1960s Wolverhampton Low Level To Stourbridge Junction 

I was born in Bilston in 1962 by Bilston Central station and can still remember the railway bridge in Coseley Road by the steel works. My Grandad was chief shunter at Stafford Road yard until his death in 1957 and his brother in law was a driver from there also

Excellent film. I live near Stourbridge and all I can say is how silly it was to close the line from Stourbridge to Wolverhampton via Dudley. With the congested roads around here now it would be excellent to have an alternative way of getting around the Black Country. My Great Grandad was station master at Stourbridge Junction in the early 1900's his pocket watch was passed to me by my late Grandad,still keeps perfect time.!

Before my time but this is the area I grew up in and have a lot of love for.

Oh my Lord ..... What I'd give to do that journey again ... visit family in Tipton/Princes End or even a day in Wolvo ....instead of pain in the arse driving! ... Brilliant film!!!!

Dear Bill - This is an absolute gem, a real taste of recent history that should be our treasured heritage.... It reconnects me to my roots and makes one realize just how much we have lost over a few decades! The Womborne line is of particular interest to me coming from Penn, remember hearing the trains from where we lived near Lower Penn. More recently have walked along this route before the track was lifted and after, from Compton as far as the Crooked House Pub at Himley... I remember travelling with parents from Low Level c 1957, the smell of the engine smoke mingled with the sweetness of pipe smoke form our fellow pipe smoking travellers, then having a large bag of hot jacket potatoes to eat on the return from Birmingham. Oh for the days when these idiosyncratic place names featured in the film, through the black country truely represented their local almost rural communities....... Now - gone, gone, gone except in name and memory and this fantastic footage that will endure for years to come! Thanks for the memory plus so much more.....

What a find. Congratulations to all concerned. I agree with all the other comments these films are gems of recent history. Thank you for making this site so much more pleasure to visit. I used to travel each day from Tipton to Snow Hill to work in the city. Happy days.

Thankyou so much for uploading this wonderfull footage, the section of line from Daisy Bank, to Princes end and Coseley is at the bottom of my garden, and thanks to yourself I can now see what It looked like in it's day, Bostin !! Regard's Lee.

Another Gem from the past this is Bill,Love the old stuff....Trevor.''

AMAZING.

Brilliant video. Thanks for sharing ☺️👍

Just found your video, as a ex steam fireman/driver at Stourbridge really enjoyed a look back..Thanks

Amazing period piece, being actually filmed with synced sound (not as easy as it sounds) really makes it! Well done.

Once again thank you so much for putting up this film. Train spotters childhood on film.

Awesome. Next best thing to a time machine. Hardly anything left to explore these days industrially..

Love it! Grew up next to Daisy Bank and Bradley in the 1980s well after it had closed and have dreamt what this line must have been like to ride on, thanks for posting!

Just wow!!! Loved the video for taking me back to 1960... I like English history. I have been to this West Midlands area and in the UK for last 6 years only.

Fantastic video. Good old railway days.........

Thanks for watching??? This kind of fantastic footage makes you treasure your vision , thanks x 10,000 for posting.

All those lovely totems.

This is all well before my time but travels through many areas that I've grown up around and know well. I've sometimes wondered what it'd have been like 50 or 60 years ago, a couple of generations back (i.e. how my grandparent's generation would have seen the world as they moved through it). Fascinating, thank you!

A wonderful film. I moved to a new house built on the Hill behind the Junction in 1973 deliberately so I could have an aerial view of the railways, and be able to catch my train to New Street every day. Of course in 1973 it was Western Hydraulic territory with Clay Trains from Cornwall. I managed to ride in the Cab of the Stourbridge Town train on occassions and led a fight to keep the line open when the West Midlands County Council wanted to drop funding for it.

Although not from the area, I appreciate the high quality of the film, and the places shown. I was surprised that some of the station platforms were so weedy, and not much had been spent to keep them in good condition.

Brilliant upload Bill, wish it was still like this !

Thanks for uploading this historical video Bill. Its always good to see film of steam locos in action as it was years ago. Sadly this line didn't survive but I loved watching all the intersecting junction lines and the commentary was very informative as well. I don't know where you keep getting these old videos, in colour too, but keep them coming, they're part of our railway heritage. Thanks once again! Kenk

Great film. Surprised at how degraded those stations were by that point

Fantastic !

60 years and we'll soon have some of the route back with the Metro.

Hi. Gil costin here fired this engine 78008 many times with driver Ken law at Oxley moor sheds it was used for engineering shunting , I now live at Eastbourne Cheers.

Really appreciate this upload, a real gem. I have always been interested in the history of and seeing photos of this part of the OWW line (along with the Bumble Hole line), both of which were unfortunately long gone by the time I was born. The odd reminants still prevail if you know where to look. Really pleased to see colour film of the lines last days. Thanks!

Another great video that I haven't seen before, thanks!

Wonderful video. I rode this route in the mid 1950s as we used to go to Wolverhampton for a day's train spotting! Pity about the London Midland Region station signs; this was WR territory!

Fascinating! They should reopen this line

A very interesting film - most enjoyable to watch. As I'm in my mid-60's, grew up in Tipton and have lived in Stourbridge for many years (literally 5 minutes walk away from Stourbridge Junction) the places were all familiar to me. Just two comments on pronunciation: 'Bradley' should be pronounced 'Braid-lee' and in Cradley Heath, 'Cradley' should be pronounced 'Craid-lee'

Wow Nice to see the past 🙋

In the 60's a Man in India wanted to buy a train ticket to Wolverhampton. The clerk said do you want High or Low Level stations.

Fantastic video all not far from me but unrecognisable these days so much change over the years. Kev

Terrific film, bang on my era

fantastic video

And the Crooked House pub also gone forever 😢 as with the GWR consigned to the history books tragic.

Brilliant film and I think Bilston train is now a tram station.

I have heard rumours of this line being rebuilt, I have actually seen evidence of this myself from the Walsall end, and North of dudley. I hope that it will go all the way, the line is still used and modernised up to round oak steel terminal.

Terrific!

This is very rare footage of this part of the OWW! There are very few photos of places like Daisy Bank, and Tipton West, never mind video.

I am sure this route would be viable today. Love the Staffordshire Blue bricks!

Hi Gil costin here 78008 was on Oxley sheds doing the local engineering trips I fired this engine many times and it was a load of crap never mind fired a 9F next day made up for it, my driver was Kenny law Great guy we was like chalk and cheese I am now 68 and I remember it like yesterday.

Interesting how Low Level survived many years after closure.

Can I just say, its not Cradley Heath ( with a short sounding "a") its Craadley Heath ( ling sounding "a). I used to live there for what it is worth and new Cradley Heath Station well.

Priestfield is now part of the Midland Metro line

Great nostagia

Great scenes, which DVD are these on?

Wow must have been strange when people had jobs?

What the Brierley Hill is going on here then? Lol

Nice film, although the narrator's details are a tad iffy in places.