Harborne Branch Line

The Harborne Branch Line was a short railway branch line that connected the city centre of Birmingham, England with the outlying suburb of Harborne.

History

The line was first authorised in 1866, and was a proposed single line to connect Soho on the Great Western Railway Birmingham to Wolverhampton route with Lapal, on a proposed line from Halesowen to Bromsgrove, with a connection to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) near stnlnk|Monument Lane. However, objections from landowners prevented a lot of the line from being built, and in the end only 2½ miles (4km) built, from Monument Lane to Harborne. The line opened on 10 August 1874. There were three intermediate stations, at Icknield Port Road, Rotton Park Road and Hagley Road. The section immediately after the main line crossed the Birmingham Main Line canal, which ran in a deep cutting. Today, only the bridge pillars remain.

The line was independently owned, but was operated from the start by the LNWR, who took 50% of the gross receipts from both passenger and freight traffic. The line was an early example of a commuter route, and highly successful at first. At its peak in 1914 there were 27 return passenger workings a day, running from 5:35AM until 11:15PM. The journey time from Birmingham New Street to Harborne was about 16 minutes. The trains were usually hauled by Webb 2-4-2T and 0-6-2T coal tanks.

In 1923, the Harborne Railway, together with its operators the LNWR, became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) at the grouping. The line began to suffer competition with buses, and as trains were frequently delayed due to congestion of routes into Birmingham New Street, passenger numbers fell. Icknield Port Road station closed in 1931, and the other stations closed to passengers on 26 November 1934. The last passenger train to run on the line was an enthusiasts' special on 3 June 1950.

The line remained opened to freight, however, serving businesses in Harborne, and Mitchells and Butlers' Cape Hill brewery. This traffic also succumbed eventually to road transport, and the line closed completely on 4 November 1963, when the line was completely closed and lifted. Part of the route has been converted into a footpath.

References

*cite book|last=Christiansen|first=Rex|title=Forgotten Railways volume 10: West Midlands|publisher=David & Charles|isbn=0 946537 01 1
*cite book|last=Christiansen|first=Rex|title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain volume 7:The West Midlands|publisher=David & Charles|isbn=0 946537 58 5
*cite web|url=http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/Stations/harborne.php|title=Harborne Station Entry in railaroundbirmingham.co.uk|accessdate=2007-05-06
* [http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/bhamnsharborne.htm The Railways of Warwickshire: Birmingham New Street to Harborne]
* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=23618&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=260 Harborne Railway History] from Birmingham Council website