Changes

The loop line connecting [[Bewdley]] and [[Kidderminster]] Planning for the Loop had begun in 1860, before any of these railways opened. However it would be 18 years before the Loop was built to serve both completed. A feature of the Severn Valley Railway from Shrewsbury and Loop was that although the Tenbury Branch from Woofferton GWR (formed and earlier companies absorbed by it) would be responsible for construction, its rival the [[Wyre Forest Line#Early history of LNWR would probably gain more benefit from it through its running powers over the Tenbury Railway |Tenbury Railway]] Branch, via which it would generate traffic between South Wales and the [[Wyre Forest Line#Early history of the Tenbury & Bewdley Railway |Tenbury and Bewdley Railway]])West Midlands. It would provide a connection to Birmingham and This may explain the West Midlands without GWR’s apparent ambivalence towards completing the need for a reversal at [[Hartlebury]]Loop.

Planning for the Loop began in 1860, before any of these railways opened. However it would be 18 years before the Loop was completed. A feature of the Loop was that although the GWR (and earlier companies absorbed by it) would be responsible for construction, its rival the LNWR would probably gain more benefit from it through its running powers over the Tenbury Branch, via which it would generate traffic between South Wales and the West Midlands. This may explain the GWR’s apparent ambivalence towards completing the Loop. <div class="toclimit-2">__TOC__</div>This article gives a history of the Loop’s Loop's construction and subsequent changes on the route. For context, milestone dates during this period for the railways concerned were as follows:

The first plans for the Loop were prepared by [[Edward Wilson]], Engineer of the OW&W. The route was broadly similar to that eventually built, but with a shorter tunnel of only 400 yards<ref name=Marshall54>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] pp. 54, 58.</ref>.

The West Midland and Severn Valley Companies Act incorporating Wilson's plan was approved on 1 August 1861. The Loop was to form part of the Severn Valley Railway, and was to be completed within 4 years, after which the powers would end. The Severn Valley Railway was also granted powers to raise an additional £60,000 capital for the estimated cost, and £20,000 of additional borrowing facilities. A deposit of £4,800 (8% of the cost) was lodged with the Court of Chancery. Raising However the capital proved difficultconstruction of the Severn Valley Railway itself was still in progress and suffering delays from landslips, while the Tenbury Branch was also several years away from completion, and therefore no progress further work on construction had been made when the powers under the 1861 Act eventually lapsedLoop was undertaken.<ref name=Marshall54/>.

During the 1860s, the GWR was in a period of financial constraint and did not consider the loop a priority. However in In 1867 a new plan for the loop was prepared by [[Michael Lane]], Chief Civil Engineer of the GWRfor submission to Parliament in 1868. His plan was broadly similar to Edward Wilson's, although with different gradients and a longer tunnel of 484 yards. The preamble to the Bill sought '...to extend the time and revive the powers' of the 1861 Act.

Powers for construction of the Loop were granted renewed under the GWR Act of 31 July 1868. The same Act also authorised construction of the Stourbridge Town branch. The £4,800 deposit was to be used in the construction of the Loop. Completion was to be within 5 years with a penalty of £50 per day for any delay in completion after that time. These powers would end after 5 years<ref name=Marshall62/><ref name=SVR69>"The Bewdley-Kidderminster Loop Line", article by John Marshall in SVR News 69</ref>.

At around the same time, pressure from local industries led to the GWR proposing the construction of a railway between Bewdley and Stourbridge instead of the Loop to Kidderminster. The new plans were prepared by GWR Engineers W.G. Owen and Edward Wilson; the route would take the new railway from the Stourbridge Town branch via Kinver, Cookley and Wolverley to join the SVR at [[Sandbourne Viaduct]]. The cost of this line was estimated at £211,000, more than 3 times the cost of the Loop<ref name=SVR69/>.

The GWR’s attitude to the decision can be gauged from a speech to shareholders later that year by Daniel Gooch, the GWR Chairman. He regretted the decision and described the loop as a ‘useless curve’ which they did not want and were now compelled to build<ref name=SVR69/>.

A Bill was brought to Parliament for a new railway, the [[Unsuccessful proposals for railways in the Severn Valley# Proposals after the opening of the SVR in 1862|West Staffordshire Railway]], linking [[Wolverhampton]] to the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway. The plans, prepared by Engineer William Henry Thomas, showed a line leaving the LNWR route south of Wolverhampton High Level and proceeding via Kingswinford, west of Stourbridge, Wolverley and west of Kidderminster to join the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway at [[Dowles Bridge]] via a tunnel under the Severn Valley Railway. A branch would also have connected onto the Severn Valley Railway north of [[Wribbenhall Viaduct]]. This project had the backing of the LNWR, and was supported by local businesses and by Bewdley Council who were openly critical of the GWR’s GWR's delay in constructing the loop.

:''Main article: [[Loop Line specification and contract]]''The GWR issued a [[Loop Line specification and contract|specification of the work to be carried out]] in September. On 7 October they accepted a tender of £39,800 from Charles Dickinson. The contract for completion of the Loop, dated 28 November, was sealed on 3 December<ref name=Marshall81>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] pp. 81-82.</ref>.It was referred to as the '''Bewdley and Kidderminster Branch'''. Newspaper reports subsequently referred to the Contractors variously as Messrs. Dickinson and Crockett<ref>Worcester Journal, 28 April 1877</ref> or Messrs. Crockkett and Dickinson<ref>County Advertiser & Herald for Staffordshire and Worcestershire, 1 September 1877</ref>.  <gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">Loop Line specification and contract cover.jpg|Front cover of the specification</gallery>

Construction of the Loop began in the Spring of 1875. A report in the Kidderminster Times noted that the Loop would be a single line, <ref group="note">The Loop, like the Severn Valley Branch, was laid out with bridges wide enough for a double track formation, but in both cases the tunnels were only wide enough for single track. </ref> and optimistically gave a 12 -month completion date.

The GWR Act of 19 July 1875 duly granted a further 2 -year extension in accordance with the GWR’s GWR's earlier request, with a revised deadline for completion of 18 July 1877.

==Later DevelopmentsMileages==:''Main article: [[Gradient profile and mileages]]''The Loop is exactly 3 miles in length, measured from the reversal point (135m 21ch) just north of [[Kidderminster Junction signal box#Kidderminster Junction|Kidderminster Junction]] (135m 33ch) to [[Bewdley South signal box|Bewdley Junction South]] (138m 21ch) where it joins the original Severn Valley Branch on the approach to Bewdley. The original specification quoted mileages measured from Bewdley South junction towards Kidderminster. The locations of mileposts shown on OS maps revised up to 1901 suggest this method of measurement was originally adopted, with the 1926 revision using the current arrangement.  ==History after opening==:''Main article: [[Timetables in commercial service]]''On openingin 1878, there were no intermediate stations or sidings between the junctions at Kidderminster and Bewdley. The route has not significantly changed and is still in use as part of the preserved SVR. Major features on the route include [[Falling Sands Viaduct]], crossing the [[Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal]] and the [[River Stour]]; the 480 yard long [[Bewdley Tunnel]]; and [[Sandbourne Viaduct]], on the approach to Bewdley.  From opening until 1900, timetables show that all services to and from Kidderminster via the Loop connected with the Tenbury Branch. In 1900, for the first time, one of the daily southbound services from Shrewsbury went to Kidderminster rather than Hartlebury / Worcester.  Two intermediate halts were opened on the route Loop in the early part of the 20th century:

Following the cessation end of passenger services beyond Bewdley to Tenbury in 1962 and to Shrewsbury in 1963, passenger services continued to run on the loop line Loop as part of the Kidderminster-Bewdley-Hartlebury triangle. Passenger services on this route ended until finally ending on 5 January 1970. In December 1972 [[Sir Gerald Nabarro]] announced on behalf of the Board that the Southern section of the line from Alveley Sidings to Bewdley, with only a including part of the Loop as far as Foley Park, had been purchased from BR subject to Light Railway Orders being granted. The final short section of the Loop between Kidderminster Junction and Foley Park Sidings remaining remained in use for goods services. Foley Park Sidings finally closed on 25 October 1982, allowing the remainder of the line beyond Foley Park being to be purchased by the preservation movement. Foley Park Sidings finally closed on 25 October 1982, with the line re-opening throughout on 30 July 1984, serving the [[The development of Kidderminster Town Station|new Kidderminster Town Station]]. ==See also==*[[Loop Line specification and contract]]*[[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership]] ==Notes==<references group="note"/>

The Bewdley-Kidderminster Loop Line”, article by John Marshall in SVR News 69<references/> ==Links== [[Category:Featured articles]]