Part of the limestone embankments around Aldridge collapsed this morning after heavy rain, which will result in the closure of the Sutton Park line for about two weeks....
The enclosed photo's show the result of one of the clay-bound embankments slipping down onto the cess and down line, causing the rails to buckle and trees to fall over across the tracks. Birse Rail are involved in restoring the line.
It could be argued that lack of tree felling close to the line along this route has exacerbated the situation, however given the amount of rain that fell on Friday it was inevitable that some of the steeply-angled embankments would give way.
The road bridge in the background carries Bosty Lane over the railway (between Rushall and the Whitehouse at Aldridge), and was itself closed for almost two years recently due to footings giving way and collapsing into the nearby underground caverns and lake at Linley Wood. The wood is situated just to the right of these pictures.
To see Steve Powell's website featuring the caverns, click on the Linley Wood Caverns link.
This photograph of Streetly station was recently sold on E Bay (copyright unknown).