The railway line that should not have been closed: part 10
One day Wolverhampton will regret not reinstating the former rail services from Wolverhampton Low Level
TO commemorate Wolverhampton’s millennium it was decided to name a class 86 electric locomotive No. 86433 Wulfruna (complete with crest) at Wolverhampton Station on June 21, 1985. The Mayor, George Howells, performed the naming ceremony.
At the naming ceremony, officers of Wolverhampton Borough Council discussed the future of Low Level Station with BR’S representatives. BR’S last employee at Low Level, Geoffrey Parsons, left on October 23, 1985. Mr Parsons was a clerical officer who started here as a porter in 1949. “It is the end of an era. I am sad to leave. I’ve seen them all come and go.” He was transferred to Oxley for work in the offices there.
On March 25, 1986, being part of Wolverhampton’s Heritage Area, the Low Level station became a Grade 2 listed building as it is a unique example of a large Classical building executed in blue brick. Wolverhampton Borough Council assumed ownership of the station in May 1986 and planned to develop the site as a transport heritage museum and restore the former station to its 1930s condition. They bought the 5.6 acres Wolverhampton Low Level site from BR for £195,000. The sale included the site and structures of road bridges at Sun Street and Wednesfield Road. BR agreed to pay £122,000 towards the future maintenance and renewal costs. The deal included buying up the track to link the station with the rail network and the council entered into a ‘private siding’ agreement with BR. The BR Divisional Engineers Department remained at the Low Level offices until May 2, 1986. Council officials still had to work out the full cost of refurbishing and converting the station into a heritage centre. Plans included the construction of a modern museum complex housing exhibits including road transport, re-laying the streets including Lock Street with cobble stones. The area around the station was cleared up, and remedial work was undertaken costing c.£500,000, including £90,000 spent on the roof and chimneys and £50,000 of Manpower Services Commission labour. Tasks undertaken by the MSC included removing the partition that divided the booking hall into two so that it could be seen in all its former glory. The main booking office area was restored to its original condition. Broad gauge track had been discovered in the Wellington bay, during the time when renovations were carried out. 500 skips of rubbish were removed. John Sherwood, senior assistant planning officer, and Mike Fox, conservation officer, were involved in the initial efforts to restore the station. There were hopes of providing a possible steam service to Bilston in 1987 although much rubbish had been placed on the cuttings out of Wolverhampton and this would have needed to be cleared.
The first Low Level ‘Open Day’ was on Easter Saturday 1987 and a steam operated model pannier tank gave passenger rides over a 100yds of track. During 1987, proposals were made to use Low Level as a base for five ex-barry steam locomotives owned by Yorkshire millionaire, Ken Ryder, numberss 4936, 5199, 5952, 7821 and 7828. If the display of the locomotives was successful, it was hoped to re-lay the track to Cannock Road Junction and provide a steam service for tourists from Wolverhampton Low Level to Ironbridge and the Cambrian Coast. Birmingham would eventually be included in the plans. Unfortunately, these plans came to nothing. A transport heritage centre with the station restored to its 1930s condition and streets restored with cobble stones would have been an asset to the city, particularly if scheduled passenger services could have been re-instated to the station, in order to relieve congestion at High Level. Sadly, these plans fell through.
Members of the Black Country Society were so concerned about the station they organised a 1,000-signature petition in December 1988 and also called a public meeting. By the autumn of 1989, Wolverhampton Civic Society were also concerned about the future and they wanted the station as a transport museum, Wednesfield Road Goods Depot used as an exhibition centre, the whole area landscaped and rail access retained via Heath Town. The 1988 and 1989 Heart of England Beer Festivals
were held at Low Level Station. While Wednesfield Road Goods Depot has been demolished and a Royal Mail sorting office built on the site, a former railway crane from the depot has been placed outside the sorting office with a plaque which commemorates the Midland Railway building. Part of the track bed north of Wolverhampton Low Level was landscaped and incorporated into a public park. When the Midland Metro from Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton was built in 1999 it was decided to take the tramway up the Bilston Road to Wolverhampton City Centre rather than use Wolverhampton Low Level Station as the terminus. It was felt that Low Level was too far from the city centre. An organisation called Next Generation Clubs proposed that a sports complex with restaurant and hotel facilities be built in and around the station with a small transport museum included. After obtaining planning permission, work was not carried out and the former station was passed on to Oswin Developments and Helical Retail.
In January 2002 Wolverhampton City Council granted planning permission for the redevelopment of Wolverhampton Low Level. This development would block the railway and was thought by some to be illegal as one of the conditions of closure was that the track bed had to be protected in perpetuity. The track bed had already been broken by the demolition of Sun Street Bridge and the selling off of the former sidings area of the station. Writing in the Black Country Bugle in August 2002 Mark Dobbs said, “Over 1,250 people have signed a petition to preserve Low Level.” Campaigners were concerned that the proposed re-development of the station and the proposed demolition of Wednesfield Road Bridge would not allow it to be a working station once more as they wanted it to be. Readers were asked to write to Wolverhampton City Council with their views. It was intended to create a transport museum at a renovated Low Level but despite a lot of hard work into improving the building, these did not reach fruition. Many photographs and artefacts were assembled for display and I was told by one of the organisers it was thought that some were lent or donated to the ‘Great Western’ public house in Sun Street, near the station. A public enquiry was held into the proposal to rebuild the Sun Street road over the track bed at the south end of Wolverhampton Low Level Station that would have broken the route. Unfortunately it was decided to provide the road and consequently make future restoration of the railway more difficult.
In a letter to the Express and Star on September 3 entitled ‘Sorry tale of rail decline’ the author stated: “Your paper is to be congratulated on covering the story of Wolverhampton Low Level Station, the closure of which and that of the Stafford Road to Birmingham Snow Hill railway were the most destructive of the Beeching cuts. Up to March 1967, the Birkenhead to Paddington line had provided a through route from Mereseyside to the Midlands and London for over 110 years. Because of negative and short sighted railway politics as previously mentioned in your paper, along with pressure from the road dominated Department of Transport, this successful route was broken up and every effort made to discourage people from using it. As we approach the 150th anniversary of the opening of Snow Hill station in October, it is worth reflecting on what has happened since 1967. Snow Hill station was razed to the ground (It makes it quite poignant in recent times to hear Central Trains spokespersons explaining that certain train delays are because of congestion at Snow Hill). Parts of the Paddington to Banbury section were made into single track. There are no through trains from Shrewsbury to London and as a result of connections being severed at Chester, making journeys to and from Birkenhead take up to an hour longer than when through trains were provided, the Chester to Shrewsbury line has been in decline. Rebuilding Snow Hill and its connection railway costs c.£35m (excluding the Metro). I am not against having a Metro linking the main parts of the Midlands but the Snow Hill to Low Level line should have been kept as a main line railway. The reinstatement of double track between London and Banbury cost another fortune. The other former GWR terminal station at Moor Street is to reopen and Chiltern Railways are expanding their services. Why is hardly any mention of Railtrack and Virgin using Chiltern Railways as an alternative to rail closures in conjunction with the West Coast Main Line? Is it because Chiltern Railways use the ex GWR route? Old railway politics die hard. The former Wolverhampton Low Level to Snow Hill line campaigners were right. History has vindicated them. They may have lost the battle, but their campaign is still valid. The time has come to provide a heavy rail link into Birmingham Snow Hill station from Wolverhampton.”
During the summer of 2002 the Express and Star once again covered the saga of Wolverhampton Low Level Station. Mr P.J.W. Holland, a Wulfrunian and former chairman of the Snow Hill Line Action Group, took up the case to re-open the Wolverhampton Low Level to Snow Hill rail route and published a compre
hensive document entitled A Low Level Scheme with the potential to create devastating consequences. Mr Holland attended the TUCC hearing into the closure of the Wolverhampton Low Level to Birmingham Snow Hill line. He said, “As probably, the only surviving eye witness to the whole TUCC enquiry, British Rail were ordered to maintain the track formation of the Low Level to Snow Hill line in perpetuity and the land could not be disposed of unless BR went through a further closure proposal to which the public could object. The Disused Stations website states that the Snow Hill to Low Level route was never closed – just suspended and so theoretically the Midland Metro is causing an illegal blockage of the line.”
It was proposed in 2002 that Wednesfield Road Bridge north of the station would be demolished and so prevent trains from ever again using Low Level Station. A local man, Trevor F. Piddock, organised a petition appealing to Wolverhampton City Council to reconsider and remind them of the legal restrictions on the use of the site. He received 1,250 signatures for his petition calling for the station to be saved from developers. “Ideally we want to see a living and working Low Level railway in the city once more. The Low Level railway is traditionally important in Wolverhampton, and to lose it completely would be a real shame,” said Mr Piddock.
The local press reported in November 2003 that a £30m scheme to revamp the site of Low Level would go before the planning committee of Wolverhampton City Council in 2004. Plans for the 11 acre site included building 200+ one and two bedroom apartments, a five storey hotel, car showroom and pub restaurant. Birmingham based Oswin Developments and Helical Retail had recently acquired the site from London based Next Generation Clubs.
There would be safeguards to restore the old station including the platforms, ticket booking hall and the remains of the historic broad gauge track. A feature on the station appeared during August in the Express and Star. Writer Becky Shape stated that several people suggested holding an (150th) anniversary celebration in its memory. Many Wulfrunians were desperate to see it restored to its former glory instead of lying empty and redundant. Initially the Secretary of State at the Department of Transport decided not to confirm the Wolverhampton City Council, Wednesfield Road Low Level Bridge Replacement Scheme. But this has now gone ahead.
Unfortunately the petition to save the station and rail route was apparently lost. Mr Holland wrote, “We did not entirely lose our campaign against closure. BR were ordered to maintain the formation in perpetuity. That order remains in force and I was witness to these proceedings.” During May 2004, the station approach at the north end of Low Level was used ironically to store the new bridgework for the extension of High Level Station, its long-term rival. 150 years on, another LNWR triumph over its staunch rivals. A letter entitled ‘No return trip to Low Level’ was sent to the Express and Star by the author: “It is nearly 150 years since the Wolverhampton Junction Railway and Low Level Station opened for business. The Junction Railway was the final link in the main line route from Paddington to Birkenhead. There should be celebrations to mark these anniversaries as both the railway and station did much to enhance the town of Wolverhampton. It was the worst mistake of the Beeching era to close the railway from Stafford Road Junction to Birmingham Snow Hill along with Low Level and Snow Hill Stations. I am not against tram ways or a tram link between Wolverhampton and Birmingham but the present day Metro should not have been built on the former track bed of the Wolverhampton Low Level to Birmingham Snow Hill railway. This should have been kept as a through railway. The new Snow Hill Station and the rail routes radiating from it are well used and there is no reason to doubt that if the Snow Hill to Wolverhampton line had been restored as a railway, it too, would have been a success. If the proposed development of the Low Level site goes ahead and the new road at Monmore Green is built over the track bed, then it will not be possible to restore the railway routes through Low Level. One day, when gridlock occurs, people will regret that Low Level and the rail routes from it have been lost, particularly as they were derelict and available for potential use for so long.”
Initial work to develop the land surrounding Wolverhampton Low Level commenced in early 2005. Wolverhampton City Council stated that, a “£35m mixed use scheme is destined for the derelict nine acre site of Wolverhampton’s historic Low Level Station. The new owners have submitted the planning application for the proposed Bluebrick scheme, which will form part of the major regeneration of the Canalside Quarter (The 9.5 acre development has been called Bluebrick because of the distinctive colour of the station walls). The long hoped for restoration of the 19th Century Low Level Station will create the centre-piece of the development using the platforms as a stunning patio area for a range of retail outfits, restaurants, cafes and offices. The site will see the development of adjacent land that has been derelict for over 20 years.”
Work commenced clearing the site on March 30, 2006. BBC’S Midlands Today gave a special feature on the station on April 13, and they included shots of the last steam specials in March 1967 including the SLS special with Stanier ‘Black 5’ locomotive No 44680. Two air raid shelters were found while the station site was being cleared. These were built by Bob Bartlett who was in charge of track laying on the GWR. Recently his son Robert came back to see their demolition. Some of the redundant 1930s vintage GWR platform canopies were sent to the Cambrian Railways Trust at Llynclys near Oswestry. A workgroup from the trust spent a couple of days dismantling them prior to shipping them to the Llynclys site where they have been safely stored until needed. Building work at the site commenced on September 4, 2006. An access road was constructed and a Premier Travel Inn and Brewers Fare pub. Despite the historic nature of the site there are no references to it in the Bluebrick establishment.
The Express and Star published a letter written by the author on February 7, 2006, entitled Beeching’s Big Mistake: “One day Wolverhampton will regret not reinstating the former rail services from Wolverhampton Low Level. This April it will be 150 years since the station was given that name, having originally opened in 1854. The closure of the line from Wolverhampton Low Level to Birmingham Snow Hill was Beeching’s biggest mistake.”
Tony Parkins from the Chiltern Trains organisation wrote to the January 2007 edition of Modern Railways in defence of the station and the rail route from Birmingham Snow Hill which, had it been available, would have been such an asset to the Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway. Tony queried what had happened to the Department of Transport’s 1967-71 closure requirement that the through route be maintained in perpetuity. He made the point that a spur line (Benson Road curve) into Birmingham Snow Hill Station was feasible but felt there was little hope for this if Network Rail were unable to re-connect the restored Birmingham Moor Street terminus to the main line network.
In early 2008 plans were announced for a £200m Transport Interchange for Wolverhampton Station. This was intended to link trains, buses and Midland Metro trams on one site. The Express and Star published a further letter by the author on March 7, 2008: “March 2nd was the 40th anniversary of the most vindictive and destructive closures of the Beeching era. On that day in 1968, the last passenger trains ran over the Stafford Road to Wolverhampton Low Level Station and the Birmingham Snow Hill to Moor Street lines and the Paddington to Shrewsbury and Birkenhead line was broken up for ever. While Birmingham Snow Hill has reopened, the time will come when Midlanders and Salopians will rue the day they permitted the city fathers and transport authorities to throttle the lifeblood of the remarkably efficient railway route from Shrewsbury through Wolverhampton Low Level to Birmingham Snow Hill. Despite the new developments on the Low Level site, this railway should be reinstated for the benefit of the travelling public and future generations.”
Plans for a multi-million casino development at Low Level were withdrawn during the summer of 2008. This prompted a further letter to the Express and Star from the author on September 1, 2008: “The greatest ever mistake in British Transport history was to close the Wolverhampton Low Level to Birmingham Snow Hill railway and its extension to Stafford Road Junction. Now the casino plan has failed, at the eleventh hour save Low Level Station from destruction and re-instate the railway. It would solve many congestion problems. Writer Simon Dewey said that the former plans for a museum celebrating Wolverhampton’s transport history should be revived. The former station buildings have been mothballed as the proposed casino plan did not take place. Oswin spent £400,000 in replastering the booking hall following guidelines for listed buildings. Workmen have installed new concrete and timber flooring costing £150,000. The roadway around the former Wednesfield road bridge at the north end of the station has been realigned and this will almost certainly prevent any future rail use. On either side of the station, apart from the new roadway to the Postal Sorting Office, the track bed has been intact for 40 years. It seems such a waste to have kept it for so long and then abandon it now by building on the site, particularly while there is traffic congestion all around the city and an urgent need to reduce traffic on the surrounding roads.”
North of Wolverhampton Low Level Station new high-rise flats have been built and land near the former Springfield Brewery site has been redeveloped and this has blocked the disused track bed in the Cannock Road Junction area, which has been intact for the past 40 years. During November 2009 Low Level Station was being used as an art gallery. The building had been partially restored internally but a lot more was needed to be done to restore the station to its former glory.
In July 2011, 30 years after closure, it was used for the Everybody Dance Now project, an international celebration of social dancing. The old station was transformed by a team of designers into an atmospheric ballroom recalling a sense of history and glamour of the pas.
The Wolverhampton High Level/ Low Level Station underpass and arcaded pedestrian gallery colonnade were restored at a cost of £600,000 by November 2003 and once again can be used by rail travellers. The ‘Colonnades’ built c.1884 in blue brick with stone dressings, matching Low Level Station. The arcade is lined throughout in white glazed brick and it looks impressive. Many organisations, including Virgin Trains, Wolverhampton City Council, Wolverhampton Community Safety Partnership, and the Railway Heritage Trust, contributed to the refurbishment and restoration but it is sad to see that Low Level Station will no longer be part of the national rail network. Hopefully, it will always be there, both as a reminder of the great days of the Great Western Railway and the foolishness of the Beeching plan and the Government policies of that time.