Halesowen Station opened in 1878 on the Halesowen Railway which, as is
discussed elsewhere, was a joint GWR and MR line. Along with its sister stations Longbridge,
Rubery and Hunnington it closed to passenger services long before the line ceased operation.
In 1927 the station and line became goods only except for worker's trains to the Austin Rover
works at Longbridge which continued up until 1958. In addition to this, the station boasted
goods yard facilities and also served a short branch to the Halesowen Basin for the transfer
of goods to and from the nearby Birmingham canal. Above we see the run-down station in 1956 looking
towards Longbridge with Mucklow Hill road bridge ahead (photo: DJ Norton).
Above-left we see the landscaped embankment that would have appeared on the
right-hand side of the above photograph, the station being ahead and left: the area has been completely remodelled
and you'd be hard pressed to discern that there ever was a station on this site. Above-right
we are looking at what was the station site from Prospect Road: the station building seen in Michael Hale's
photograph would have been roughly where the grey industrial unit to the left stands today.
Above-left we are on the trackbed looking in the direction of Old Hill: a small
waiting room and a signal box once stood where the lamppost and sign stand on the right-hand side of the
roadway. In the enlarged version of this shot you can just make out the distinctive roof of
Walters Somers Forge - a structure that featured in numerous period photographs of the station. Above-right we are in roughly the same position as for the previous shot but this time
looking towards Longbridge with Mucklow Hill in the foreground under which the railway once ran. However, with Mucklow Hill being
considerably widened since the railway's closure and there being no need for a bridge, demolition was
inevitable so now the trackbed runs onto to Mucklow Hill at ground level.