Along with Princes End, for example, Tipton station suffered from either lack of foresight or
railway company rivalry to be THE dominant station in a particular area: the station being opened by
the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway in 1853 as Tipton station - one year after the LNWR had also
opened a Tipton station a short distance away. It wasn't until 1950 that this station had 'Five Ways' tagged onto
its nameboard and 'Owen Street' tagged onto the ex-LNWR concern - surely just renaming one of the stations would have
avoided any confusion! Above we see the station in 1962 looking towards Wolverhampton with the Sedgley Road bridge
parapet immediately beyond the platforms (PJ Garland Collection).
Above-left as can be seen, nothing remains of the station site itself as a new development of houses (Oxford Way) has been built on the spot and the
embankment leading to the station site's convergence with ground level at the junction of Poplar Road and
Menin Road has been removed. The station stood immediately to the left of the photograph - however, if you look
to the bottom of the road you can still see the remains of the bridge that once carried the railway over Sedgley
Road West. Above-right we are looking back at the steps from where the previous photograph was taken and
can see the corner of Poplar Road and Menin Road: the station stood where the photographer is stood.
Above-left we are looking to the right of the previous shot watching the new road, which roughly shadows the path of the old line, heading in
the direction of Dudley. Above-right we are on Sedgley Road West and can clearly see the only (so far as I could discern)
visible sign of the railway at this location: the remains of the bridge which caried the line from Princes End & Coseley
station into Tipton Five Ways which is behind the photographer.
Above we are looking at the same bridge but to add perspective
I've included the entrance to Oxford Way on the left - the station having stood a couple of hundred yards along
its path.