Halesowen Line - Virtual Trip

This page takes you on a virtual trip along the line.

Old Hill Stn - 21/9/52

Old Hill station, the start of the line.  Actually, the line from Old Hill to Halesowen was built by GWR before the Halesowen Railway was created.

Halesowen Station Home Signal - 10/5/53

Nice shot, this one.  I think we're approaching Halesowen Station from the north.  Can anyone confirm?

Halesowen Stn - 7/10/56

Halesowen Station looking very sorry for itself.  This view was taken looking towards the start of the Halesowen Railway proper.  I believe the road bridge carried Mucklow Hill.

Manor Lane, Halesowen - 18/1/59

Here, the railway crosses over Manor Lane.  Although the road has been widened since this picture was taken, this view looking towards Birmingham shows a factory to the right and houses to the left that survive to this day. The line to the left would be from Halesowen, heading towards Hunnington off to the right.

Hunnington Stn - 12/7/53

Hunnington is just north of Romsley.  The station building survives to this day and is now a private house.  A modern day picture can be seen on the MIAC site. I understand that the points seen in the foreground of the picture allowed goods trains to access sidings for the Bluebird Toffee factory.

Hunnington Stn - 29/7/51

Looking in the opposite direction to the view seen directly above, this shot shows a small shed and sidings to the north of the station.

Hunnington Viaduct - 12/7/53

This viaduct was the most impressive part of the railway.  The upper picture was taken from the back of the train as it headed towards Hunnington.  In the lower picture we are steaming towards Rubery, probably delivering the pipes to the Rover Works at Longbridge.  This latter picture provides a slightly better view of the structure itself.  Here is a detailed view of the viaduct.  For a full, side profile, don't miss the colour slide of the viaduct! The viaduct carried the railway over an area known as Twiland Wood although MIAC describe it as Dowery Dell.

Halesowen Branch Nr Site of M5 - 15/12/63

This picture, more than any other in the collection, indicates the importance of the notes written on the back of each print.  Without the note this is just a scene of misty, single track railway.  The words, "Nr Site of M5", will send a chill down the spine of Halesowen Railway fans for it was the construction of the motorway to the west of Birmingham that saw the system closed down for good.

Holly Hill Crossing - 12/7/53

This crossing was where the line met Holly Hill on the approach to Rubery Station.  The station is visible just to the left of centre.

Rubery Stn - 31/5/54

Having moved past Holly Hill crossing, this shot shows the station from its western end.  See below for an opposing view.

Rubery Station - 11/7/54

The station at Rubery was to the south of the line so this shows the view that would be seen were we heading towards Hunnington. Rubery station provided the only 'passing loop' on the branch (i.e. where one train could pass another on a separate line) as the railway up to Halesowen was single-track.

Rubery Box - 12/7/53

This view is taken from the back of the train as it heads toward Hunnington.  What a cracking pose the signalman is striking!

Halesowen Branch nr Frankley Sgds - 29/7/51

This picture caused me some confusion but I now believe that it shows a part of the line between the level crossing at Rubery Lane (for which there is sadly no picture) and Longbridge Station.  My fathers 1962 Birmingham OS map shows a bridge for a private road leading from Rubery Hill Hospital to Hollymoor Hospital.  There is still a bridge at the site (accessible from Hollymoor Way) but is looks very different to this as an entrance road to Longbridge Works was constructed here.  I do believe that the attractive curved brickwork to the eastern side of the current bridge may have been part of the bridge shown above.

Longbridge West from West - 12/3/62

Here we are approaching Longbridge Station.  The Rover works are the major feature here.

East End of Longbridge Station - 11/7/54

This view shows the back of the station building at Longbridge.  This building is still there although is has been unused for many years.  It can be found on the A38 near the junction of Bristol Road South and Lickey Road.

Longbridge East - 12/3/62

In this picture we are looking back to the station that is in the picture above.  Longbridge East Box can be seen near the road bridge.  Surprisingly, it survives to this day as can be seen from picture from April 2006.

Halesowen Junction - 12/3/62

This is where the Halesowen Railway joined the lines of the Midland Railway.  The bridge in the foreground carries Longbridge Lane.  Underneath the bridge is where the site of the current Longbridge Station, part of the Cross City Line, can be found.

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