Blowers Green railway station

Blowers Green railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line in Dudley, Worcestershire.

Blowers Green
Blowers Green station building in 2004
Location
Place	Dudley
Area	Dudley
Coordinates	52°30′15″N 2°05′04″W / 52.5042°N 2.0844°W / 52.5042; -2.0844Coordinates: 52°30′15″N 2°05′04″W / 52.5042°N 2.0844°W / 52.5042; -2.0844
Grid reference	SO944896
Operations
Original company	Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Platforms	2
History
1 March 1878	Opened as Netherton^[1]
1878	Renamed Dudley Southside and Netherton^[2]
1 August 1921	Renamed Blowers Green^[1]
30 July 1962	Closed to passengers^[1]
1965	Closed as an emergency escape point
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

History

It was opened in 1878 by the Great Western Railway intending to serve the growing communities of Woodside and Netherton. Soon after opening, it was renamed Dudley Southside & Netherton.^[1] It was opened immediately north of Netherton station which it replaced.

Three railways/routes served the station - originally the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and the South Staffordshire Railway, which later became the Great Western Railway and London, Midland and Scottish Railway (through amalgamation of the London and North Western Railway) respectively. There were also services from Dudley to Old Hill along this route as part of GWR's service. The junction to Old Hill diverged between here and Harts Hill.

The line had reasonable passenger usage until about the early 1880s, when it began to slump at several stations, leading to the line becoming a largely freight only operation in 1887. It would remain open for goods traffic, which was considerable at this time, as the district had become highly industrialised in the then heyday of the Black Country's industrial past.

This station was known as Dudley Southside and Netherton until 1921, when it was renamed Blowers Green.

The growing popularity of motor vehicles during the 20th century meant that the station's usage was in decline by the 1950s, and its future was under threat.

British Railways closed the station to passengers in 1962, even though trains from Dudley to Old Hill passed through the station until 1964. It remained as an emergency escape point and access point for railway engineers until late 1965.

Today's usage

Despite being disused for more than 50 years, the station building survives, but was bricked up around the year 2000. The forecourt has been fenced off since 2004 due to youths' anti-social behaviour, structural decay and periodical use by homeless people. Bill-posters are occasionally stuck to it from time to time.

Midland Metro

The site of the station is earmarked as the location of a Midland Metro stop which will be opened on the completion of the local tram network's second line in about 2011.^[3] A £1,100,000/15-year-long regeneration project will see the station become part of the local tram network with the line reopening between Walsall, Dudley Port railway station, Dudley railway station and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre for trams on one track and for freight on the other. The freighters would continue on to Brettell Lane railway station and on to the main line at Stourbridge junction.^[3] The closed section of railway through Dudley was expected to re-open by 2013,^[4] as a combined Midland Metro tramway and a heavy rail line for goods trains.

The railway below was last used in 1993, although it is set to re-open in 2023 as part of the long-awaited Wednesbury to Brierley Hill section of the Midland Metro, while the full length of the line between Walsall and Brierley Hill (which closed in 1993) is set to re-open for goods trains.

Historic imagery of the site

Blowers Green station forecourt in 2002. It has been fenced off since 2004 due to youths' anti-social behaviour, structural decay and periodical use by vagrants.
Netherton signal box in 2004.
The line below Netherton signal box and Blowers Green station building in 2004.

References

1 2 3 4 "Station Name: Blowers Green". Disused Stations. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
↑ "Blowers Green Station". Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
1 2 Chadwick, Edward (25 November 2010). "Plans for 1.1 bn West Midlands Metro system unveiled". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010.
↑ "Midland Metro - Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Timetable, Funding and Support". Midland Metro. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008.

"The Great Western Railway". Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012.
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Preceding station		Following station
Dudley	Great Western Railway Later British Rail Bumble Hole Line (1878-1964)	Baptist End
Dudley	Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Later Great Western Railway, then British Rail Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton (1852-1962)	Harts Hill
Dudley	South Staffordshire Railway Later LNWR, then LMS, finally BR South Staffs Line Dudley-Stourbridge Junction section (1852-1962)	Harts Hill

Railway stations in the West Midlands county

Open stations

Birmingham	Acocks Green Adderley Park Aston Blake Street Bordesley Bournville Butlers Lane Chester Road Duddeston Erdington Five Ways Four Oaks Gravelly Hill Hall Green Hamstead Jewellery Quarter Kings Norton Lea Hall Longbridge Moor Street New Street Northfield Perry Barr Selly Oak Small Heath Snow Hill Spring Road Stechford Sutton Coldfield Tyseley University Witton Wylde Green Yardley Wood
Coventry	Canley Coventry Coventry Arena Tile Hill
Dudley	Coseley Lye Stourbridge Junction Stourbridge Town
Sandwell	Bescot Stadium Cradley Heath Dudley Port Langley Green Old Hill Rowley Regis Sandwell and Dudley Smethwick Galton Bridge Smethwick Rolfe Street Tame Bridge Parkway The Hawthorns Tipton
Solihull	Berkswell Birmingham International Dorridge Earlswood Hampton-in-Arden Marston Green Olton Shirley Solihull Whitlocks End Widney Manor
Walsall	Bloxwich Bloxwich North Walsall
Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton
Outside West Midlands county, but within the Transport for West Midlands area	Wythall

Disused

Birmingham	Bromford Bridge Camp Hill Castle Bromwich Central Goods Church Road Curzon Street Granville Street Hagley Road Handsworth & Smethwick Handsworth Wood Hazelwell Hockley Icknield Port Road Kings Heath Lawley Street Lifford Longbridge (1915-1964) Monument Lane Moseley Penns Rotton Park Road Rubery Saltley Soho & Winson Green Soho Road Somerset Road Sutton Park Sutton Coldfield Town Winson Green
Coventry	Coundon Road Daimler Halt Foleshill Longford and Exhall
Dudley	Baptist End Blowers Green Brettell Lane Brierley Hill Brockmoor Halt Bromley Halt Darby End Dudley Gornal Halt Halesowen Harborne Harts Hill Old Hill High Street Pensnett Halt Round Oak Windmill End
Sandwell	Albion Great Bridge North Great Bridge South Newton Road Oldbury Princes End & Coseley Rood End Smethwick West Soho Spon Lane Swan Village Tipton Five Ways Wednesbury Central Wednesbury Town West Bromwich
Walsall	Aldridge Bentley Brownhills Brownhills Watling Street Darlaston Darlaston James Bridge North Walsall Pelsall Pleck Rushall Short Heath Streetly Walsall Wood Willenhall Bilston Street Willenhall Stafford Street Wood Green
Wolverhampton	Bilston Central Bilston West Bradley and Moxley Bushbury Compton Halt Daisy Bank Dunstall Park Ettingshall Road Heath Town Monmore Green Portobello Priestfield Tettenhall Wednesfield Heath for Wolverhampton Wednesfield Wolverhampton Low Level

Heritage
Tyseley, Warwick Road

List of West Midlands railway stations
Transport in the West Midlands
Transport for West Midlands

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