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==Proposed Railways between Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth==
[[File:Bridgnorth 1849 poster.jpg | thumb|200px|right | Poster for a goods conveyancing service by road between Bridgnorth and Wolverhampton in 1849]]
[[File:Steam_Bus_1904.jpg | thumb|200px|right | A steam bus at Bridgnorth in November 1904. (Sellick Collection)]]
Although Bridgnorth found itself on a railway line linking Worcester and Shrewsbury, the town is perhaps more naturally allied to Wolverhampton, around 13 miles to the east. A number of proposals were made for railways connecting the two towns, especially during the ‘railway mania’ of the mid-19th century. However the relative position of Wolverhampton’s two stations to the north east of the town centre and Bridgnorth to the south west of it meant most schemes involved approaching Wolverhampton via a junction with one of the existing lines to the south or west, in a similar manner to the Severn Valley Railway at Shrewsbury. Some schemes proposed connections to the Severn Valley Railway north of Bridgnorth, others to the south of it.
*The GWR Additional Powers Act (July 1905). The GWR’s own scheme was broadly similar to the above, but crossing the Severn close to Quatford before joining the Severn Valley Railway nearer Eardington with a triangle junction. However, even before the bill was passed, the GWR had introduced a [[Bridgnorth steam bus service | steam bus service]] between Wolverhampton Low Level Station and Bridgnorth Station, soon replaced by motor buses. Although the Kingswinford and Wombourne section (“the Wombourne Branch”) was completed in 1925, the Bridgnorth section had been postponed by 1913. Another GWR Additional Powers Act in 1925 resurrected the possibility of its resumption, but the lack of traffic and growth of road transport soon led to it being abandoned.
The entry for the Severn Valley Railway on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severn_Valley_Railway#Eastwards Wikipedia] makes reference to a proposal prior to World War II to link the Severn Valley Line with the Wombourne Branch, with a section being pegged out and some earthworks carried out immediately south of Crossing Cottage near Eardington. This may refer to the southern end of the GWR scheme, although no reference to these workings can be found in the books listed in the Bibliography section.
