A rather forgotten part of the Birmingham railway scene, Lifford Canal Branch
started life as part of the Birmingham West Suburban Railway's line linking the Birmingham and Gloucester's
line through Kings Norton (along the Camp Hill line) with a new 'City Centre' terminus at Granville Street.
The BWSR was to be operated by the Midland Railway (who were soon to take overall control of the railway) and
consist of a single-track from Granville Street with stations at Church Road, Somerset Road, Selly Oak,
Stirchley Street (now Bournville), Lifford (opening two months after the other stations, and finally arriving
at the B&G's Kings Norton station. However, we are concerned with the section between Stirchley Street and Kings
Norton which bore no resemblance to the present line of the railway. The original BWSR followed the Worcester - Birmingham Canal
in a much tighter form than the line today. A few hundred yards South of Stirchley Street station (just passed the
Mary Vale Road overbridge) the canal moves-off to the left away from the present-day railway: the BWSR, however,
continued to follow the route of the canal passing under Pershore Road and under the viaduct carrying the
B&G's Camp Hill line over the canal before sharply turning right and rising up a steep incline to join the
B&G line just to the north of Kings Norton. Above we see part of the line during the early-1900s looking
towards Stirchley Street and the City with the bridge carrying the Pershore Road over the line and the canal in the
background.
In 1885, under Midland Railway ownership, the Stirchley Street and Bournville to Kings Norton
Deviation Line was constructed (the current route between Bournville and Kings Norton) allowing the now
double-tracked West Suburban Line to take a more direct route between the two stations. This move also led to the
closure in the same year of the second incarnation of 'Lifford station' which stood on the line for a
mere 9 years (although this fared better than the first 'Lifford station' that stood on the B&G line and
only lasted from 1840 - 1844)!. Above-left we are on the Pershore Road bridge over the line with Bournville to
our rear. The scene at the top of the page was shot on the area now a roadway to the right of the shot (but
obviously looking towards our position here). The large building ahead occupies the site of a goods shed of
similar proportions as the line, following the removal of passenger services, became a useful goods branch
serving a wharf at this site. Above-right we have taken roughly the same shot as the early-1900s
photograph depicts with nothing to indicate a railway ever ran through this site existing today.
Above-left we are on the 'trackbed' and have walked forwards towards the Pershore Road overbridge.
We can see that the railway and the canal were afforded separate 'arches' under the road. However, this is not the original bridge
over the canal and railway. Above-right we are under the bridge on the trackbed watching the route of the line
heading-off towards Bournville with the canal to our right.
Above-left we are back on the Pershore Road bridge looking at the line of the trackbed towards
Bournville. Above-right we are on the towpath of the Worcester-Bournville canal with the trackbed to our
immediate left which now forms a roadway leading to a small industrial estate. Interestingly, the line carries on here
for a few hundred yards to the point where it joined the B&G parallel to the site of Bournville engine
shed: a structure unfortunately long-since demolished and now a small housing estate (Selly Hall Croft and
York Close).
