LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
"Trackwatch" in the June Modern Railways tells us that the Worcester Area of NR's Western Route (Wales & Western Region) has transferred to the Central Route (North West & Central Region).
In other words, in BR-speak, the WR has lost another chunk of territory to the LMR.
The lines concerned are Pershore-Worcester-Droitwich-Cutnall Green, the Worcester loop connections off the Birmingham-Bristol line, and Worcester-Shelwick Jn on the N&W line near Hereford.
The "Western" therefore now stops at Evesham and Ashchurch, and the "Midland" has the whole route from Birmingham to Hereford, bar the last mile or so which is within "Wales".
It puts the distinctive lower-quadrant signalling at Worcester, Droitwich, Malvern, Ledbury and elsewhere on these lines under "Midland" control.
The change was presaged by the planned extent of the control areas of NR signalling centres in Saltley (WMSCC), Didcot (Thames Valley SCC), and Cardiff (SWSCC).
West Midlands control was extended south from Blackwell (top of the Lickey) to Ashchurch a couple of years ago, prompted by resignalling and electrification extension to Bromsgrove.
Didcot will eventually control the North Cotswold line to Evesham, and south of Ashchurch, with Cardiff controlling the N&W line Newport-Hereford-Shrewsbury-Wrexham/Nantwich.
Lines in this broad area have a complex history of separate and joint lines between the GWR and Midland companies, with the LNWR joining the mix at Hereford.
Both Worcester Shrub Hill (GW/Mid) and Hereford (GW/LNW) stations were jointly owned and managed before nationalisation.
Under BR, in the 1950s, the WR gained control of the Midland route from Bristol to Blackwell (and also most of the Ashchurch-Evesham-Redditch route, now closed).
The recent changes reverse that control for the northern half of the route.
On the other side of the Cotswolds, in 1963 the LM gained control of GW routes from Birmingham to Heyford, south of Banbury, an operational boundary that still exists.
Of note is that the ELR (Engineer's Line Reference) for Oxford-Worcester-Stourbridge Jn is OWW - the initials of the original Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (the Old Worse and Worse
), and a perennial thorn in the side of the GWR.
In other words, in BR-speak, the WR has lost another chunk of territory to the LMR.
The lines concerned are Pershore-Worcester-Droitwich-Cutnall Green, the Worcester loop connections off the Birmingham-Bristol line, and Worcester-Shelwick Jn on the N&W line near Hereford.
The "Western" therefore now stops at Evesham and Ashchurch, and the "Midland" has the whole route from Birmingham to Hereford, bar the last mile or so which is within "Wales".
It puts the distinctive lower-quadrant signalling at Worcester, Droitwich, Malvern, Ledbury and elsewhere on these lines under "Midland" control.
The change was presaged by the planned extent of the control areas of NR signalling centres in Saltley (WMSCC), Didcot (Thames Valley SCC), and Cardiff (SWSCC).
West Midlands control was extended south from Blackwell (top of the Lickey) to Ashchurch a couple of years ago, prompted by resignalling and electrification extension to Bromsgrove.
Didcot will eventually control the North Cotswold line to Evesham, and south of Ashchurch, with Cardiff controlling the N&W line Newport-Hereford-Shrewsbury-Wrexham/Nantwich.
Lines in this broad area have a complex history of separate and joint lines between the GWR and Midland companies, with the LNWR joining the mix at Hereford.
Both Worcester Shrub Hill (GW/Mid) and Hereford (GW/LNW) stations were jointly owned and managed before nationalisation.
Under BR, in the 1950s, the WR gained control of the Midland route from Bristol to Blackwell (and also most of the Ashchurch-Evesham-Redditch route, now closed).
The recent changes reverse that control for the northern half of the route.
On the other side of the Cotswolds, in 1963 the LM gained control of GW routes from Birmingham to Heyford, south of Banbury, an operational boundary that still exists.
Of note is that the ELR (Engineer's Line Reference) for Oxford-Worcester-Stourbridge Jn is OWW - the initials of the original Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (the Old Worse and Worse
), and a perennial thorn in the side of the GWR.
