Earl of Dudley's Railway

In the 19th century, the Ward family, owners of Dudley Castle, had large holdings of land in the Black Country region of England.

They had added to their possessions in the 18th century by the enclosure of Pensnett Chase which had formerly been common land and, much further back in time, a hunting ground for the Barons of Dudley.

[1] Much of this land covered coal seams and deposits of industrial material including iron ore and fire-clay.

Canals had been cut into the Black Country region in the second half of the 18th century but not all were conveniently close to the mines of the Dudley Estate.

James Foster (1786-1853) controlled the company John Bradley & Co a large industrial concern that owned the Stourbridge Iron Works.

The line opened on 2 June 1829 with the steam locomotive Agenoria purpose-built to haul wagons of coal from pits to the canal basin.

From the Ashwood canal basin, the line ran up an incline for around 500 yards before reaching a level section which extended for around 2 miles.

The incline at Barrow Hill was so steep that a stationary engine had to be installed to work the line on the slope.

In 1855, the Dudley Estate opened the Round Oak Ironworks next to the Level New Furnaces in the centre of the Pensnett railway network.

Also in 1865 the line to High Lanes was extended to Dudley where a land sale wharf was built at Wellington Road.

[7] The railway line though long closed was recalled for many years by a local business called Great Western Windows based in Wellington Road.

At this point it stretched to Himley in the north, Dudley in the north-east, Ashwood Basin in the west, Cradley Station in the south and Old Hill to the south-east.

[9] In 1885 some of the original land leases obtained by James Foster in order to build the Kingswinford Railway were set to expire.

Foster, decided that the link to the Ashwood Basin was no longer necessary for his Shut End works, which were by then connected to the canal and mainline rail network.

Foster implied that the locomotive was not running on the line in April 1864 although it is not clear whether it was a temporary or permanent stoppage.

Foster's agent wrote back agreeing to provide a new engine as part of an agreement to improve the railway.

[15] Subsequently, the Leeds manufacturer Manning Wardle became a favoured locomotive supplier up to the close of the 19th century.