Page 8 - Railway History

Redditch Heritage Railway History

The Line Opens

The village referred to in this extract of verse from the time was, of course, Redditch.

Practically the whole length of the proposed Redditch Railway from Barnt Green down to Brockhill
Lane, Redditch, was on property belonging to the Hewell Estate so there was little problem with
land acquisition. The Hon Robert Windsor Clive MP turned the first sod on August 5 1858 at the
site of Clive Road, but otherwise the Windsor family appeared to have little interest in the line,
the original directors all being Redditch needle masters.

As was to be expected, the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Company required various
safeguards. Restrictions on the construction of the bridge over the canal at Withybed Green alone
occupied a page of the 1858 Railway Act.
The nominally independent line opened for passengers on September 19 1859, with three trains
each way on Mondays to Saturdays and two on Sundays.
The railway was by no means complete. The little wooden station building at Alvechurch was still
being built and there were, as yet, no goods handling facilities at Redditch.
The Midland Railway, while providing the trains, refused to take over the line because of
unresolved financial problems. Some indication of the back ground troubles can be found in a
letter to the Indicator dated December 27 1862, where reference is made by a disgruntled
shareholder to "a demand made on the Company (by the Contractor, Mr Furness) for an amount
not only fearfully in excess of the original contract, but of ideal materials and imaginary labourers."
The actual overspend was around £15,800.

Gasworks Siding Signal Box – opened 1877.
Johnson 0-6-0 with Midland coaches passing with Evesham bound train C1903-5

Photograph: Phil Jarvis

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