Closure of GW north of Wolverhampton Low Level

[Mac080758]

Were the connections between Wolverhampton Low Level and Stafford Road Junction + Bushbury Junctions removed when / soon after the north of WLL passenger services ceased in 1968 (e.g. Shrewsbury services )? i.e. Did Low Level become a dead end with access for passenger and freight only from the south?

I understand that a passenger service operated from BSH (and BMS?) up as far as WLL until 1972. Also that the line from BSH to Wednesbury was closed in 1972. Access from then on must then have been from the Wednesbury chord off the Walsall to Stourbridge line. I've read that freight beyond Bilston to Low Level finally ceased in 1983 and that Wednesbury to Bilston ceased from 1992.

I recall the former GW links from Bushbury and Stafford Road being connected by a new chord in "recent times" to allow freight movements between the north (Penkridge) and west (Codsall) but they obviously didn't connect to Low Level at that time.

Many thanks.

 

[AndyW33]

I understand that a passenger service operated from BSH (and BMS?) up as far as WLL until 1972.

Many thanks.

From Snow Hill to Low Level, yes. From Moor Street, no. Two reasons - one was that the platforms on the through tracks leading to Snow Hill through the tunnel at Moor Street were only built when the line through Snow Hill was reopened. Up to that point Moor Street only had south-facing terminal platforms, so a service from Moor Street to Wolverhampton has never existed. The other is that the lines through the tunnel were lifted at a very early stage, and the remaining services from Snow Hill were concentrated on two of Snow Hill's north facing bay platforms (3 and 4 on the pre-closure numbering) which just happened to be inset into the down island platform which also housed the power signalling room.

 

[Gloster]

There is some information on the disused-stations website.

 

[Sprinter107]

The last passenger train through Snow Hill tunnel was the 17.52 to Leamington Spa, on 4th May 1968, the few services still remaining going north from Wolverhampton also stopping that day with Dunstall Park station closing. The 2 hourly all day shuttle from Langley Green, and the hourly all day stopping service to Wolverhampton were both drastically reduced from that day too, just operating in the peak hours.
After that day, the 3 car 116s for the Wolverhampton service, and the 122s for the Langley Green service had to go from Tyseley to Snow Hill via New Street and reverse at Langley Green.
Reduced service meant reduced passengers, and in August 1968, the 3 car 116s were replaced with class 122 bubble cars.
From May 1969, all the stations including Snow Hill and Wolverhampton became unstaffed, with the guards issuing tickets on the train.
From about 1970, the stations started to be demolished, but the station to come off worse was Hockley, where everything was just totally flattened, including name boards, signs and lighting, leaving nothing but the stairs down to the subway, any passengers waiting on a bare platform, with no shelter, and in winter months total darkness.
Any passengers wanting to get off at Hockley, unless they were regulars, wouldn't know where they were, as there was nothing to tell them the bare platform was Hockley.
The train service finished 6th March 1972, the very last train was a special running from Snow Hill to Stourbridge Junction and back to New Street.

 

[30907]

I recall visiting during my first year at Oxford (71-72). It was a Saturday so I could do the only Redditch branch out-and-back working (the other 2 were balanced ECS!), and Snow Hill was incredibly depressing late afternoon.
Can't remember whether the track had been lifted beyond Wolverhampton though.

 

[Taunton]

I seem to recall that after the big change in 1967, although most Shrewsbury line services now went into Wolverhampton HL, a few peak hour services still went into Low Level for a year or so afterwards. This closed Dunstall Park as well. I remember the latter because, in about 1966, having bunked Oxley shed after a tedious walk from High Level, we went back to Dunstall Park for the next train to Tyseley. It was a dilapadated structure by then, possibly wooden, but remembered principally because it was the last station I ever used which had gas lighting. It was midday, but we played with the operating chain on it. A grumpy elderly porter suddenly emerged and issued reprimands left, right and centre ...

 

[MichaelAMW]

In case you're interested, here is the timetable published in the May 1972 to May 1973 LMR timetable.

 

[Sprinter107]

I seem to recall that after the big change in 1967, although most Shrewsbury line services now went into Wolverhampton HL, a few peak hour services still went into Low Level for a year or so afterwards. This closed Dunstall Park as well. I remember the latter because, in about 1966, having bunked Oxley shed after a tedious walk from High Level, we went back to Dunstall Park for the next train to Tyseley. It was a dilapadated structure by then, possibly wooden, but remembered principally because it was the last station I ever used which had gas lighting. It was midday, but we played with the operating chain on it. A grumpy elderly porter suddenly emerged and issued reprimands left, right and centre ...

Think Dunstall Park went to a couple in a morning, and a couple on the afternoon, non of them running to or from Birmingham, as they wouldve done before March 1967

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Nov 2020 ==

In case you're interested, here is the timetable published in the May 1972 to May 1973 LMR timetable.

View attachment 85477

They mustve published the 72 to 73 timetable before permission was granted to withdraw the service, as it was withdrawn the day before that timetable started. I suppose it wouldve been updated in the supplement usually ussued. Terrible rundown of what was a busy and useful service.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Were the connections between Wolverhampton Low Level and Stafford Road Junction + Bushbury Junctions removed when / soon after the north of WLL passenger services ceased in 1968 (e.g. Shrewsbury services )? i.e. Did Low Level become a dead end with access for passenger and freight only from the south?

I understand that a passenger service operated from BSH (and BMS?) up as far as WLL until 1972. Also that the line from BSH to Wednesbury was closed in 1972. Access from then on must then have been from the Wednesbury chord off the Walsall to Stourbridge line. I've read that freight beyond Bilston to Low Level finally ceased in 1983 and that Wednesbury to Bilston ceased from 1992.

I recall the former GW links from Bushbury and Stafford Road being connected by a new chord in "recent times" to allow freight movements between the north (Penkridge) and west (Codsall) but they obviously didn't connect to Low Level at that time.

Many thanks.

To actually answer the original query the best source appears to be an item in Railway Magazine for April 1970 by Geoffrey F Bannister entitled 'New vitality for the Bushbury Spur'.

This states categorically that the last movement 'through' Wolverhampton Low Level was at 0043 on Sunday 27 July 1969 when a convoy of steam locomotives was transferred from an open day at Allerton Depot back to their home at Tyseley.

The line was severed and Cannock Road Junction signalbox later burnt out. Revised arrangements for running round merry-go-round coal trains from some Staffordshire collieries to Ironbridge Power Station came into effect on 6 October 1969. These were on the basis of hand points and 'through siding' operation at Cannock Road.

It is worth bearing in mind that the parcels concentration depot into which Wolverhampton Low Level was re-purposed was essentially served via the spur from Heath Town Junction (on the link from Crane Street Junction to Portobello Junction) rather than the former GWR lines so references to Snow Hill and Wednesbury are not really relevant.

The Wednesbury link provided a 'back door' to Wolverhampton Steel Terminal from Bescot without needing to consume capacity on the main Stour Valley line. I remember travelling in a brake van that way on dark and freezing night in the mid 1970s.

 

[Mac080758]

Thanks all for your replies. Quite interesting to understand the area. I did once do Woodside to Snow Hill (in 1963) when I was a page boy for a family wedding but otherwise can only recall the lines through High Level from the mid 70s on and there were loads of quiet lines going off in all directions for which there was no easy identification at the time with my lack of local knowledge and no access to decent historical maps.

 

[MichaelAMW]

You might find these RCH diagrams interesting/enlightening:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Bushbury_%26_Wolverhampton_RJD_80.jpg

Category:Warwickshire RJD 1914 - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

Category:Staffordshire RJD 1914 - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org