Difference between revisions of "Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway"
(Created page) |
m (→History: Link edited) |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
| − | The company suffered from financial mismanagement early on, and ran out of funds in 1849, before any major part of the line was opened. A protracted legal battle then began as the [[GWR]] refused to complete the line (a condition of the act of parliament), before realising that its competitors, the Midland Railway and LNWR, were also interested in the line - the GWR finally agreed to lease the line in 1851. The line was eventually completed, still as an independent company, in July 1853, being opened throughout on 1 December 1853<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford,_Worcester_and_Wolverhampton_Railway Wikipedia Article]</ref>. | + | The company suffered from financial mismanagement early on, and ran out of funds in 1849, before any major part of the line was opened. A protracted legal battle then began as the [[Great Western Railway|GWR]] refused to complete the line (a condition of the act of parliament), before realising that its competitors, the Midland Railway and LNWR, were also interested in the line - the GWR finally agreed to lease the line in 1851. The line was eventually completed, still as an independent company, in July 1853, being opened throughout on 1 December 1853<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford,_Worcester_and_Wolverhampton_Railway Wikipedia Article]</ref>. |
The company is possibly best known for the Round Oak accident on 23 August 1858, which involved two portions of a special excursion train. Having been divided into two portions at Stourbridge, a broken coupling on the first portion caused 18 vehicles to run backwards, colliding with the following section portion. The collision killed 14 passengers and injuring 50 more, and was stated to be the worst railway accident to have ever occured in the UK at that date. | The company is possibly best known for the Round Oak accident on 23 August 1858, which involved two portions of a special excursion train. Having been divided into two portions at Stourbridge, a broken coupling on the first portion caused 18 vehicles to run backwards, colliding with the following section portion. The collision killed 14 passengers and injuring 50 more, and was stated to be the worst railway accident to have ever occured in the UK at that date. | ||
Revision as of 12:43, 21 April 2015
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WOxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, OWWOxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, or OWWR) was an independent railway company that was formed to build a railway between its three named cities, authorised on 4 August 1845[1]. It began at Wolvercot Junction, near Oxford, from which it ran North-West through Honeybourne and Evesham to Worcester. It then proceeded towards Wolverhampton via Droitwich Spa, Hartlebury, Kidderminster, Stourbridge and Dudley. Due to its overall poor management, the company is sometimes referred to using its derisive nickname, "The Old Worse and Worse".
History
The company suffered from financial mismanagement early on, and ran out of funds in 1849, before any major part of the line was opened. A protracted legal battle then began as the GWR refused to complete the line (a condition of the act of parliament), before realising that its competitors, the Midland Railway and LNWRLondon & North Western Railway, were also interested in the line - the GWRGreat Western Railway finally agreed to lease the line in 1851. The line was eventually completed, still as an independent company, in July 1853, being opened throughout on 1 December 1853[2].
The company is possibly best known for the Round Oak accident on 23 August 1858, which involved two portions of a special excursion train. Having been divided into two portions at Stourbridge, a broken coupling on the first portion caused 18 vehicles to run backwards, colliding with the following section portion. The collision killed 14 passengers and injuring 50 more, and was stated to be the worst railway accident to have ever occured in the UK at that date.
Links to the Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway was proposed to build a line from a junction south of Hartlebury, this later being moved past Hartlebury as a cost-saving measure. The OW&WOxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway was heavily involved with the Severn Valley Railway despite nominally being independent companies, with several directors holding positions in both companies, and the OW&WOxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway's Engineer John FowlerHenry Fowler, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Midland Railway 1909-1923, and of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1923-1933 being appointed as the SVRSevern Valley Railway's engineer in 1855. The OW&WOxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway formally agreed to lease the SVRSevern Valley Railway on 14 June 1860, shortly before OW&WOxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway merged with the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway and the Worcester & Hereford Railway, forming the West Midlands Railway on 1 July 1860.
