RAILWAYS

In 1837-8 the first two main lines of the Midlands came to a common terminus in the Rea Valley. The Grand Junction Railway from Liverpool crossed Aston Brook just south of Pool Lane and went in a great curved cutting through the ridge, skirting Nechells Green and causing Nechells Lane to be diverted, then on a bank and bridge over Saltley Road's little valley, and in a smaller cutting under Duddeston Mill Lane. Thereat a temporary terminus was made which became (Vauxhall &) Duddeston passenger station and goods depot. The last stretch pre-sented difficulties as four channels of the Rea lay in its path. Two were diverted to flow on either side of a long embankment, with bridges over three rights-of-way that became Erskine Street, St. James's Place, and Northumberland Street, and a fourth over Lawley Street.

Curzon Street Terminus with its noble Ionic façade lay just across the parish bound, in Birmingham. The London to Birmingham Railway came from the east, crossing the Rea valley on a viaduct and running parallel to the Grand Junction line into Curzon Street. There was no junction of tracks at this ill-placed terminus: before the new access road (Albert Street) had been completed from High Street in the town, work had begun on the viaducts and tunnels which would take both railways on to New Street Station, opened in 1852. The Grand Junction viaduct was raised by the building of another on top of it.

Ten years earlier the Birmingham & Derby Junction Railway had come down the east side of the Rea, skirting the canal reservoir and crossing the Birmingham & Wolverhampton Junction Canal. Its level crossing on Duddeston Mill Lane was a source of complaint until its replacement by a low viaduct under which the lane was lowered, in 1875: this dip was to be flooded periodically until 1909, and may still be impassable after heavy rain - but now due to tem-porary overburdening of drains, not to the rising of the Rea.

The Birmingham & Derby Junction line ended at Lawley Street, where the Derby Railway Station opened in 1842. This line became part of the Midland system two years later. By 1854 two important lines had been laid south of Duddeston Station: one went south to link up with the Midland line to Bristol, the other joined the London line into New Street. Lawley Street was little used by passengers thereafter. The North-West Goods Depot was built off Grosvenor Street to ease the congestion at Curzon Street at this time, which also saw the opening of Aston and Saltley passenger stations: intended chiefly for fast long-distance freight haulage, the railways had proved to be popular with passengers from the start, and many more stations were to be provided for them on all routes.

Now there were three main lines on embankments between the Rea channels. Already the greater part of the flow was going down Duddeston Mill headrace, and this was overbuilt in 1875 to provide space for a marshalling yard east of Lawley Street. The other courses were infilled and their beds drained. A viaduct that spanned the cut for 150 yards and carried multiple lines to Curzon and Grosvenor Streets replaced bridges over the Digbeth Branch Canal. In 1880 the Aston - Stechford Loop Line was made between the two systems of the newly-formed London & North Western Company: this joined the London line at north Yardley to the Grand Junction line at Holborn Hill.

Engine sheds were built at the junction, from which by 1884 the Windsor Street Branch had been made along the Aston Brook meadows to the Gas Works then about to be greatly enlarged by Birmingham Corporation which had acquired them. Aston Goods Station was built on this line between Rocky Lane and Avenue Road.

To serve the extensions in Nechells of Saltley Gas Works, a line was taken from the Grand Junction at St. Clement's Road in 1899. During the first two decades of this century the rail network continued to sprout numbers of lines and sidings: many of these have since been removed.

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