January - Intercity Railway Society

Hafodyrnys Platform but pushing my luck I asked and the driver slowed down to allow me to jump off.
My plan was to walk back over the viaduct and inspect the two long closed stations between Crumlin
(High Level) and Pontlanlfraith but failed. As I approached Crumlin Viaduct the signalman at first tried
to stop me but I was able to persuade him that I was harmless and he explained that they had to take
extra care because of the need to stop vandals and that he would telephone the Crumlin (High Level)
box to warn him. So I got across on footplate and by foot on the same day. I was well chuffed, but
when I got to Crumlin (High Level) I was invited into the box and talked to death so I never saw those
two closed stations except from passing trains. 4166 returned me to Hengoed and a DMU to
Caerphilly and another on the Senghenydd branch before returning to Cardiff and D101 back home.
D7029 Cardiff Central, 2 nd June 1964
(Preserved on the Severn Valley Railway, see photo in June 2011 issue)
On the 10 th after work I went to Dudley and
Dudley Port taking photos, then on Sunday 14 th I
got a bus to Kings Norton and walked to
Longbridge and then through the Austin complex
and along the now closed Halesowen line.
Rubery station was totally of Midland design but
the cast signs read Great Western and Midland
Joint (to be fair Stoke Works was totally Great
Western yet only served by Midland or LM
trains) and it was not long before I found out why
the line was closed, as rails had been lifted and
the track bed disappeared under a mountain of
mud. Now it would be called the M5 but then it
was thick gooey mud that I had to climb up and
over and then slither down the other side getting
into a filthy mess in the process. The track
resumed the other side and I continued to Dowry
Dell Viaduct (see photo right) and then on to
Hunnington station. At the Halesowen bypass
bridge I stopped taking photos as the remainder
was to remain open for some time and had
managed several trips between Halesowen and
Old Hill but I continued walking on up to Old Hill
in order to catch a train back home.
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