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 N. Green and causing N. Lane to be diverted, then on a bank and bridge over Saltley Road' s little valley, and in a smaller cutting under D. Mill Lane. Thereat a temporary terminus was made which became (Vauxhall &) Duddeston passenger station and goods depot.

The last stretch presented difficulties as four channels of the Rea lay in its path. Two were di-verted 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 Northumber-land Street, and a fourth over Lawley Street. Curzon Street Terminus with its noble ionic facade 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 G.J. 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 G.J. 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 Rea, skirting the canal reservoir and crossing the B. & W. Junc. Canal. Its level crossing on D. 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 rains - but now due to temporary over-burdening of drains, not to the rising of the Rea. The B. & D. J. 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 '54 two important lines had been laid south of D. 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 D. Mill headrace, and this was overbuilt in '75 to provide space for a marshalling yard east of Lawley Street. The other courses were infilled and their beds drained. Bridges over the Digbeth Branch Canal were replaced by a viaduct which spanned the cut for 150 yards and carried multiple lines to Curzon and Grosvenor Streets.

In 1880 the Aston- Stechford Loop Line was made between the two systems of the newly-formed L.N.W. Company : this joined the London line at north Yardley be the G.J. line at Holborn Hill. Engine sheds were built at the junction, from which by '84 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 exten-sions in N. of Saltley Gas Works, a line was taken from the G.J at St. Clement's Road in '99. 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.