Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway

[1][2] The opening of these lines gave an enormous impetus to the heavy industry of the areas they served, representing a considerable move forward from the canal-based transport that had formerly been a near-monopoly.

A line from Oxford could be made, running through Worcester, Kidderminster and Stourbridge to Wolverhampton, and this would connect into a great many locations of industry.

[note 2] The necessary bill incorporating the company went to the 1845 session of Parliament, and received royal assent as the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict.

Webster says that this alarmed the L&BR, but "whether the Grand Junction Board ever seriously contemplated relaying their tracks with the broad gauge is extremely doubtful.

"[note 5][6][3] The next issue was that the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway had been built passing at some distance from Worcester, a fact that had caused resentment in the city.

The OW&WR board improperly represented to prospective shareholders that the GWR guaranteed 4% interest on the whole construction cost whatever that might prove to be, and this led to soured relations between the two companies for a long period later on.

(In August 1847 when the OW&WR found itself once again embarrassed financially, it asked the GWR to raise the interest rate to 5%, increasing the bad feeling.

[3] As the economy was recovering from the post-mania depression, the French Revolution of 1848 plunged public confidence into turmoil, and for the time being construction ceased due to lack of money.

[1] The OW&WR proposed route crossed the B&GR line at Abbot's Wood, and by agreement the Midland Railway built a short spur between the two lines[note 7] and laid narrow (standard) gauge track on the OW&WR alignment as far as a temporary station at Tallow Hill, near Shrub Hill in Worcester.

Now all their Gloucester to Birmingham passenger trains ran via Worcester and Droitwich, leaving their own main line to goods traffic and a very light local connecting service.

This too was reduced and was discontinued from the end of September 1855, with all the Midland intermediate stations on their old main line between Abbotswood and Stoke Works Junctions closing permanently.

Lord Ward, newly elected as chairman, told the meeting that it was time for the OW&WR to take control of its own destiny, forsaking reliance on others (meaning the GWR); and raising a further £850,000 of capital in 6% preference shares.

He began negotiations with George Carr Glyn and Samuel Carter of the London and North Western Railway but with mixed success.

[3][7] A contractor called Marchant was constructing the Campden Tunnel, but in 1851, believing that he was owed money by the OW&WR, ceased work.

In the small hours of 23 July 1851 a large force was mustered by Brunel in the absence of the magistrates and a violent skirmish took place, during which Marchant and his men were routed.

Joy had no proper workshop facilities and had to use a local blacksmith for repairs to the engines at first; in fact he did some of the specialist metalwork jobs himself.

When there was an earth slip near Campden tunnel this was postponed to 7 May, but Captain Galton of the Board of Trade refused to sanction passenger opening as the broad gauge track was incomplete, as was the junction at Wolvercot.

On the return journey to Oxford the excursion was running late and the Cheltenham Chronicle reported that a signalman Charles Marles had entered the Campden tunnel and received fatal injuries from the overdue train.

These were eventually agreed on 4 August 1853; at the same time the GWR was allowed running powers between Priestfield and Cannock Road Junction at Wolverhampton.

[3] Parson and Peto had long been manipulating to find a route to London independent of the Great Western Railway, a fact which naturally annoyed the GWR.

The Low Level station at Wolverhampton was unfinished, and for a time some OW&WR passenger trains continued to use the LNWR Stour Valley line.

Bliss met with Sir Morton Peto, a director of the OW&WR and the two men agreed to finance a branch line themselves, with some contribution by other local businesspeople.

The branch started northwards from Honeybourne, and there were intermediate stations at Long Marston and Milcote, and the Stratford terminus was in Sanctuary Lane.

The south-facing connection at Hartlebury proved to be a significant limitation, and the Great Western Railway constructed a route leading north-east from Bewdley to Kidderminster, which opened on 1 June 1878.

[14] In September 1905, the GWR introduced steam railmotors on the line, and opened three new halts; the area was heavily industrialised and passenger usage was heavy.

The Stratford section fell into disuse about 1880, but local people agitated for the Shipston part to be modernised, and it was converted by the GWR into a conventional railway, opening on 1 July 1889, with locomotive operation.

The vehicles were a more economical means of providing a passenger service on less-busy routes, and they were widely employed on the former OW&WR network.

Passenger services had all been withdrawn by 1965, but goods trains continued to serve the route until 1993, when the line north of Round Oak was mothballed.

The former OW&WR network is (2017) still in use from Oxford to Round Oak, as well as the Norton Junction spur and the Stoke Works connection.

It appears that the head guard alighted from his van to deal with a broken coupling, and was unable to regain his post to apply the brakes.