Priestfield railway station

Priestfield railway station was a junction station built by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway in 1854. It was situated on the junction of the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line and the London Paddington to Birkenhead via Birmingham Snow Hill. The station closed in 1972,[2] although mainline services were withdrawn by 1967, and only single railcars operated to Snow Hill, the OWW Line closing in 1962. It was the first station south of Wolverhampton Low Level. After the withdrawal of passenger services, the line remained open to goods trains until December 1982.[3]

Priestfield
The derelict remains of the station in 1978
Location
Place	Priestfield
Area	Wolverhampton
Coordinates	52.5705°N 2.0964°W / 52.5705; -2.0964
Grid reference	SO935969
Operations
Original company	Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Platforms	4
History
5 July 1854	Opened[1]
1962	Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway closed to passengers.
4 March 1972	Snow Hill - Low Level Line closed to passengers.
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Wolverhampton bound tram at site of the former Priestfield railway Station

Today, Priestfield refers to the Midland Metro stop a short distance away from the station's original position. The tram line opened on 31 May 1999, restoring the use of the line after more than 16 years in disuse and to serve the Snow Hill-Low Level Line while the Dudley-Wolverhampton Line has been since built on and redeveloped. However the location of the former railway junction can be detected by a distinct gap in the right-hand embankment as the Metro line turns under the adjacent road bridge.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Wolverhampton Low Level		Great Western Railway Birmingham-Wolverhampton (1854-1972)		Bilston Central
		Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Later Great Western Railway, then British Rail Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton (1852-1962)		Bilston West

References

1. "Station Name: Priestfield". Disused Stations. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
2. "Priestfield Station". Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
3. "Class 20's at Bilston Central Dec 1982". Flickr. Retrieved 30 March 2017.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Stourbridge to Wolverhampton. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 100-105. ISBN 9781906008161. OCLC 261924375.