Heartland
master brummie
In the years 1845 and 1846 when large number of railways were proposed several canal companies considered converting their waterways into railways. Had that happened our waterway network of today would have been the poorer. The Worcester & Birmingham Railway had a scheme which was later modified to create the Birmingham & West Suburban Railway where the land adjacent to the waterway in order to lay a track from Birmingham to Kings Norton. The Birmingham Canal Navigations whilst intent on expanding their canal network did put forward a scheme to link Birmingham with Wolverhampton where they joined with other railways to promote their intentions. As the bill was formulated the London & Birmingham Railway and Birmingham Canal Navigations Act ensured the making of the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway which when finally built followed closely the canal company routes.
The Birmingham Canal Company had a number of tramway links which they owned and provided access to coal and ironstone mines. The Littleworth Tramway was built for them and signalled by the London & North Western Railway. It was a standard gauge freight line where colliery locomotives would travel along to Hednesford Canal Basin at the terminus of the Cannock Extension Canal
The Birmingham Canal Company had a number of tramway links which they owned and provided access to coal and ironstone mines. The Littleworth Tramway was built for them and signalled by the London & North Western Railway. It was a standard gauge freight line where colliery locomotives would travel along to Hednesford Canal Basin at the terminus of the Cannock Extension Canal