Great Bridge North railway station

52°31′59″N 2°02′08″W / 52.5331°N 2.0356°W / 52.5331; -2.0356Grid referenceSO976927Platforms2 (3)Other informationStatusDisusedHistoryOriginal companySouth Staffordshire RailwayPre-groupingLondon and North Western RailwayPost-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayKey dates1850Opened as Great Bridge^[1]1950Renamed Great Bridge North'^[1]1964Closed to passengers1972Closed outright

Great Bridge North railway station was a station on the South Staffordshire Line that served the village of Great Bridge and town of Tipton in Staffordshire, England.

History

The station was built in 1850 and was initially served by the South Staffordshire Railway. The South Staffordshire Railway was later absorbed by the London and North Western Railway, which amalgamated with several other railways in 1923 to create the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. The station shared the name Great Bridge with its Great Western Railway counterpart built in 1866. North was appended to the name of the station just after nationalisation.

Passenger usage declined in the early 1880s, and the line became mainly freight in 1887. It remained open for goods traffic as the district became highly industrialised in the heyday of the Black Country's industrial past. Local industry declined after World War II and road transport became more common. British Rail closed the station to passengers through the Beeching Axe in 1964, but it continued as a freight station for local factories until 1972. Goods trains continued to pass through the site of the station until 1993. By that date no sign of the station or the goods yard remained. It is now derelict and mostly fenced off.

Midland Metro

A £1,100,000/15-year-long regeneration project is expected to re-open the closed section of railway through Dudley^[2] as a combined Midland Metro tramway with a separate heavy rail line for goods trains. The old station site is earmarked as the location of a Midland Metro stop on the local tram network's second line between Walsall, Dudley Port railway station, Dudley railway station and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre and was scheduled for opening upon completion in 2011.^{[3][needs update]} The freighters would continue on past Brettell Lane railway station and on to the mainline at Stourbridge junction.^[3] Due to a combination of the COVID-19 lockdown, cost overruns and delays the Metro line is expected to open as far as Dudley in 2025. Extension beyond that point is subject to further funding being made.

Gallery

• 
  Great Bridge North looking down from the crossing and past the signal box, 2003
• 
  Great Bridge North station, 2003
• 
  Great Bridge North station, 2005
• 
  Great Bridge North signal box, 2001.
• 
  Great Bridge North's road crossing by the signal box, 2003.
• 
  Great Bridge North railway station, walking down from the crossing and past the signal box, towards the modern warehouse in 2003. The canal bridge is fenced off and collapsing.
• 
  The former siding and platform entrance outside Great Bridge North station, 2011

See also

v t e West Midlands Metro Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension
Legend
Line One at Wednesbury Tame Valley Canal Golds Hill Walsall Canal Great Bridge Horseley Road Dudley Port Birmingham New Main Line canal (under aqueduct) Sedgley Road East Birmingham Old Main Line canal Birmingham New Road Tipton Road Dudley Castle Dudley Town Centre Flood Street New Road Cinder Bank Parkhead Viaduct over Dudley Canal Pedmore Road Canal Street Waterfront Merry Hill Brierley Hill

• Round Oak Steel Terminal
• Dudley Freightliner Terminal

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Wednesbury Town		South Staffordshire Railway Later LNWR, then LMS, finally BR South Staffs Line (1850-1964)		Dudley Port
Walsall or Terminus		BR, then Freightliner South Staffs Line (inc. Dudley-Stourbridge Junction to 1962) (1852-1964)		Dudley Freightliner Terminal

References

• "Some South Staffordshire Railway Byways – The Darlaston Branch". John D's First Railway & Canal Blog. 25 August 2010.