Rails In Wolverhampton - The Early Years

by Bev Parker

The Grand Junction Railway

Beginnings
Following the success of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (which opened on September 15th 1830) many schemes were proposed for the building of other railways. The earlier problems due to lack of capital no longer applied and investors were easy to find. Other towns and cities could see the benefits that would come from better links between the nation's centres of commerce. Birmingham businessmen were planning a link to London, and the group of financiers that were involved with the Liverpool & Manchester Railway could see that Birmingham would be an ideal goal for expansion. In 1831 the Warrington & Newton Railway opened and ran about 5 miles southwards from Newton Junction at the centre of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway to Warrington, and the River Mersey. This was considered to be an ideal starting point for a route to Birmingham and after much surveying, a route was found that was practical and avoided conflicts with landowners

The Bill for the Grand Junction Railway, which was named after the Newton Le Willows junction, was Passed in Parliament on May 6th 1833 on the same day as the Passing of the Bill for the London & Birmingham Railway.

Work on the Grand Junction Railway began with the purchase of the Warrington & Newton Railway for £73,400, after some hard bargaining with its shareholders. Unfortunately its track needed upgrading which cost a further £6,000, but even so the total expense was less than the cost of building an alternative line.

The estimated cost of the remaining 78 miles was £20,000 a mile. Little time was lost and construction soon got underway.

This was an interesting time for Joseph Locke as up until now he had worked for George Stephenson, and although he had made quite a name for himself due to the excellent work that he did in the construction of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, he was still seen as Stephenson's pupil, and so the deserved praise was given to Stephenson.

After Rastrick had left, Locke and Stephenson shared the engineering duties with Locke concentrating on the northern part from Whitmore to Warrington, and Stephenson on the southern part from Whitmore to Birmingham. There was some bitterness between the two men as Stephenson still considered Locke to be a junior, and not an equal, but Locke however, revelled in his new task.

The Dutton Viaduct.

The Dutton Viaduct crossed the River Weaver, and the Weaver Canal. It was 60 feet high and 500 yards long.

The next feature of interest, the Penkridge Viaduct, had 7 arches and foundations that were buried in concrete to a depth of 70 feet.

The last 14 miles was quite troublesome as it produced many totally unexpected problems, the first being a small aqueduct carrying the Bentley Branch of the Birmingham Canal across the Darlaston Green Cutting. A temporary canal was built as a diversion, while construction got underway. The aqueduct used a cast iron liner to contain the water, and when filled a severe leakage developed. The canal had to be re-diverted so that the problem could be solved. It took a great deal of time and was the last part of the railway to be completed.

On the outskirts of Birmingham a detour was needed which required a further Act of Parliament. The resident of Aston Hall was James Watt who was the son of the famous engineer, and was bitterly opposed to the line passing through his grounds. This late change to the route required the hasty design and construction of several extra bridges, viaducts and embankments, which greatly increased Locke's workload.

Joseph Locke.

Running
Considering that this was the first long-distance line in the world, its opening was a very quiet affair. A train pulling 3 coaches and a mail coach set off from Liverpool, and a similar one set off from Manchester. They met at Newton Junction where both trains were combined and hauled southwards to Birmingham by the locomotive Wildfire.

The venture was a great success. In the first six months of operation it carried 232,202 passengers, and continued to prosper during its nine-year life.

An engine constructed at the Haig Foundry and delivered on Sept 20th 1838.

Amalgamation
It continued as a separate railway until an Act of Parliament was passed on July 16th 1846 which allowed the amalgamation of the Grand Junction Railway with the London & Birmingham Railway and the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. The new company was called the London & North Western Railway Company and became the countries largest railway.

This amalgamation must have surprised many people at the time, because prior to this the two largest companies thoroughly distrusted each other. The London & Birmingham Railway and Grand Junction Railway violently quarrelled over the London & Birmingham's Trent Valley scheme, and the Grand Junction's interest in a route to Shrewsbury. Ayear prior to the amalgamation the London & Birmingham joined forces with the Manchester & Birmingham Railway due to the latter's reliance on, and distrust of the Grand Junction. In the event, each of the constituent parts was far more successful than it had been before amalgamation, and the resulting company was one of the most successful of the Victorian railway companies.