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Moseley Kings Heath Line

I presume it was the train which left New Street at 09.09 and arrived at Bromsgrove one minute late at 09.40. Not bad being one minute late as it was clocked at 4 minutes late at Lifford East Junction. However it made up the time as it was scheduled to stand for 5 minutes at Kings Norton but did not stop that long. It was shown as an unadvertised ordinary passenger train.

Although trailed at the start of the 6.00pm ITV news last night they ran out of time.

As for the Rail Advent website heading 'First Passenger Train in 80 Years', I have travelled that line a few times as it is used regularly by Cross Country trains and I think there is one West Midlands Railways train which does that route on Saturday afternoons for train crews to keep up their route knowledge.
 
If anyone wants to see the Camp Hill Line in action then the 1008 and 1608 trains on Saturdays from Bromsgrove both go that way. You will need to catch a diesel train not an electric train and it should show non stop to Birmingham New Street.

Sorry bus passes not valid on this route.
 
I remmember in the 1970s the route would be used on a sunday, when track work was being carried out
 
Moseley Tunnel from Woodbridge Road.



Last week West Midlands Railway had a stopping Class 170 train at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell (even though the new stations haven't been built yet).
 
ellbrown said:
Last week West Midlands Railway had a stopping Class 170 train at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell (even though the new stations haven't been built yet).
Click to expand...

Timetable testing? Driver route learning? Searching for reasons not to do it? (Cynical? Moi?!)
 
Lloyd said:
Timetable testing? Driver route learning? Searching for reasons not to do it? (Cynical? Moi?!)
Click to expand...

I think it was just a publicity stunt. (I have edited out a sentence here as I was making a mistake over the dates).

Route learning would not be required yet as Worcester drivers and guards already sign for that route. I am not sure about Tyesley drivers.

The biggest problem that I see is that at the moment the plan is to divert the New Street to Worcester/Malvern trains on that route which will be a train every 30 minutes and I foresee an eventual requirement for a 10 minute service as on the cross city line and New Street cannot cope with that. This will mean that commuters from south of Bromsgrove will have crowded trains and will lose direct trains to University if they work at the QE or the university. The possibility of taking these trains into Moor Street is an aspiration rather than a detailed plan.
 
Yes, I agree with the wrong "Rail Advent" description, I have traveled on passenger trains along the route. Some, if I recall in BR days were diversions, and there were also the steam hauled special trains.

92220 is seen crossing the Birmingham & Warwick Junction Canal.


182095.jpg

The route was once busy with freight services and in steam days had additional engines attached at Saltley as far as Kings Heath.
 
Just read the response of the Moseley Society/Moseley Forum to the planning application. Looks set to be a right ding-dong about it. Official application wants a junction with traffic lights controlling Wake Green Rd/Oxford Rd/station entrance area. Moseley Society/Moseley Forum prefere a new traffic island.

Traffic island might be visually more attractive but I suspect would cause problems at peak time. Traffic lights might be ugly but might keep traffic flowing better.

As there is no parking at the station and as it is intended to encourage people to use public transport does it really need a complex road junction at all?
 
Yes, Pete in retrospect it was not a good move. Unfortunately, at the time, most people seemed ok with the idea.
 
It wasn't Beeching who closed the Camp Hill line. It was an incident called World War II which closed the line in 1941 and it never reopened.
 
David
Sorry I'm pernickety, but, for non-raily persons, you should say closed to stopping passenger trains
 
DavidGrain said:
It wasn't Beeching who closed the Camp Hill line. It was an incident called World War II which closed the line in 1941 and it never reopened.
Click to expand...

I am actually well aware of the reason for the Moseley Station closure thank you. The conversation with Pete was about the Breeching cuts in general.
 
superdad3 said:
Just read the response of the Moseley Society/Moseley Forum to the planning application. Looks set to be a right ding-dong about it. Official application wants a junction with traffic lights controlling Wake Green Rd/Oxford Rd/station entrance area. Moseley Society/Moseley Forum prefere a new traffic island.

Traffic island might be visually more attractive but I suspect would cause problems at peak time. Traffic lights might be ugly but might keep traffic flowing better.

As there is no parking at the station and as it is intended to encourage people to use public transport does it really need a complex road junction at all?
Click to expand...

UPDATE: Planning application for Moseley Station and associated works was approved today. No traffic lights; it's going to be a roundel, which is similar in appearance to a roundabout so the planners say. I'm not sure but I think a traffic roundel is just road markings.

Having crossed the junction of St Marys Row/Oxford Rd/Wake Green Rd on hundreds of times over the last fifty years or so, I do hope the roundel works. I have serious doubts....
 
wam said:
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/la...e-new-birmingham-railway-stations-10-12-2021/
Above is the link to the article shown. It does have more detail than the image - they reckon to start sometime next year. Odd that they should keep the name "Camp Hill line" and not try to resurrect Camp Hill station.
Click to expand...
Probably they think that Camp Hill is too close to the city centre to be worth while bearing in mind that the train journey from New Street does take a roundabout route before it gets to Camp Hill. The eventual plan is to build two new curves in Bordesley to bring the trains into Moor Street but that in much further into the future and the plan to reopen the line is just intended to be a an interim measure.
 
In railway terms line names, such as Camp Hill Line, are usually retained as that was they were known as, particularly by railway men.
 
I have just checked the timetables. West Midlands Railways used to run a couple of trains from Worcester to Birmingham New Street over this line on Saturdays. presumably just to maintain the drivers' route knowledge. I see these are no longer included.
 
"Odd that they should keep the name "Camp Hill line" and not try to resurrect Camp Hill station."
The station site area is hardly a large catchment for the line, and scheduling the extra stop on top of building cost would hardly be good value.
 
Lloyd said:
"Odd that they should keep the name "Camp Hill line" and not try to resurrect Camp Hill station."
The station site area is hardly a large catchment for the line, and scheduling the extra stop on top of building cost would hardly be good value.
Click to expand...
True, although there is some political pressure to put in a Balsall Heath station. Resurrecting Camp Hill would be a lot cheaper and would be more accessible. The question was, without the station, why keep the name?
 
Perhaps because it goes by camp hill and has always been known as that? There is no station called north warwickshire either, but line is known as that
 
The two new curves to Moor Street featured in the recently published Integrated Rail Plan report, which has limited vision for rail travel in Birmingham as well as curtailing the extent of HS 2

Regarding Camp Hill and the name, this railway was built for the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway and originally terminated at Camp Hill station before being extended to join up with the London & Birmingham Railway. The line through Selly Oak was named West Suburban after the original railway scheme and which was first built as a single track track railway branch from Kings Norton to Granville Street Station
 

Camp Hill Station

Rail Around Birmingham takes a look at the changing face of the railway in and around Birmingham and the West Midlands, past and present. All disused and operational railway stations and lines are covered in detail with both historical and contemporary maps provided, photographs of the present...
www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk
An informative link telling the history of Camp Hill station. A good picture of the station also.
 
Hopefully not liken the games flats in Perry Barr, else the line will probably be pulled up and private flats built on it
 
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