Austin & Longbridge
Railways
One of the reasons Herbert Austin located his company at Longbridge
was because it was already served by two railway companies. The
Halesowen to Northfield railway (GWR) was opened on the 10th
September 1883 with a third class ticket costing just 1d per mile.
The other railway company was the Midland Railway (MR), the two
railway tracks meeting at a point which they called Halesowen
Junction.
The MR main line which had twin tracks went from Birmingham (New
Street) to Gloucester, and after leaving the junction went into a
tunnel called Cofton Tunnel. The GWR line, single track went via
Rubery etc to Halesown and then onto Old Hill in the heart of the
Black Country. It was called the Black Country as this was where
mining, iron works and various heavy industries were situated,
pouring out clouds of black smoke that hung over the area, if the
weather conditions were right the area would be covered in
SMOG.
There had been a station at Longbridge on the main line (where the
current Station is today), but this was closed in 1849, long before
Herbert Austin had arrived, the nearest one still open was
Northfield a few miles away.
Around this time Long-Bridge was two words, a small river called
the Rea used to flood, so a long wooden bridge was constructed so
that the stagecoaches of the day were not impaired, as this was the
main road between Birmingham and Bristol (Bristol Road) hence the
name Long Bridge.
Long-Bridge
1832
____________
Great
Western Railways (GWR)
It was in 1878 that work on
the construction of the Halesowen to Northfield line began. But
from the outset the weather was against them, and a few hundred
yards from Frankley Hill where a small river, called the Rea ran
through a wooded valley called Dowery Dingle. It was decided that
the best way to traverse this valley was to build a viaduct which
would be 660ft in length supported on two stone abutments and eight
cast-iron piers, and rose 100ft above the river, as you can see
from the picture it was an imposing structure.
Dowery Dingle
Viaduct
The line had a gentle curve
at the southern end, while the outer rail was slightly elevated,
this made the carriages tilt slightly, which tended to make lady
passengers very nervous, so a speed limit of 10mph was
imposed.
After nearly five years construction, on the 10th September 1883
the line was officially opened. A public luncheon was held at the
Shenstone Hotel, on the 5th October 1883. The main speaker was Lord
Lyttleton who owned Hagley Hal1 and spoke how the opening of the
new railway would, he trusted, be the means of opening up hundreds
of acres of coal and thus providing work for people.
With the construction of the Black Country rail link by the GWR, it
was necessary to build a road bridge over the new railway track.
The opportunity was taken at the same time to construct a culvert
to take the River Rea under the bridge and parallel with the
railway line. A map of 1912 shows it now spelt as one word
Longbridge.
Map
1912
With the start of the First
World War and the Austin changing over to producing items for war,
it was felt that Longbridge should once again have its own station.
So with the building of West and North factories in 1916, and the
increase in workers and goods, prompted the Railway Authorities
into building platforms inside the works. So by 1917 loop-lines and
two signal boxes which were called Longbridge East and Longbridge
West had been constructed, along with an island platform. GWR
started the first workmen’s service with two trains from Old Hill
in the morning, and two trains retuning in the evening on the 18th
April 1917.
With the service to the Black Country now open, and as the factory
was still crying out for more workers to man the war effort. An
advert was placed by the company in the local papers emphasising
the convenience of the new services. It appears that slowly more
trains were put on to accommodate the increase in workers using the
service. At its height in 1918, GWR had three trains in the morning
and two trains in the evening.
Access to the platforms was via a walkway under the road bridge, or
from the pavement by the island. Officially there wasn't a station
at Longbrldge and train times weren't publicised, but members of
the public could use the service. Although it was an offence, it
was not unknown for Austin workers to walk home along the track,
especially if they felt the service had let them down.
Longbridge East 2006
(Demolished in
2011)
Longbridge West looking
from the Station early 1950s . . . . . . .
© D J
Norton
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parcel Office
(S Mourton & B
Pixton)
1920s Looking
from the Station Platform towards the Austin
Here you can see the right
hand arch of the road bridge which allowed workers to go straight
into South Works by the Medical Block. On the other side was a foot
bridge which connected South with North Works.
When the war ended, and
government contracts were cancelled, it was necessary to lay
workers off and the numbers reduced to about 10,000. Further
reductions were made over the years, so that in 1922 when the
Austin Seven came out it had shrunk to around 2,600. Such was the
success of the Seven, that by 1926 the workforce had risen to
25,000. This meant an increase in passengers using the railways
especially from the Black Country, and extra goods trains bringing
in materials to Longbridge, as lorry transport was still very
limited.
Around the late 1940s
because of the increased road traffic the bridge was rebuilt as
shown below, but now having only two arches. The building on stilts
was a Parcel Office, but any parcels had to be taken via the
pavement to the station platform. The shed on the right was where
the ticket collector would stand.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parcel Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .© D J
Norton
West Works Platforms looking towards
Rubery
Longbridge Works Station
1956
However, the writing was on
the wall for the railway lines around the country, and on the
recommendation of Dr R Beeching, many uneconomic goods and
passenger services were axed, So on Friday 29th August 1958, the
final workmens' train to Halesowen and Old Hill steamed out of
Longbridge at 5.40 pm, the engine had the words "The Last" chalked
on its side and some detonators were let off to mark its departure.
The line itself was still in existence, but when the M5 motorway
route was planned in l963, it meant that the section of track
between Rubery and Halesowen was closed completely, and on the 4th
January 1964 the last train made the journey from Rubery to
Halesowen. One section remained open till March that year so that
coal could be taken from Longbridge to Rubery Station for the
benefit of coal merchants, with just one train a day. In April 1965
the track south of Halesowen was lifted and the Dowery Dell viaduct
dismantled. But the track that was by the factory stayed so that
the companies engines were able to move goods around.
When the New West Works was built to assemble the Metro bodies, the
railway sidings were extended. Each day a train bringing in
body-panels from Swindon via Gloucester would arrive at West Works.
Below you can see how the railway network changed over
years.
____________
Midland
Railway
1920s Showing the Station
on the main line
The MR decided to construct
in 1916 a station with two platforms joined by a footbridge which
also extended into the factory site on the main line to Gloucester
just south of the Halesowen Junction. This then allowed workers
from as far away as Worcester to have a direct service into the
works. By 1918 there were five early morning trains and four to
take the night shift home operated by the MR from Birmingham New
Street and also Worcester.
After the Great War there were around 120 railway companies, so the
government under David Lloyd George passed the Railways Act of 1921
often called the Grouping Act. The purpose of the Act was to get
the various companies to join up, and retain some of the benefits
which the country had derived from a government controlled railway.
So MR became part of a new company called London Midland &
Scottish (LMS).
Steaming passed Halesown
Junction Signal Box
(Note the footbridge into
the works)
Then LMS started to expand
and a decision was made to increase the mainline track to four, but
the main restriction was with Cofton Tunnel. This tunnel was built
between 1838 - 1841 and was 440 yards long with a span of 23 feet
and a hight in the centre above the track of 17 feet 2 inches. The
main construction been red brick in lime mortar, with the sides of
Old English Bond 2 feet thick. Eight shafts were sunk to aid
construction with the first six from the North end been nine feet
in diameter, with the remaining two only seven feet. Three of the
shafts were brick lined and kept open for ventilating purposes,
with all the other capped off.
The only way to accommodate two extra tracks, was to demolish the
tunnel and make it into a wide cutting. In September 1925 a
contract was give to Messrs Logan & Hemingway, Contractors,
Doncaster, with work starting in March 1926. The first stage was to
remove the material above the tunnel, it has been said that the
spoils were deposited on what was then Austin Airfield. Because of
problems with slips on the West side, it was decided to construct a
heavy concrete retaining wall in sections, with a total length of
310 yards and 5 yards high.
Early 1928 Longbridge Station (main line) was closed, this meant
that the nearest station North was Northfield and Barnt Green to
the South. Work started by first removing all the soil on the sides
and top of the tunnel, this meant that a speed restriction of 15mph
was put on passing traffic. But not all train drivers complied with
Mr W Jones been reprimanded for not complying.
The cutting would be widen on the left hand side going south as
this had a much lower bank, so a railhead was dug into the bank at
the same height as the tunnel roof. (As shown in next
picture)
Although a lot of work was carried out by the contractor prior to
the actual demolition of the tunnel, this work was marred as on
Friday 11th May 1928, 60ft of the tunnel roof collapsed resulting
in four workmen been killed (two workman of Messrs Logan &
Hemingway and the other two employed by LMS) several others were
injured, those killed lived locally. At the inquest on 1st June
1928, Mr John Montague stated that having walked through the tunnel
20 minutes before the collapse, he saw no indication of a possible
mishap., and in fact a goods train had gone through shortly before
the accident. Eli Carvell, general foreman, said that after the
accident he found that the inner lining below the springing point
was stripped on the West side of the tunnel. The wall there was
only 4.1/2” thick, and he believed the stripping at that point was
due to defective brickwork underneath. The jury returned a verdict
of “Accidental death,” adding that they considered that all
concerned did what was requested and proper in the
circumstance.
The last train passed
through the tunnel at 10.15 pm on Saturday 26th January 1929 and on
the Monday morning of the 28th the first trains were coming through
the cutting. It was many months after before the four tracks were
fully opened.
As you can see from the
picture it was a very manual operation.
Demolition of
the Tunnel in progress
(R S Carpenter collection)
View from
Groveley Lane looking towards the Austin
after demolition showing the widening on the
right
_______________
The
Austin Rolling Stock
In the very early years the company had
materials etc delivered to the factory by rail but used horses to
pull the wagons around the factory. It wasn't till 1916 that the
horses were replaced by locomotives which had come to the end of
their working life, some were over forty years old and owned by the
companies that had installed the track.
The first recorded engine purchased by the Austin was a 0-6-0ST
called PALACIOS supplied by the Hunslet Engine Co. and given the
Ref No 464. This second-hand engine was first supplied to a company
in Buenos Ayres Argentina around 1888. Over the coming years it
still purchased engines which were not in that good a conditions,
but as we would say today perhaps the price was right and generally
they were been used only for shunting duties.
Willie No. 65 (Picture
by permission of the Record Office for Leicestershire,
Leicester & Rutland & Leicestershire County
Council)
Hunslet Engine Co. built 0-6-0 saddletank,
WILLIE, No. 65 of 1871. The locomotive is pictured near Braunston
Siding at Willoughby in Warwickshire. In 1919 it was moved to its
new home at the Austin Motor Company Longbridge. It is not known
how long it stayed at the works.
Austin
I
Austin I en route to Llangollen 1973
Austin I (Si
Price Oct 2009)
Having its 10 year overhaul on the Llangollen Railway.
Austin I Nearing Completion
(December 2010)
In 1932 the company placed an order with a
Leeds firm called Kitson & Co who had taken over the company of
Manning Wardle who had gone into liquidation in 1927. So Austins
first engine was a Manning Wardle design 0-6-0ST which was
delivered in March 1932 and was given the name ‘AUSTIN I’. It
continued in service till November 1973 when it was purchased by
the Llangollen Railway. It is still there now but having a
re-fit.
Austin
II
It appears that the company did have a look at buying in 1933 a
Armstrong Whitworth 0-4-0 diesel-electric locomotive. A loco was
supplied for a short time, but in the end it was returned. So
having looked at the diesel-electric option, decided to purchase
from the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds a 0-6-0ST. This locomotive
was delivered to Longbridge in 1936 and was given the name 'Austin
II'. It remained in service with the company, and no doubt was
maintained to a high standard, but was finally scrapped at the end
of 1970.
Austin 3
(Don
Townsley)
The next loco to join the fleet was in
September 1937 an identical loco to 'Austin II' a Hunslet Engine
Company 0-6-0ST. It is interesting that instead of calling it
Austin III it was actually called Austin 3. This also gave good
service, but was scrapped in March 1971.
WD 1938 and was called "Ada
II"
This was an America engine that came over
under the Lend-Lease scheme and worked at Longbridge in WWII. These
engines were ordered by the USATC (United States Army
Transportation Corps) and were built by three manufacture, to a
design by Colonel Howard G Hill. They were designated as Class
"S100" by the USATC and at the time the most powerful 0-6-0 tank
engines ever made. In the early 60s it was
scraped.
Abernant at
South Works
Abernant leaving Longbridge
in 1956
In the 1950s with the company owning its
own engines, except for an ex-contractor's which was called
'ABERNANT'. But in September 1957 two W G Bagnall 0-6-0STs which
had been used by the Steel Company of Wales, and had been numbered
401 and 403 arrived at Longbridge. These were then renamed 'Vulcan'
& 'Victor' and were probable the locos that most people
remember.
Austin
'Vulcan'
Austin
'Victor'
A part of the
large Longbridge site which was not connected to the rest of the
railway network, was the Shadow Factory built in 1936-7 and was
given the name Cofton Hackett Factory but was called 'The AERO' by
the locals.
It was built adjacent to the main line from Birmingham to
Worcester, a spur was built from the main line to the internal
track. A new locomotive was purchased, a John Fowler 0-4-0 diesel
and was given the name Austin IV, back to the Roman
numerals.
Fowler Austin
IV outside East Engine Shed 1960
(Ron
Boswell)
Its main duties were to shunt the various
wagons that were brought in from the main line. One of the main
materials brought in was coal for the Boiler House. In the mid
1960s a new factory was built at the end of East Works for
producing the 'E' series engines, so the Boiler House was extended,
but still powered by coal. If the engine needed to have any
maintenance work carried out, permission would need to be obtained
for the loco to run down to the South Works via the main
line.
Diesel Loco from Morris
Motors Oxford
(Ron
Boswell)
As the need for a rail head declined, the
Fowler was finally scrapped in 1974, but was actually replaced by a
Diesel Loco from Morris Motors Oxford for a few years (If you have
information on this Loco please (Contact me).
With the various locomotives working in different locations around
the site, each part of the works had its own Engine Shed where the
day to day maintenance was carried out. When an locomotive needed a
major overall it would then go into an engine shed that was part of
the Main Engineering Stores which had plenty of room to carry out
any repairs necessary.
South Engine
Shed 2006
North Engine
Shed 1970s
East Works
Engine Shed 2006
West Works
Engine Shed 2006
The Track on
the right went into the
Maintenance Shed 2007
Looking Towards the Parcel
Office
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . Looking East
from the Bristol Road . . . . . . . . . .
© D J Norton
Ex Longbridge
Diesels
Huslet 0-6-0 Diesel
Hydraulic
Called Laura, about to go under the A38.
Huslet 0-6-0 Diesel
Hydraulic
Called Emma.
Huslet 0-6-0 Diesel
Hydraulic
Called Rachel
Three Locos were removed from the
Longbridge site when the company collapsed in 2005. Emma and Rachel
were sent to the former Royal Engineers depot at Long Marston,
which is also the base for the Stratford on Avon and Broadway
Railway Society. They bought ex-BR hopper wagons that Austin Rover
had bought in the 1980s to ferry coal for the
boilers.
Emily receiving an overhaul
Engine 7448 leaving Longbridge Station, on
its way to Old Hill.
7448 was built by British Rail at Swindon works in
1950.
For more pictures on this line, click on this link.