Bromford Bridge railway station

Bromford Bridge
Bromford Bridge
	Bromford Bridge station in September 1962
General information
Location	Bromford, Birmingham; England
Coordinates	52°30′19″N 1°49′48″W / 52.5053°N 1.8299°W
Grid reference	SP116897
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Midland Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
16 May 1842	Station opened as Bromford Forge
1 June 1843	Station closed
9 March 1896	Station rebuilt and renamed Bromford Bridge Racecourse
28 June 1965	Station closed[page needed]

Bromford Bridge railway station was a railway station in Birmingham opened by the Midland Railway in 1896.

It was built on the site of the previous Bromford Forge railway station which had been opened by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway on its new line to Lawley Street railway station in 1842.^[2]^{[page needed]}

It was on the line from Water Orton and was reopened in 1896, the line by then being connected to Birmingham New Street. It was only used to serve the nearby racecourse, the platforms being on the goods lines to which the "specials" could be brought, clear of the running lines.

It closed in 1965 when the racecourse closed.

The name "Bromford Bridge" comes from the bridge over the River Tame, before which the river was crossed by a ford, hence "Bromford". The original station, Bromford Forge, was on the same level as the road, which crossed the railway on the level. At that time the track was just double. It was quadrupled later. As traffic increased, the level crossing became inconvenient, so the long viaduct was built, carrying Bromford Lane over the railway. Remains of the original road are still visible when looking down from Bromford Lane. The south platform was originally an island, with tracks on both sides. In the photograph above you can see where the additional tracks used to be. The signalbox was not sited there at the time. Beyond that platform was a terminal platform for unloading horses, with an entrance directly into the racecourse. It was used only for horses and dignitaries: the public had no access. On at least one occasion the Royal Train was backed into the platform. On the other side of Bromford Lane to the station there was a public footpath alongside the railway, which led to the Metropolitan Cammell factory.

References

^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 9781852605087. OCLC 832733511.
^ Pixton, B. (2005). Birmingham-Derby: Portrait of a Famous Route. Runpast Publishing. ISBN 9781870754637. OCLC 63136070.

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[1] Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 9781852605087. OCLC 832733511.

[2] Pixton, B. (2005). Birmingham-Derby: Portrait of a Famous Route. Runpast Publishing. ISBN 9781870754637. OCLC 63136070.

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