Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway

The Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway was incorporated in 1865 in order to connect the city of Wolverhampton, England with nearby towns such as Walsall, Willenhall and Wednesfield.

The railway opened on 1 November 1872 and was initially operated jointly by the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway. The route was 8 miles long.

However, disagreements between the partners soon appeared, and the railway was bought outright by the London and North Western Railway in 1875. A year later it was sold to the Midland Railway, and was then connected to the Sutton Park Line. This allowed the Midland Railway to have a direct route into Wolverhampton.

The line started at Wolverhampton High Level, and had the following stations:

In 1878, the running powers for the Midland Railway into Wolverhampton High Level ceased, and so the company decided to build a new terminus on Wednesfield Road, just to the east of Wolverhampton Low Level. This would have led to the unusual situation of having three stations for three different companies next to each other, and an Act of Parliament to allow construction of the new station was passed on 28 June 1877. However, the London and North Western Railway also gained an Act on the same day to allow construction of the "Loop Line" between the Grand Junction Railway and Wolverhampton High Level (which would allow the LNWR access to Willenhall and Walsall via that route), and to allow the extension of the High Level station itself. This would have caused access problems for both the Low Level station, and the proposed station at Wednesfield Road. Eventually, the extension plan was dropped, and the Midland Railway managed to renegotiate the use of Wolverhampton High Level. As the proposed new terminal was no longer required, a large goods depot was built in its place. This depot was demolished in the 1990s, and is today the site of a large Royal Mail sorting office.

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