“Bilston and Wolverhampton from Steam Days to Tramway” by Michael Smyth

Wolverhampton was served by two mainlines, the ex GWR route from Paddington and the ex LMS route from Euston.  BR’s investment in the 1960s was focused entirely on the ex LMS route, and once the full electric service to Euston began in March 1967 the GWR route to Birmingham went into terminal decline and closed on the 4th March 1972. However, Snow Hill station was re-opened in 1987 and the former GWR trackbed to Wolverhampton has been converted into a tram route, which opened in 1999.

This presentation starts in the early 1960s when steam was still predominant on both routes,  through the years of transition to diesel and electric traction, and the many years of change from the 1970s through to the present day.  It also illustrates how the area, especially around Bilston, Wolverhampton, was once a heartland of manufacturing industry all of which has now vanished.  A presentation created by two of our members Mike Page and Michael Smyth, both of who once worked at same large factory in Bilston.