Newton Road railway station

52°32′23″N 1°57′49″W / 52.5396°N 1.9636°W / 52.5396; -1.9636Grid referenceSP025935Platforms2Other informationStatusDisusedHistoryOriginal companyGrand Junction RailwayPre-groupingLondon and North Western RailwayPost-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayKey dates4 July 1837 (1837-07-04)Opened1 March 1863Moved1 January 1902Return to original site7 May 1945Closure

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,^{[1]: 17 [a]} 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 a location now buried under the M5 motorway.^[b]

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.^[2]

Incidents

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.^[3]

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