Lifford Lane Railway Bridge

Description:Stirchley’s Railway Infrastructure

Frank Lockwood depicted a scene that had been familiar for over a hundred years but which would disappear within ten years of this watercolour's production. Steam railways arrived at Lifford in 1840 with the opening of the Birmingham to Gloucester Railway, which passed through the area immediately south-east of Stirchley. The Birmingham & West Suburban Railway opened in 1876 with a station at Stirchley Street (later known as Bournville)^{<small>1</small>} and a connection at Lifford to the Birmingham to Gloucester line (by now extended to Bristol and the West Country). From the 1960s steam slowly gave way to diesel and later electric traction. These two rail routes have remained important to Stirchley and its people since the nineteenth century, providing direct employment and servicing industries such as GKN and Cadbury, thereby offering further employment opportunities. Before the 1904 arrival of the electric tramway and the development of suburban bus services in the inter-war period, the railways also offered the main form of public transport in the area.

The <a href="http://www.search.suburbanbirmingham.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?resource=1843">West Suburban Railway</a> helped to encourage Cadbury to relocate their premises to Bournville from 1879, and a major rail infrastructure soon developed in the area. Cadbury’s works railway, complete with engine shed, freight sidings and warehouses, was introduced in 1884 (<a href="http://www.search.suburbanbirmingham.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?resource=1845">see 'Coal and Chocolate in Bournville'</a>), a junction between the Kings Norton Deviation and original line to Lifford was created in 1885, and a signal box was established to control this increasing complexity. In 1895, the Bournville engine shed opened to support operations on the West Suburban, Birmingham Central Goods depot and freight from the Cadbury factory. This was operated as a satellite of Saltley Shed and was equipped with roundhouse and coaling point.^{<small>2</small>} Bournville’s turntable was increased from 50 to 57 feet in 1948 and was temporarily put out of commission in 1956 when a locomotive ran into the turntable pit. Many railway workers lived locally to Bournville Shed, like Charles Lovesey who was originally from Cropthorne in Worcestershire, but who resided in Bond Street, and later at Warren Road, Stirchley.^{<small>3</small>} Like other transport facilities, Bournville Shed periodically experienced industrial unrest. An interesting legacy of international solidarity was a mobile canteen, having been presented by workers of the Argentine Railway.^{<small>4</small>}

Commuters and workers from Stirchley and Bournville used the railway to travel to Birmingham and to the Austin factory at Longbridge. Local travel opportunities were offered via the Lifford curve to Kings Heath and Moseley, and via Dowry Dell viaduct to Halesowen.^{<small>5</small>} Works excursions from Cadbury to Welsh and West Country resorts loaded from Bournville Station and long distance travel via central Birmingham often commenced at Bournville. For instance, in 1919 Mrs Lerrigo of <a href="http://www.search.suburbanbirmingham.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?resource=1829">Stirchley High Street </a> visited her son Oliver Banwell in Winchester Prison, where he was imprisoned as a conscientious objector.^{<small>6</small>}


<font color="#666633"><small>¹ In 1876 the station was known as ‘Stirchley Street’, by 1880 it was called ‘Stirchley Street & Bournville’, in 1888 it became ‘Bournville & Stirchley Street’ and from 1904 just ‘Bournville’: outlined in L. Chew, Images of Stirchley (1995)
² M. Hitches, Bournville, Steam and Chocolate (1992, third reprint 2005)
³ Janet Lovesey, The Family History of Janet Lovesey http://www.lovesey.org.uk (viewed 14/12/2009)
⁴ Hitches, p.26
⁵ Moseley and Kings Heath services ended in 1941 and the Halesowen branch closed in 1964.
⁶ Birmingham Archives [BA&H: MS 536/168]</small></font>