Bescot Station opened as Bescot Bridge station on the Grand Junction Railway
in 1847 billed as the first station to serve Walsall . . . some two miles away! However, later in 1847 the
South Staffordshire Railway opened a branch from the GJR at Bescot to a temporary terminus at Bridgeman Place
in the centre of Walsall. Under the LNWR, who absorbed the SSR and GJR, extensive goods facilities
were developed at Bescot from 1881 onwards that are still in use today, although somewhat scaled-down partly
as the result of a rebuilding of the yard unveiled in 1966, under EWS. Above we see the
less-than-inviting entrance to Bescot Stadium station from the car park on Bescot Crescent in the
shadow of the M6. To enter the station requires walking under the M6 ahead and once beyond that, the
walkway crosses the River Tame after which point you have to climb the footbridge that provides
access to the two platforms.
Above-left we are on the station footbridge looking in the direction of Birmingham
across the yard. The current station is of a very modest size and seems somewhat of an after-thought
tucked out of the way in a bit of space the designers had left over when planning the goods facilities.
Above-right we are on the Walsall platform looking along the length of the station towards the footbridge. On
the Birmingham platform is the small station building and waiting room which, whilst a little more
interesting than the ubiquitous bus shelters provided at many contemporary stations, hardly serves to
excite when entering the station.
Above-left we are still on the Walsall platform but this time looking across the
yards and can see some flat-bed wagons at rest and beyond that the imposing structure of the EWS
Traction Maintenance Depot. Above-right we are in the same spot but this time looking in the
direction of Birmingham to see some of the range of wagons that pass through the yard and beyond them the
signal box can just be made-out.
Above-left we are back on the footbridge looking across the yard with the
station to our left. Above-right we are on the footbridge watching the track head-off to Walsall to the right, and
Wolverhampton to the left ahead. Whilst the station itself at Bescot is of little if any interest
to observe, the site itself is well-worth a visit for the rolling stock and locos on display. I
have included some of the photos of the vehicles themselves on the Train Pics
page.
