walkway, which I have walked. The line was shut as a result of the beeching Axe in November 1963, by then it was goods only. Passenger services had ceased in november 1934, when the line was operated by the LMS. There was a branch to the mitchells and Butlers Brewery in Cape Hill which closed in1962, the brewery surviving until 2005. . I've seen pictures of the line after closure when it became a tip. Most of the bridge have survived, the best example being the bridge over park hill road, which is in poor condition.

The cutting in Summerfield park has been filled in, and so has the cutting between Icknield Port road and Northbrook Street. The site of Harborne station has been redevloped with flats and a police station, but the rest of the line is a walkway/cyclepath.
 
An excellent bit of research is that, Richie. Well done! My late wife's late uncle, Ambrose DORMAN, worked at Chad Valley for much of his life, but Harborne was not an area I was well acquainted with, so it is nice to learn of a bit more past history. Thank you.

Maurice
 
Dave Riley said:
Here is a poster informing of closure of the line and a couple of pictures of the line in it's heyday. The railway also served Chad Valley toy's next to the railway station in Harborne. There is also loads of information and pictures about the station and line on this link https://www.disused-stations.org.uk/h/harborne/


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I have seen those images before, but thanks for sharing. Another good site is this:

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/harborne.htm

Regarding the disused stations site, he Harborne Railway was only added last month so it was a pleasant surprise to see that!
 
sospiri said:
An excellent bit of research is that, Richie. Well done! My late wife's late uncle, Ambrose DORMAN, worked at Chad Valley for much of his life, but Harborne was not an area I was well acquainted with, so it is nice to learn of a bit more past history. Thank you.

Maurice
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This site has plenty of pictures of the Harborne Railway, and the Chad Valley factory can be seen in a couple:

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/harborne.htm
 
Thanks Harbornite76 - some nice atmospheric pictures there too, particularly the one where it has obviously been raining.

Maurice
 
Ah, still a few old buildings left, thank goodness. "Henry Wong" was previously a bank and is now a Chinese restaurant, and the whole place has more than its fair share of double yellow lines. A passenger line with a regular service into New Street would no doubt be very welcome, but I shudder to think what the fare would be today! Thanks for the pictures.

Maurice
 
Harbornite76 said:
Does anyone have any memories of the Harborne railway when it was in operation, as I live down the road from where Harborne station was located. Feedback is appreciated!
Click to expand...

During the Autumn of 1963 I attended an annex to the Birmingham College of Art which was located in the Harborne Junior School where we studied Ceramics.

From memory the short course lasted for just a single term before we were "assigned" to another module elsewhere in the following January.

At lunchtime we would wander off to the High Street to buy sandwiches before heading for the Station and a stroll along the trackbed toward the Hagley Road. Then the trackbed was complete but after a few weeks in October engineer's trains would come down the line toward Harborne Station to load dismantled sleepers which were being stacked ready for collection. The engine would sit simmering in the old Station whilst the gangers dismantled the disused track and the lattice girder pedestrian bridge.

On one occasion an engine and train passed us nearby Augustus Road as we were walking back to the Annex trailing waggon loads of rail and as we approached the bridge over Park Hill Road only the sleepers remained with piles of discarded bolts and fishplates.

By the following week the line had gone entirely leaving only still smouldering piles of burnt rotted sleepers.

Walking the line back from the City last Sunday brought back that memory.
 
Speedwing said:
During the Autumn of 1963 I attended an annex to the Birmingham College of Art which was located in the Harborne Junior School where we studied Ceramics.

From memory the short course lasted for just a single term before we were "assigned" to another module elsewhere in the following January.

At lunchtime we would wander off to the High Street to buy sandwiches before heading for the Station and a stroll along the trackbed toward the Hagley Road. Then the trackbed was complete but after a few weeks in October engineer's trains would come down the line toward Harborne Station to load dismantled sleepers which were being stacked ready for collection. The engine would sit simmering in the old Station whilst the gangers dismantled the disused track and the lattice girder pedestrian bridge.

On one occasion an engine and train passed us nearby Augustus Road as we were walking back to the Annex trailing wagon loads of rail and as we approached the bridge over Park Hill Road only the sleepers remained with piles of discarded bolts and fishplates.

By the following week the line had gone entirely leaving only still smouldering piles of burnt rotted sleepers.

Walking the line back from the City last Sunday brought back that memory.
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Thanks for sharing, you have some great memories to look back on. I recall reading in a book about the Harborne railway By Derek Harrison, about one woman who remembered hearing an engineering train going past in 1964 . Regarding the footbridge, it didn't appear to be of a lattice design, there was some controversy when it was removed in 1967 because a petition had been set up to prevent its removal. It would be great if the line was reopened, but there isn't much chance of that now, thanks to the condition of the bridge over park hill Road among other things. I've also walked it quite a few times, the last time I did I took some pictures

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Been delving since in some old college stuff and find I was at least two years adrift!

Autumn of 1965 not '63!

Firstly found a transparency of the original coloured renderings of three ceramic forms with a note about "work done at Harborne during Texture and Form section of Common course" in 1965 as well as a picture of my old Vespa GS, then still Silver in colour but later resprayed Vermilion at Gosta Green after it opened the following year! (Anal or what?)

So Autumn of 1965 it was, so the lady who heard the engineering trains passing was likely correct and the process had probably been going on for some time when we went a trespassing each week.

I had it my mind that this year marked our half century in Upper Harbs so we have to wait until next year to claim that prize.
 
Speedwing said:
Been delving since in some old college stuff and find I was at least two years adrift!

Autumn of 1965 not '63!

Firstly found a transparency of the original coloured renderings of three ceramic forms with a note about "work done at Harborne during Texture and Form section of Common course" in 1965 as well as a picture of my old Vespa GS, then still Silver in colour but later resprayed Vermilion at Gosta Green after it opened the following year! (Anal or what?)

So Autumn of 1965 it was, so the lady who heard the engineering trains passing was likely correct and the process had probably been going on for some time when we went a trespassing each week.

I had it my mind that this year marked our half century in Upper Harbs so we have to wait until next year to claim that prize.
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Lol, thanks for clearing that up. Do you remember the class of locomotive that you saw at Harborne station? The line closed to goods traffic on November 4th 1963, the last railtour visited two days before. When the line reached 50 years of closure, I walked past the station site to pay my respects.

Here's a picture of the old footbridge.

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrh67.htm
 
Harbornite76 said:
Lol, thanks for clearing that up. Do you remember the class of locomotive that you saw at Harborne station?
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Clear recollection of slant sided tender/bunker, tall narrow chimney, Ivatt 2-6-0 or maybe 2-6-2 tank....don't ask for a number

Approached us from Harborne travelling backwards and at other times stood at the station but it is a long, long time ago now.
 
Speedwing said:
Clear recollection of slant sided tender/bunker, tall narrow chimney, Ivatt 2-6-0 or maybe 2-6-2 tank....don't ask for a number

Approached us from Harborne travelling backwards and at other times stood at the station but it is a long, long time ago now.
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I'm almost certain that you saw an Ivatt class 2 2-6-0 tender engine. These were used on freight services to Harborne between the late 1950's and the line's closure. I'm aware that a diesel shunter was also used towards the end. The Ivatt class 2's took over from the old Midland 2F's which had been dominant since the late 1940's.
 
Speedwing said:
Clear recollection of slant sided tender/bunker, tall narrow chimney, Ivatt 2-6-0 or maybe 2-6-2 tank....don't ask for a number

Approached us from Harborne travelling backwards and at other times stood at the station but it is a long, long time ago now.
Click to expand...

I'm almost certain that you saw an Ivatt class 2 2-6-0 tender engine. These were used on freight services to Harborne between the late 1950's and the line's closure. I'm aware that a diesel shunter was also used towards the end. The Ivatt class 2's took over from the old Midland 2F's which had been dominant since the late 1940's.
 
sospiri said:
Ah, still a few old buildings left, thank goodness. "Henry Wong" was previously a bank and is now a Chinese restaurant, and the whole place has more than its fair share of double yellow lines. A passenger line with a regular service into New Street would no doubt be very welcome, but I shudder to think what the fare would be today! Thanks for the pictures.

Maurice
Click to expand...

Aye, I do think the line would be well used (I'd use it!) but it wouldn't have the charm of the old line... no signal boxes, sidings or coal trains. Nevertheless, that's still better than what we currently have!
 
I walked the Harborne Railway yesterday from Harborne to Somerfield Park. I tried to find the branch to M & B Cape Hill Brewery but did not find it. However I have since studied Google Satellite View and think I can see some evidence of the actual location. The problem today would be managing to get out onto the main line with the number of trains running today from Birmingham to Wolverhampton.
 
DavidGrain said:
I walked the Harborne Railway yesterday from Harborne to Somerfield Park. I tried to find the branch to M & B Cape Hill Brewery but did not find it. However I have since studied Google Satellite View and think I can see some evidence of the actual location. The problem today would be managing to get out onto the main line with the number of trains running today from Birmingham to Wolverhampton.
Click to expand...

That's true, it was one of the reasons why people stopped using the passenger service.

Regarding the M&B branch, the cutting it ran through has been filled in, although you can obviously still walk through the site of the triangle junction where the exchange sidings were located.
 
Thank you Harbornite. Yes it is not easy to see the filled in cutting near Rotton Park Road. I first came across the Harborne Railway at the point where the Cape Hill line crossed City Road. I then, during my time at George Dixons School, traced the still working line from Hagley Road to Harborne. As I could not at that time find the line north of Portland Road, I assumed that the line at City Road was the onward connection to the main line. It was not till I bought my first A-Z that I could trace it on the map.
 
Malvernian said:
I also walked the line a few weeks ago - I used to live next to Icknield Port Road station - attached a bit of old mapping that might be of interest......
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That's a good map, Malvernian. Even today you can still just about make out the mound which marks the site of the island platform.

DavidGrain said:
Thank you Harbornite. Yes it is not easy to see the filled in cutting near Rotton Park Road. I first came across the Harborne Railway at the point where the Cape Hill line crossed City Road. I then, during my time at George Dixons School, traced the still working line from Hagley Road to Harborne. As I could not at that time find the line north of Portland Road, I assumed that the line at City Road was the onward connection to the main line. It was not till I bought my first A-Z that I could trace it on the map.
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When you say "still working", do you mean that you can remember the line when it was operational?
 
Harbornite76 said:
That's a good map, Malvernian. Even today you can still just about make out the mound which marks the site of the island platform.




When you say "still working", do you mean that you can remember the line when it was operational?
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Was still operational when I lived next to it from 1956, until it closed in 1963 - the weekday morning goods train at about 7:15?, struggling up the 1 in 70 gradient under IPR was the family wake up call. Attached a pic someone sent me of the old IPR station site in that period. There's also a couple of movie clips of special trains on the line - search YouTube for "harborne railway"
 

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Malvernian said:
Was still operational when I lived next to it from 1956, until it closed in 1963 - the weekday morning goods train at about 7:15?, struggling up the 1 in 70 gradient under IPR was the family wake up call. Attached a pic someone sent me of the old IPR station site in that period. There's also a couple of movie clips of special trains on the line - search YouTube for "harborne railway"
Click to expand...

That's a nice shot, one of the only ones I've seen of that station in colour. By the 1950's there were only three freight trains a day according to disused railways, one in the morning, afternoon and evening. It's a shame that the line isn't open any more.
 
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