Page 9 - Railway History

Railway History Redditch Heritage

The first Redditch Station in Clive Road

The Line Expands

From October 1859 a locomotive and train crew were stationed at Redditch and the number of
passenger trains increased to four each way on Mondays to Saturdays, again with two on Sundays.
At the same time a goods service was introduced. Alvechurch station was eventually opened in
the November.
The Redditch train crew consisted, initially, of: John Fox, aged 43, driver; Henry Ledbetter, stoker;
and Henry Parsonage, guard. John Fox appears to have been something of a character, well
able to cope with the various untoward incidents that were likely to occur.
He also had other interests. Trains were not frequent and it is significant that in 1862 nearly half
an acre of land around Redditch locomotive "stable" was shown on plans of the day as "Pigsties,
land and garden - Tenant, John Fox."

Involved in a long-standing dispute with their contractor, underfunded and blessed with a railway
of indifferent construction, the directors of the line could not have been encouraged by the attitude
of "Printer" Heming, proprietor and editor of the Redditch Indicator.
No happening escaped his notice and one of his terse reports, dated May 30 1863, could well
have brought to mind a comparison with the reliable old coaches of only a few years earlier. "An
accident occurred on the train leaving Birmingham at 10,05am on Monday.
It was a mixed train. Immediately following the engine and tender were four heavily laden coal
wagons. "At a point near Alvechurch the train left the rails. It was found that the wheels of the
third coal truck had come off. The axle had fractured and was found some distance away. The
engine and two wagons remained on the rails, but the remainder of the train was derailed. The
driver took those passengers having urgent business through to Redditch."

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