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The Severn Valley Railway is naturally most associated with the [[River Severn]], whose course it follows closely between [[Shrewsbury]] and [[Bewdley]]. However the towns of [[Kidderminster]] and [[Stourport]] lie on the '''River Stour'''.
==The Stour and the Severn Valley Railway==
The river rises in the Clent Hills in north Worcestershire, initially following a generally north-easterly course, before turning north into the West Midlands at Halesowen. From there it flows through Cradley and Lye and then between Stourbridge, to which it gives its name, and Amblecote. It leaves the West Midlands conurbation at Wollaston and enters Staffordshire at Prestwood. Turning southwards, it is then shadowed on its eastern bank by the [[Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal]] through Stourton and Kinver, from where it flows back into Worcestershire.<ref>Wikipedia</ref>
File:River_Stour_Viaduct_20201107.jpg|Viaduct over the Stour at Stourport
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By the time the Severn Valley Railway opened in 1862, the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal was well established. Although part of the Stour was navigable, the canal would have carried more trade and therefore the Stour probably had little direct impact on the Railway in comparison with the Severn.
==Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway==
The main line from Birmingham to Wolverhampton via Smethwick which opened in 1852, and which is still in use today, is commonly known as the "'''Stour Valley Line'''".<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stour_Valley_Line Stour Valley Line on Wikipedia]</ref> The name is a contraction of that of the Company that built it, the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway. The "Stour Valley" referred to a branch (proposed but never built) from Smethwick following the River Stour via Stourbridge and Kidderminster to its junction with the Severn at Stourport.<ref>Worcestershire Chronicle, 20 August 1845, via the British Newspaper Archive</ref>
==See also==