Blowers Green railway station
Blowers Green railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line.
Blowers Green railway station | |
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Location | |
Place | Dudley |
Area | Dudley |
Grid reference | 52.50427 |
Operations | |
Original company | Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway |
Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Platforms | 2 |
History | |
1878 | opened as Netherton |
1878 | renamed Dudley South and Netherton |
1921 | Renamed Blowers Green. |
30 July 1962 | Closed to passengers |
1965 | Closed as an emergency escape point |
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z | |
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History
It was opened in 1878 by the Great Western Railway intending to serve the communities of Woodside and Netherton. Soon after opening it was renamed Dudley Southside & Netherton.[1] It was opened immediately north of Netherton station which it replaced.
Three railways/routes served the station - originally the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and the South Staffordshire Railway, which later became the Great Western Railway and London, Midland and Scottish Railway (through amalgamation of the London and North Western Railway) respectively. There were also services from Dudley to Old Hill along this route as part of GWR's service. The junction to Old Hill diverged between here and Harts Hill.
The line had reasonable passenger usage until about the early 1880s, when it began to slump at several stations, leading to the line becoming a largely freight only operation in 1887. It would remain open for goods traffic, which was considerable at this time, as the district had become highly industrialised in the then heyday of the Black Country's industrial past.
This station was known as Dudley Southside and Netherton until 1921, when it was renamed Blowers Green.
As the local industry declined and road transport became more common, the station entered a post-World War 2 decline.
British Railways closed the station to passengers in 1962 even though trains from Dudley to Old Hill passed through the station until 1964. It remained as an emergency escape point and access point for railway engineers until late 1965.
Today's usage
The station building has been bricked up. The forecourt has been fenced off since 2004 due to youths' anti-social behaviour, structural decay and periodical use by vagrants. Bill-posters are occasionally stuck to it from time to time.
Midland Metro
The site of the station is earmarked as the location of a Midland Metro stop which will be opened on the completion of the local tram network's second line in about 2011.[2] A £1,100,000/15-year-long regeneration project will see the station become part of the local tram network with the line reopening between Walsall, Dudley Port railway station, Dudley railway station and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre for trams on one track and for freight on the other. The freighters would continue on to Brettell Lane railway station and on to the main line at Stourbridge junction.[2] The closed section of railway through Dudley is expected to re-open during the 2010s,[3] as a combined Midland Metro tramway and a heavy rail line for goods trains. Almost half a century after its closure, the station building is still standing. The railway below is currently disused, having been closed in 1993. It is set to re-open by 2012 as the second phase of the Midland Metro.
Historic imagery of the site
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Blowers Green station forecourt in 2002. It has been fenced off since 2004 due to youths' anti-social behaviour, structural decay and periodical use by vagrants.
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Netherton signal box in 2004.
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Blowers Green station building in 2004.
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The line below Netherton signal box and Blowers Green station building in 2004.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blowers Green railway station. |
- Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Blowers Green railway station
- chasewaterstuff.wordpress.com
- localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk
- streetvi.com
- bescot.plus.com
- ↑ http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/blowers_green/index.shtml.
- 1 2 http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2010/11/25/plans-for-1-1-bn-west-midlands-metro-system-unveiled-65233-27711546/
- ↑ http://www.centro.org.uk/Metro/Nov%2003/W-B%20Timetable.asp
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Dudley | Great Western Railway Later British Rail Bumble Hole Line (1878-1964) |
Baptist End | ||
Dudley | Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Later Great Western Railway, then British Rail Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton (1852-1962) |
Harts Hill | ||
Dudley | South Staffordshire Railway Later LNWR, then LMS, finally BR South Staffs Line Dudley-Stourbridge Junction section (1852-1962) |
Harts Hill |
Coordinates: 52°30′15″N 2°05′04″W / 52.50427°N 2.08440°W