Is there a connection between the Derby to Birmingham line and the WCML at Tamworth?

[sn5775]

Hi all,

Random question, but is there a connection between the Derby to Birmingham New Street line and the West Coast Main Line at Tamworth?

Thanks in advance.

 

[JN114]

Hi all,

Random question, but is there a connection between the Derby to Birmingham New Street line and the West Coast Main Line at Tamworth?

Thanks in advance.

No, there is not

 

[jfollows]

See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/tamworth-chord-line.182321/ for historic information.

 

[Andyjs247]

No there isn’t. However there was a connection from the WCML from Lichfield towards Derby. At some point there was also a connection from Nuneaton towards Derby although long since closed.

 

[Travelmonkey]

No physical rail connection between the 2 lines but if your a passenger wishing to change to to WCML or XC service it has lifts & stairs between the low level (WCML) & high level (XC) platforms,

 

[Bald Rick]

However there was a connection from the WCML from Lichfield towards Derby.

And there still is!

 

[edwin_m]

And there still is!

To be clear, that's at Lichfield. There was at one time a curve at Tamworth that essentially duplicated it.

 

[DarloRich]

Hi all,

Random question, but is there a connection between the Derby to Birmingham New Street line and the West Coast Main Line at Tamworth?

Thanks in advance.

Yes - stairs or lift up and down from the platforms

 

[Bald Rick]

To be clear, that's at Lichfield. There was at one time a curve at Tamworth that essentially duplicated it.

As yes, i read the post i quoted as referring to the curve at Lichfield

 

[LLivery]

Hi all,

Random question, but is there a connection between the Derby to Birmingham New Street line and the West Coast Main Line at Tamworth?

Thanks in advance.

Were you watching the Nightsleeper by any chance?

 

[Efini92]

Were you watching the Nightsleeper by any chance?

You beat me to it

 

[Russel]

On the Derby bound platform, past the stairs down to the London platform, if you look over the platform wall, there is a small section of track in the undergrowth, I'll see if I can grab a photo on Monday morning.

Also, in the area circled in red, there is what remains of a viaduct/bridge structure within the trees.

 

[LLivery]

You beat me to it

Haha by the end, I wanted to throw the tv out the window. But I couldn't stop watching

 

[DelW]

On the Derby bound platform, past the stairs down to the London platform, if you look over the platform wall, there is a small section of track in the undergrowth, I'll see if I can grab a photo on Monday morning.

Also, in the area circled in red, there is what remains of a viaduct/bridge structure within the trees.View attachment 165892

The east <> north chord was much further away from the station than the area marked in red, as shown on an OS map from NLS:

View map: Ordnance Survey, Staffordshire LIX.SE (includes: Amington; Bolehall and Glascote; Shuttington; Tamworth; Wilnecote an... - Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952

As discussed in the thread linked from post 3, it may never have had track laid on it.

Haha by the end, I wanted to throw the tv out the window. But I couldn't stop watching

As is said about smoking, the best way to stop is to never start

 

[Efini92]

Haha by the end, I wanted to throw the tv out the window. But I couldn't stop watching

Same, drama wise it was quite good. It’s a shame they didn’t consult anyone from the railway for accuracy. I couldn't work out why they used airbus flight simulator controls for the train controls.

 

[DelW]

No there isn’t. However there was a connection from the WCML from Lichfield towards Derby. At some point there was also a connection from Nuneaton towards Derby although long since closed.

The east <> north chord was much further away from the station than the area marked in red, as shown on an OS map from NLS:

As discussed in the thread linked from post 3, it may never have had track laid on it.

It's occurred to me to look at Joe Brown's Birmingham and West Midlands atlas (which I didn't have at the time of the earlier thread).

He marks the east <> north chord, but notes "Curve was apparently complete except for the junction with the LNWR by September 1872. However the curve was never finished or connected (despite it being recorded as ready to open on 07.07.1873). MID records show that the rails were removed in about 1878."

Definitely not available for hypothetical hijacked sleeper trains!

 

[JKF]

Did part of the north-west chord remain in use as an engineer’s siding connected only to the upper level (NE-SW) line after closure? I have a vague memory of this from the early/mid eighties but might be confusing it with another location!

 

[jp4712]

Did part of the north-west chord remain in use as an engineer’s siding connected only to the upper level (NE-SW) line after closure? I have a vague memory of this from the early/mid eighties but might be confusing it with another location!

Yes, it did. It was still connected, very overgrown, when I moved to Tamworth in 1993. I took this photo in 2001, the camera is looking south at the stub of the north-west curve and the high level station buildings are through the bushes on the left. Click on the pic for larger version.

End of the line - Tamworth railway station, December 2001 by Paul Williams, on Flickr

 

[sn5775]

You beat me to it

Many thanks for all the replies. Yes, my question was from watching Nightsleeper. I've been to Tamworth more times than I care to remember but during Nightsleeper when they said the train was switching from the cross-country route onto the WCML at Tamworth I had to double-check my admittedly limiited knowledge!

 

[Efini92]

Many thanks for all the replies. Yes, my question was from watching Nightsleeper. I've been to Tamworth more times than I care to remember but during Nightsleeper when they said the train was switching from the cross-country route onto the WCML at Tamworth I had to double-check my admittedly limiited knowledge!

It’s a shame they didn’t do their homework properly. I also wondered how the train passed horrocksford junction but was on the way to leeds. Whilst technically it is possible without changing ends at Blackburn, it would’ve taken a massive detour and it could’ve just gone through Manchester and joined the WCML at colwich or Crewe.
Not to mention the new layout at Gretna junction.
But errors aside, I actually quite enjoyed it.