Cradley Heath Station opened in 1863 on the Stourbridge Railway's
short line from Stourbridge to Old Hill (later incorporated into the GWR) and was originally know as
Cradley Station. It is at the industrial heart of the Black Country and several branch lines
ran off the mainline around the station serving collieries and heavy industries. Today,
however, coal mining is a thing of the past and heavy industry has significantly declined
leaving the main line the only source of through traffic for the station. The entrance to Cradley
Heath Station from Forge Lane can be seen above in August 2003.
Above-left we see the view along the platforms towards Lye and above-right
we are looking in the opposite direction towards Old Hill. The station retains its footbridge
and beyond that, at the end of the platforms, is an automated level crossing for Woods Lane.
The platforms where once staggered either side of the level crossing.
As mentioned above, this is the level crossing to Woods Lane. On the day
I took the photograph the warning system and barriers were malfunctioning and engineers were
working on the crossing. The whole station site is at the same level as the surrounding land
so a level crossing was a necessity for the line at this point.
