KING COAL
The fuel that powered the industrial revolution in Birmingham and the Black Country that developed Britain as the leading industrial nation in the world and the reason that Hednesford developed as a town.
Henry Paget 1st Marquis of Anglesey
The Pagets were involved in mining from the 16th century on their land at Beaudesert and became the Earls of Uxbridge, but after his heroics at the Battle of Waterloo, Henry Paget was awarded the title and estate of Marquis of Anglesey thus becoming the first Marquis.
A large number of coal mines were opened in the area during this period at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, particularly driven by the opening of the canal network.
Demand for high quality coal for industry was huge in order to drive the new steam engines, and the transport options available at the time were, by road, slow, only small quantities moved at a time. Canals gave a tremendous boost to production with narrow boats being loaded with 30 tons at a time but still slow and horse drawn and several owners developed tramways to get the coal to the canal wharves.
It was fortuitous that railways had been developing during this time and as collieries opened up, the railway went to meet them.
John Robinson McClean
An engineer called John Robinson McClean was appointed to build the initial railway from Walsall to Cannock, which opened for traffic on the 1st February 1858. Previously, and after much argument between different rail companies, a dual track extension was agreed to be built to link Cannock to the L.N.W.R main line at Rugeley with only one intermediate station at Hednesford, under the auspices of the Cannock Mineral Railway on the 18th May 1855. Taylor Robinson Stephenson was awarded the contract to build the line at a cost of £80,000. Much argument continued until an EGM was held on 3rd June 1857 when, as a bolt from the blue, the directors of CMR were authorised to lease the line to the London & North Western Railway.
At the rate of £5,500 per annum guaranteeing a minimum dividend of 5% to the CMR shareholder. This in retrospect wasn't a huge surprise as the Marquis of Anglesey was a great supporter of the LNWR and he was subsequently appointed as Chairman of the CMR. After initial slow progress, Stephenson was replaced as engineer by Thomas Brassey,
Thomas Brassey
A hugely experienced and influential civil engineer who in his lifetime built 1 in every 20 miles of all the railways in the world.
It was also announced that all traffic along the line would be operated by the LNWR. Due to delay in finding the correct quantity and quality of stone during construction for the Trent Valley viaduct, the LNWR introduced an omnibus service between Rugeley and Cannock.
Finally, on 29th September 1859 the line was ready for inspection by the Board of Trade. Colonel Yolland observed that the level crossing gates at Hednesford didn't close properly across the line and and the station house window projection made the platform too narrow. Due to this and other issues elsewhere, he was unable to approve the opening as planned on October 1st. Planning bureaucracy existed even in Victorian times. It was with considerable relief that the line finally opened on Monday November 7th to little fanfare. On 6th February 1860, a minor landslip occurred in the cutting at Hednesford due to unusually heavy rains. Again, things don't change much.
The original station building comprised of two platforms immediately south of which was a level crossing for Market Street. The main building was a two-storey red brick with a slate gabled roof sideways on the up platform. In British practice, railway directions are usually described as "up" and "down", with "up" being towards a major location. The building was to provide accommodation for the station master. Alongside to the north was a single- storey extension with a tall tiled roof at right angles, almost as tall as the two-storey building. This served as a booking office and waiting room and included a small flat canopy projecting over the platform. A further single-storey extension of modest proportions served as staff rooms and a lamp room. There were no facilities whatsoever on the down platform on which stood a single tall signal post with two opposing arms. These early signals were operated by 'bobbies' based at the station. A modest goods shed and yard was sited on the up side where the Co-op car park is now.
Accidents on the Chase Line have been mercifully few and far between but the Walsall Observer and South Staffordshire Chronicle of December 21st, 1872 reported on the inquiry into an accident at Hednesford station on a date I haven't been able to confirm, between a late running passenger train from Walsall to Stafford and a coal wagon being shunted on the sidings. Despite great effort by the passenger train driver to brake, they collided at around 6-7 mph. Fortunately, only two passengers reported slight injury. The shunter was guilty of gross negligence for not checking that the passenger train was on the main line before fouling it. The conclusion arrived at was that it could have been avoided by interlocking points with the signal. A valuable lesson for the future. It wasn't long before it was realised that the station was totally inadequate for the increase in volume of traffic, the rapid increase in the population and expansion of the town due to the opening of numerous coal mines.
The Cannock Chase Railways
The level crossing was replaced in 1875 by a brick built bridge over the line and this portion of Market Street was renamed Station Street at the time. The station was also completely rebuilt, completed around February 1875. A passenger entrance was made from the overbridge to a booking office and waiting room constructed in wood on a raft of steel girders over the running lines with simple waiting shelters on the platforms below which were extended southwards from the bridge. An access road led directly to the up platform and associated buildings. Here are the station staff from around that time. It's difficult to believe that rail companies these day don't consider staffing stations to be essential to providing a good customer service.
However at 4.00 a.m. On the morning of
Monday November 13th 1876..... Disaster!
Smoke was seen issuing from the porter's room, and, on the police constable stationed in the signal box opening the door, flames issued forth followed by an explosion caused by around 3 gallons of petroleum in the lamp room having caught fire. Realising that it would be useless to attempt to put out the flames himself, he called Mr Coltman, the station master who lived about 20 yards away and soon a number of men were endeavouring to extinguish the fire with buckets of water. Smoke soon overwhelming the men compelled them to open the doors to the waiting room and the wind blowing up the staircase caused the sparks from the burning staircase wood to rush through in a thick cloud setting fire to the goods office. A locomotive was despatched to Rugeley to transport the fire engine but this was engaged in extinguishing a fire at a mill, it did not arrive in time. Eventually it was put out thanks to a large pumping engine being brought from the Cannock & Rugeley Colliery by one of that companies engines. So quickly did the flames catch hold that not a single piece of paper was saved from either the goods or the booking office despite the efforts of a George Probert, who put himself in great danger in an unsuccessful effort to rescue the cash books only being saved from death by his friends who pulled him out. Damage was estimated at between £2-3,000, the building and staircase totally destroyed. Owing to the accumulation of debris on the track, coal traffic was delayed by around 2 hours. One of the ladies waiting rooms was converted into a temporary booking office but, owing to all the tickets being destroyed, written tickets had to be issued during the day.
The station was subsequently rebuilt in 1877 almost along the same lines but the buildings over the line were this time constructed in brick with decorative light coloured stringings and ornamental brick facings. The platforms remained of brick to the north of the bridge but an extension to the south was of wood. The wooden waiting room on the down side was also rebuilt in brick with a flat roof rising upwards towards the platform and extended to provide a canopy.
It was around this time that extensive tracks to accommodate the ever increasing demand for coal were built to the north of the station. Hednesford No.1 signal box was built with a 38 lever tumbler frame and controlled all the traffic south of the station despite them being well out of sight, and water columns were provided at the end of both platforms, originally on wooden sleepers but much later replaced by a brick base. A large water tower was constructed adjacent to the north down platform next to the signal box.
First map shows the layout in 1883, second in 1917 showing the extra tracks for the exchange sidings. Industrial locomotives would bring the coal wagons from the local collieries, deposit them in the sidings ready to be assembled into trains for their destinations, then the LNWR locomotives would couple up and off they would go. The reverse procedure when bringing empty wagons back. Individual collieries would have their own wagons painted to identify them.
This wonderful picture shows a typical passenger train on July 31st 1905. It's one of the LNWR's Webb 2-4-2T. Built between 1879 and 1898 and the last one was withdrawn in 1936, sadly none were preserved. It also shows the passenger entrance and booking hall on the bridge, extra tracks into the exchange sidings and you can just see the end of the down platform showing the staggering at the time. The goods yard is now Poundstretcher car park.
In 1905 the LNWR also introduced steam railcars on the off-peak service between Walsall and Rugeley. This one is on it's way to Hednesford from Rugeley.
This picture shows what a wonderful thing they were, the forerunner of today's units. They provided seating for 48 passengers in two third class compartments, smoking and non-smoking. However, while they proved their worth, they were hampered by their lack of flexibility and were replaced, probably in 1910.
This locomotive is a slightly later freight engine that would work the coal trains. It's a LNWR 0-8-0 Bowen-Cooke designed G1 built between 1912 and 1918, a powerful machine capable of handling the very heavy trains, later known as Super D's owing to their D class superheating. Some versions of these lasted right up to British Railways days.
Here are 2 in Hednesford station in the 1960's, the left hand one just having filled up it's tender from the water tower.
This is Albert Stanley M.P. Miners champion and MP who lived in West Hill, now Green Heath Road. On Friday March 5th 1915, Albert had the misfortune to fall down the steps at Hednesford station while on his way to a Midland Miners Federation meeting. He sustained 2 broken bones in his shoulder and heavy bruising. Never in robust health due to a mining accident when a young man, he ended up in a nursing home in Northampton and passed away on Friday December 17th in St Andrew's Hospital. Northampton.
Apart from the usual passenger traffic, companies hired special trains to take their employees on excursions, a practice started in the 1880's and carried on well after WW2. An early example was reported in the Cannock Advertiser on August 5th 1882.
This picture shows an excited group of passengers awaiting their train to Blackpool in either the 50's or early 60's.
This picture taken between Hednesford and Rugeley shows a typical train made up of all sorts of odd carriages as was usual for these type of trips. The railway companies were not slow in advertising day excursions and destinations became more ambitious, not just for day trips to the seaside, but to many special events, football specials and, significantly for Hednesford, horse racing.
As previously mentioned, Hednesford had a goods yard and the most notable user was racehorse trainer Tom Coulthwaite who had stables at Hazelslade and frequently transported his horses by rail from Hednesford to their various meetings.
His most famous steed was Grakle who won the Grand National in 1931.
Here are 2 in Hednesford station in the 1960's, the left hand one just having filled up it's tender from the water tower.
The period between the world wars was a golden age for steam but major re-organisation of the railways was deemed necessary to stem the losses of many of the 120 railway companies in existence at the time so the 1921 Railways Act was enacted by the government to group them into 4 large companies to try and retain some of the benefits after the railways were under state control during WW1 but falling short of nationalisation.
The LNWR was absorbed into the LMS, the London Midland and Scottish Railway on January 1st, 1923.
I can find scant information at the moment for times during and between the world wars but no doubt that Hednesford played a major role in supplying coal to enable the factories of the West Midlands to create the energy to build the war machines and the armaments needed by the forces to defeat our enemies.
Many of the local trains were used by gypsies up 1930 and possibly beyond as they travelled to Birmingham to sell bunches of heather and ferns gathered on the Chase. The vast majority of coal was shipped out southwards, many to the sidings at Bescot to be marshalled into those for local delivery and those for further afield. A few went north but most of the industrial and domestic consumers had their own, more local supplies.
Heavy snowfalls across the Chase badly affected running especially in the winter of 1939/40. The line between Hednesford and Brindley Heath was blocked for 5 days by drifts so much so that the snowplough sent from Walsall also became trapped. Five further trains had become trapped and eventually the whole camp from newly opened RAF Hednesford turned out to dig them all out. The snow was so deep that only their chimneys were visible. A similar scenario was repeated in 1947, the most severe winter to hit the country within living memory.
The line saw little action from the Luftwaffe in WW2.
After the war, with the railways in a pretty bad state due to neglect and poor maintenance and with a Labour government elected the railways and the coal mines were all nationalised.
This meant a new logo for the railway and a complete overhaul for the way they were run.
All this spelt major changes for the line with the gradual decline of the Cannock Chase collieries, by 1957, 8 of the 22 collieries had closed down while the rest continued to dig the coal vital for the recovery after the war, by the late 50's and continued through the 60's, the reserves gradually became exhausted.
Steam was being replaced by diesel and plans were talked about building a new station but they eventually came to nothing however the decision was made in 1959 to demolish the booking office. Around the same time, a new passenger footbridge was erected in open plate steel on the south side of the road bridge for the benefit of passengers and pedestrians alike and in January 1960, the building had gone.
By 1961, the railways were in a parlous state mainly due to the increased competition from roads. They were losing £300,000 a day, the equivalent today of almost £6,000,000, so something had to be done.
That 'something' came in the form of Dr Richard Beeching appointed as chairman of British Railways, who was tasked with modernisation and on March 27th 1963 he produced his report 'The Reshaping of British Railways' which was the death knell for a third of all railways, over 6,000 miles eventually. Services from Walsall to Rugeley were among them.
Passenger services ended on January 17th and goods traffic on September 6th. And the sidings ripped up after all the local collieries had closed.
The line fortunately remained open and stayed as a twin track in order to supply the power station at Rugeley.