Birmingham to Hednesford service - 1992

[Batman]

I’ve recently seen a video on YouTube that was filmed at Bescot in October 1992. It shows a northbound Class 150 arriving at the station with its destination stated as ‘Hednesford via Walsall’.

I always thought that during the early years of the Chase Line after its reopening it was only served by an hourly Walsall - Hednesford shuttle service. The video looks like it was shot in the middle of the day during autumn, so it couldn’t have been an evening peak extra.

Does anyone have an idea when through services from Hednesford to Birmingham first started, what the stopping patterns were like, we’re they inter-worked with any other services etc...

 

[satisnek]

I haven't got a timetable for that period, but the September 1991 - May 1992 one shows hourly Birmingham-Hednesford and hourly Birmingham-Walsall services on weekdays (therefore half-hourly Birmingham-Walsall), and half-hourly Birmingham-Walsall plus an hourly Walsall-Hednesford shuttle on Saturdays. All services ran via Aston and most called at all stations except Duddeston. There was no Sunday service.

 

[Batman]

I haven't got a timetable for that period, but the September 1991 - May 1992 one shows hourly Birmingham-Hednesford and hourly Birmingham-Walsall services on weekdays (therefore half-hourly Birmingham-Walsall), and half-hourly Birmingham-Walsall plus an hourly Walsall-Hednesford shuttle on Saturdays. All services ran via Aston and most called at all stations except Duddeston. There was no Sunday service.

Thank you. We’re there any peak extras back then and what was the evening service like?

My earliest memories of the line are from about 1996. I think that was about the time that Birmingham - Walsall semi fasts started running and Walsall got a 4tph service. For many years it was always the case that southbound service from the Chase Line ran semi fast from Walsall to Birmingham via the Handsworth loop while northbound ones went via Aston and called all stations.

I don’t think the Walsall line got a Sunday service until about 2000.

 

[satisnek]

Sorry for the delay in replying, yes, there was a peak extra in each direction, the evening one being limited stop between Birmingham and Walsall (i.e. Hamstead only). There were no late evening services, the last trains from Hednesford being 1930 (SO) and 2001 (SX).

 

[Batman]

Thank you. Seems odd having Hanstead as the only stop between New Street and Walsall. I remember in the early 2000’s there being some odd stopping patterns in the morning peak, like one service running non stop from Bloxwich to Hednesford and Rugeley only getting 1 train to Birmingham before 9am.

So it looks as through back in 1991 the last train to Hednesford would have left New Street at about 19:00 on weekdays and 18:30 on Saturdays. Surely there must have been later services to Walsall.

 

[Bald Rick]

The ‘fasts’ to Walsall started after the Snow Hill- Smethick line opened, which released some capacity into the west side of New Street through Monument Lane.