Newton Road railway station

Newton Road
The former Newton Road station
General information
Location West Bromwich, Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell
England
Coordinates 52.5396°N 1.9636°W / 52.5396; -1.9636
Grid reference SP025935
Platforms 2
Other information
Status Disused
History
Original company Grand Junction Railway
Pre-grouping London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
4 July 1837 Opened
1 March 1863 Moved
1 January 1902 Return to original site
7 May 1945 Closure

Newton Road railway station was a station of the London and North Western Railway in Sandwell between West Bromwich and Great Barr, England. It lay between Hamstead and the later Tame Bridge Parkway stations on what is now known as the Chase Line.

As one of the original Grand Junction Railway stations, Newton Road opened in 1837, (at grid reference SP025935; 52.5399°N 1.9639°W / 52.5399; -1.9639 (Newton Road railway station (1st))) but under subsequent LNWR control, it was deemed that a more suitable site should be found, and the station was shifted a short distance north-west along the track in 1863 to the junction of Ray Hall Lane with the railway (at grid reference SP022939; 52.5439°N 1.9679°W / 52.5439; -1.9679 (Newton Road railway station (2nd)); a location now buried under the M5 motorway).

However, this move yielded few dividends in passenger numbers, so the station was shifted back near its original position on Newton Road in 1902, where it stayed until final closure in 1945.

Incidents

Site of the 2nd Newton Road station
The site of the final Newton Road station

On 2 September 1848 a LNWR express train, comprising a locomotive, tender, luggage van and three passenger carriages, from Stratford to Birmingham departed from Wolverhampton 25 minutes behind schedule. Passengers noticed unusual osculations, and those in the rear carriage, which belonged to the Scottish Central Railway, reported a series of bangs, after which the train derailed, coming to rest about a quarter of a mile past Newton Road station. A light engine travelling in the other direction - and with Francis Trevithick aboard - struck the wreckage and was also derailed. At least one passenger died as a result of the initial derailment.