Streetly Station 1953

Loco 42482 glides into the up platform of Streetly station on 6th June 1953, with a six coach set running from Walsall to Birmingham New Street.

By this time the signal box (behind the downside platform building) had gone, and the 'back' platform on the left had also long disappeared and turned into a shrubbery.

The station itself was wiped off the map just 12 years after this photograph was taken.

Copyright unknown.

Park Lane Junction

Although these views were only snapshots taken with a pocket camera they came out quite well, particularly the view of distant Park Lane Junction from Ashurst Road. The line is dead straight for about a mile from here and is on an embankment from roughly halfway down, taking the railway over four main bridges which are the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal (built 1789), Kingsbury Road dual carriageway, Forge Lane and Park Lane, where the line is singled and a signal box once stood. Other minor bridges in the distance take the single line over Minworth sewage treatment beds !

Two Greens in One

66522 working 4E72 coal empties from Rugeley P.S. across Sutton Park this afternoon (with slightly blurry front end, damn !).

Also enclosed is a snow scene from the same bridge showing 66597, again with an empty set from Rugeley, taken on 7th January, which was only just over a week ago.

Q Train

97304 John Tiley and 97302 are seen at Streetly Gate working 1Q09 Derby to Machynlleth on Monday 10th January 2011.

Double Royal

A great shot of Royal engines 47798 'Prince William' + 47799 'Prince Henry' working hard up the incline past Daw End with Royal Train ECS on 2nd July 2002.

With thanks to Lee Sutton for this historic photograph.

Triple-Header to Tyseley

Hasty shots depicting three WCRC Class 47s which ran light to Tyseley early Monday afternoon.

Train engine 47760 hauled 47851 and 47826, which is adorned with a 'Scarborough Spa Express' steam train advert.

Sutton Town Station

The former downside platform station buildings bask in bright winter sunshine on Saturday afternoon. They are now used as offices (photo's 3 and 4).

Over on the other side of the tracks the identical upside buildings are still intact, though now in a very dilapidated and overgrown condition (photo's 1 and 2).

Located at the end of where the downside platform stood is an old wrought iron gate and evidence of a Midland Railway diagonal-slatted fence.

The station here was apparently the first along the route to close, back in 1925, but oddly is the only location on the line where all station buildings still exist !

New post anyone ?

Six new signal posts awaiting installion across the Sutton Park line in connection with the West Midlands resignalling scheme, and some related equipment is also shown.

24040 at Aldridge

A slide scan of loco 24040 seen at the former station site of Aldridge during the latter half of the 1970s. The station buildings have been reduced to rubble and the platforms have all but been removed and cut back away from the running lines. New cable troughing has been laid on the upside.

In the background above the loco can be seen Station Road with the Pool Green area at left, and in the far distance Dumblederry Lane bridge.

Many thanks to Lee Sutton for this great shot.