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This page shows images of the Stourbridge Junction to
Stourbridge Town Branch, with images of the current Class 139 Parry
People Movers plus some earlier 'heritage' DMUs. Modern images of other West Midland connecting services are also shown,
including London Midland Class 172s in their first month of service in the
area.
The Stourbridge Town Branch Line is a 0.8 miles (1.3 km) railway branch
line, in Stourbridge, West Midlands. It is claimed to be the shortest branch
line in Europe, and many miniature railways are certainly longer. Now used
solely for passenger traffic, it was originally constructed to allow
trans-shipment with the Stourbridge Town Arm of the Stourbridge Canal.
The passenger service along the branch is presently being operated by Class
139 Parry People Movers. Replacement buses ran from December 2008 until
March 2009 due to the previous Class 153 being reallocated from December
2008, this being the date the Parry People Mover was originally intended to
start working the service. However due to customer feedback, the Class 153
was re-introduced from 15 March until Mid June, when the Parry People Mover
finally entered full service. For the first time in many years, a Sunday
service is operated.
Opened in 1879, it has operated continually since, save for a short break
for the First World War. The short and steeply-inclined branch originally
carried both passenger traffic from nearby Stourbridge Junction to the
terminus at Stourbridge Town and freight to Stourbridge Basin.
Although the branch line was originally double-tracked, after 1935 the two
tracks were worked as two parallel single lines, with the non-passenger
track used for freight workings beyond the station over a bridge across
Foster Street (a bridge rebuilt in 1957 then subsequently demolished in
1967) towards the Stourbridge Basin. The station and branch were listed for
closure under the Beeching Axe, but were later delisted in 1965.
The 1879 Stourbridge Town station survived mostly intact until February 1979
when it was demolished and the branch cut back by 70 yards, leaving room for
a bus station.
The line was controlled by traditional semaphore signals until at least
1990, later than the adjacent main line. However, the line is currently
worked by the 'One Train Working' system with a train staff as authority to
occupy the line, and there are no working signals.
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