Difference between revisions of "Foley Park sidings"

Revision as of 21:28, 14 August 2016

A set of sidings, located 1 mile 179 yards from Kidderminster Junction, serving the British Sugar Corporation and Smethwick Drop Forgings, built in 1925. They were located near Foley Park Halt, which was moved from the South side of the line to the North when the sidings opened. The sidings remained in use after the closure of the Kidderminster-Bewdley line on 6 January 1970, finally closing on 25 October 1982.

During the sugar beet season, which normally ran from mid-September to mid-January, up to four trains per day would arrive at Kidderminster. Shunting from Kidderminster to the Foley Park factory required a shunting engine to be available 24 hours per day^[1].

Access to the sidings from Kidderminster was by means of a ground frame. See Ground Frames at Foley Park.

In January 2016 the area was cleared of undergrowth to allow surveying on behalf of the Wagon Review Group for a potential new wagon storage facility to provide covered accommodation for the SVR's fleet of wagons along with a PWPermanent Way storage area and access for locomotives arriving by road.

Photographs

• A DMU at Foley Park Halt. Comments on the link point out that the lack of traffic is likely due to sugar beet being a seasonal crop.

References

• "Severn Valley Railway". Railways in Worcestershire article. Link. Accessed 09/01/2015.

• "Severn Valley Railway". Railways in Worcestershire article. Link. Accessed 09/01/2015.