This website requires a browser which supports HTML5.
Some elements of this site will not work correctly until you upgrade your browser.
Pocket
Histories
of
Redditch
-
The
Railway
Designed
and
Produced
by
Anthony
Green
2015
Redditch
Railway
The
coming
of
the
railway
to
Redditch
Pocket
Histories
of
Redditch
-
The
Railway
Designed
and
Produced
by
Anthony
Green
2015
Although
horse-drawn
railways
and
steam
engines
had
been
around
for
years,
the
Stockton
&
Darlington
Railway
in
north-east
England,
which
opened
on
27
September
1825,
is
credited
as
Britain's
first
passenger
railway
and
the
railway
age
had
begun.
A
‘railway
mania',
followed
and
240
Act
of
Parliament
were
passed
in
1845
(amounting
to
2,820
miles
of
new
track),
compared
to
just
48
the
year
before
and,
over
the
next
ten
years,
over
4,600
miles
of
new
track
were
completed.
The
growth
of
excursion
trains
and
the
Great
Exhibition
of
1851
stimulated
vast
numbers
to
use
the
railways
for
the
first
time.
By
the
end
of
the
1850's,
passenger
numbers
had
risen
beyond
all
expectations
and
by
1854
alone,
the
network
had
reached
6,000
miles,
and
the
magic
of
train
travel
had
caught
the
public
imagination.
The
map
to
the
right
showing
the
railway
lines
existing
in
1961
(pre-Beeching!)
illustrates
how
every
area
of
the
country
was
covered
by
the
network.
The
Development
of
Railways
in
Britain
Pocket
Histories
of
Redditch
-
The
Railway
Designed
and
Produced
by
Anthony
Green
2015
The
Redditch
Railway
company
was
authorised
in
July
1858
by
the
Redditch
Railway
Act.
The
aim
was
to
open
a
line,
4½
miles
long,
between
Barnt
Green
and
Redditch.
It
was,
over
most
of
its
length,
a
single
track
line.
It
was
constructed
in
a
little
over
one
year
and
it
opened
for
passenger
traffic
on
18th
September
1859
and
goods
traffic
a
few
days
later.
The
original
terminus
was
in
Clive
Road
and
the
opening
was
reported
on
the
front
page
of
the
first
edition
of
the
town’s
new
newspaper,
the
Redditch
Indicator.
This
was
an
important
new
transport
system
and
was
further
enhanced,
nine
years
later,
when
the
line
was
extended
to
Evesham
via
the
new
tunnel
under
Mount
Pleasant.
The
picture,
lower
right,
shows
the
tunnel
after
closure
in
the
late
1960s.
The
Barnt
Green
to
Redditch
Line
Pocket
Histories
of
Redditch
-
The
Railway
Designed
and
Produced
by
Anthony
Green
2015
The
Ashchurch
and
Evesham
Railway
opened
to
both
passengers
and
goods
traffic
in
1864.
The
gap
between
those
two
lines
was
filled
by
the
Evesham
and
Redditch
Railway
which
was
authorised
in
1863.
The
stretch
between
Evesham
and
Alcester
opened
to
traffic
1866
and
the
remaining
section
between
Alcester
and
Redditch
opened
in
1868
running
to
a
new
station
at
the
bottom
of
Unicorn
Hill.
The
Redditch
Railway
was
bought
by
the
Midland
Railway
in
1865
while
the
middle
section
between
Redditch
and
Evesham
was
taken
over
by
the
Midland
in
1882.
From
Redditch
the
line
ran
south
through
Evesham
to
a
junction
at
Ashchurch
where
it
rejoined
the
Birmingham
&
Gloucester
Railway;
the
line
became
known
as
the
Birmingham
&
Gloucester
Loop.
The
Extended
Line
Above:
Redditch
Station
looking
North
(from
postcard)
Below:
Redditch
Station
looking
South
(from
postcard)
Pocket
Histories
of
Redditch
-
The
Railway
Designed
and
Produced
by
Anthony
Green
2015
After
the
First
World
War,
economic
pressures
caused
difficulties
for
many
small
railway
companies
and,
in
1923,
almost
all
the
railways
in
the
country
were
grouped
into
four
new
companies:
The
Great
Western
Railway
(GWR),
The
London,
Midland
&
Scottish
Railway
(LMS),
The
London
&
North
Eastern
Railway
(LNER)
and
The
Southern
Railway.
However,
the
decline
continued
and
in
1948
the
railways
were
nationalised
as
British
Railways.
By
the
1960’s
the
expansion
in
road
transport,
coupled
with
little
investment
in
the
railways,
attracted
passengers
and
goods
away
from
the
railways.
The
Beeching
Report
in
1962
was
produced
to
justify
railway
closures
and,
in
the
first
ten
years
after
its
publication,
more
than
4,000
miles
of
railway
track
and
3,000
stations
were
closed.
The
Beeching
‘Axe’
is
still
identified
with
the
mass
closure
of
railways
and
the
loss
of
many
local
services.
The
Decline
of
the
Railways
Post-Beeching
British
Rail
Map
showing
the
extent
of
the
Railway
Network
had
been
reduced
by
1969
(from
Joyce’s
World
of
Transport
Eclectica)
Pocket
Histories
of
Redditch
-
The
Railway
Designed
and
Produced
by
Anthony
Green
2015
After
the
Beeching
Report
the
rail
service
between
Evesham
and
Redditch
was
completely
closed
and
the
track
lifted
by
1964.
In
1965
there
was
a
threat
to
close
the
section
between
Redditch
and
Barnt
Green
but
the
line
was
reprieved
due
to
the
development
of
Redditch
New
Town.
The
station
was
moved
to
north
side
of
Bromsgrove
Road
and
this
allowed
the
former
station
site
to
be
cleared
for
the
construction
of
a
new
bus
station
to
create
a
transport
interchange.
In
February
1990
the
Cross
City
Line
between
Redditch
and
Litchfield
was
authorised
which
included
the
electrification
of
the
line.
Today
much
of
the
former
track
bed
can
still
be
traced
and
part
of
the
line
has
been
incorporated
into
the
Evesham
Country
Park.
Within
Redditch
the
old
route
south
follows
tunnel
drive
and
along
the
Alcester
Highway.
The
Redditch
Railway
Line
Today
Redditch
Railway
Station
Today
Pocket
Histories
of
Redditch
-
The
Railway
Designed
and
Produced
by
Anthony
Green
2015
End
of
Presentation
Redditch
Railway
The
coming
of
the
railway
to
Redditch