The South Staffordshire Railway (SSR) was authorised in 1847 to build a line from Dudley in the West Midlands of England through Walsall and Lichfield to a junction with the Midland Railway on the way to Burton upon Trent, with authorised share capital of £945,000. It was supported by the newly-formed London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Midland Railway, giving each company access to important areas. It completed its main line in 1849. As collieries in the Cannock region rose in importance, it built a second main line from Walsall to Rugeley, as well as numerous short spurs and connections to lines it intersected. Colliery working in the Cannock area expanded enormously, and mineral traffic carryings increased in step.
In 1850 the entire company's operation was leased to a private individual, John Robinson McClean, the first time this was ever done. His lease was successful, but the London and North Western Railway wanted control of the network for its own strategic purposes, and it manoeuvred to get the SSR shareholders to transfer the lease to the LNWR; in 1867 the LNWR acquired ownership of the SSR.
Short distance passenger operation in the Walsall area was always buoyant, but in the post-1945 period a decline set in, and industrial retrenchment resulted in a gradual loss of goods and mineral business too. In 1965 a major round of passenger service closures was imposed, although the cessation of services on the Hednesford and Rugeley section was reversed from 1989. This Walsall to Rugeley service and a very short section at Lichfield are the only remaining passenger operations on the former SSR system
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The SouthStaffordshireRailway (SSR) was authorised in 1847 to build a line from Dudley in the West Midlands of England through Walsall and Lichfield...
SouthStaffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Codsall. Other notable settlements include Brewood...
1849 article on the opening of the SouthStaffordshireRailway. An 1851 guidebook to the London and North Western Railway included an entire chapter entitled...
including Walsall, West Bromwich, and Wolverhampton. Staffordshire is hilly to the north and south. The southern end of the Pennines is in the north, containing...
The SouthStaffordshireRailway Walk is located in Staffordshire, England. It runs for five and a half miles (about 8.85 km) from Castlecroft to Wall Heath...
The North StaffordshireRailway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding...
parish located in the district of SouthStaffordshire, in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Wolverhampton and on the...
Alton railway station is a former railway station in Staffordshire. Opened in 1849 by the North StaffordshireRailway and called Alton, the station was...
Great Western Railway. This station was built ten years after the original connection, however, and trains on the SouthStaffordshire line ran from Walsall...
The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city...
The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates on part...
Western Railway (LNWR) in 1846. The section through Walsall, including the present Walsall station was opened in 1849 by the SouthStaffordshireRailway, as...
Dudley Port railway station, Dudley railway station and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre for trams. The closed section of the SouthStaffordshire Line through...
Town railway station was a station on the SouthStaffordshire Line. The station was opened in 1850. The station was built and served by the South Staffordshire...
the SouthStaffordshire Line between Walsall and Lichfield. It was opened in 1849. The station was built and served by the SouthStaffordshireRailway, which...
The Midland Railway had a stake in the SouthStaffordshireRailway giving it access to Walsall, and the Walsall and Wolverhampton Railway (W&WR) was opened...
Two railways/routes served the station - originally the OW&WR and the SouthStaffordshireRailway, which later became the Great Western Railway and London...
present site. This was completed by the SouthStaffordshireRailway as part of their route from Wichnor Junction (south of Burton-upon-Trent) to Dudley, which...
London and North Western Railway (which had taken control of the SouthStaffordshireRailway – the company that had constructed the line from Lichfield, via...
Lichfield City is one of two railway stations serving the cathedral city of Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England. It is situated in the city centre, whilst...
nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named for Dr. Richard Beeching, then-chair of the British Railways Board and the...
colliery at Dilhorne on the Cheadle Coalfield. It joined the North StaffordshireRailway line near Blythe Bridge. It is open at weekends and operates trains...
Alrewas railway station was a station on the SouthStaffordshireRailway, which served the village of Alrewas, Staffordshire. The station was located next...
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