Jump to content

Sutton Park railway station

Coordinates: 52°34′06″N 1°49′38″W / 52.5683°N 1.8273°W / 52.5683; -1.8273
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sutton Park
The site of the station in 2011
General information
LocationSutton Coldfield, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52°34′06″N 1°49′38″W / 52.5683°N 1.8273°W / 52.5683; -1.8273
Grid referenceSP118967
Platforms3
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyMidland Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 July 1879 (1879-07-01)Opened[1]
18 January 1965 (1965-01-18)Closed[1]

Sutton Park railway station was a railway station in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, (in Birmingham since 1974), England, on the Midland Railway's Sutton Park Line.

History

[edit]
Station sign in the collection at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
Sutton Park railway station 2 October 1980
An image of a Sutton Park railway ticket

The station opened in 1879.

Overnight on 24-25 February 1942, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stayed on the Royal Train which was parked behind the signal box. Later in 1942 a United States Army Post Office was established next to the station.[2] In May 1948 in that disused sorting office adjacent to the station, 90 people began sorting 150 tons of parcels from America. It was the opening of the new Midland Customers depot, aimed at relieving congestion at the ports. Excise and postal officials examined the contents of parcels.[3] In September 1962 the depot was the subject of a bungled robbery. Thieves stole 2,000 cigarettes worth £32 from the Post Office canteen but missed a much larger haul in a nearby locked room.[4]

In 1959 the station was the site of the Guards and Shunters School, and from 1961 a Signalling School for men and women was opened.[5]

The station closed to passengers in 1965.[6] Goods facilities had closed earlier on 7 December 1964 but the goods shed was taken over for use beyond this date by the adjacent Post Office parcels depot.[7] The line remains open for freight trains.


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Sutton Coldfield Town
Line and station closed
  Midland Railway
Sutton Park Line
  Streetly
Line and station closed

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Station Name: Sutton Park". Disused Stations. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Revealed: Secrets of Town's war effort". Sutton Coldfield News. England. 28 April 1995. Retrieved 10 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Midland Customs". Evening Despatch. England. 24 May 1948. Retrieved 10 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Thieves Missed Big Haul". Birmingham Daily Post. England. 28 September 1962. Retrieved 10 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Historic past of Sutton Park Station". Sutton Coldfield Observer. England. 23 June 1995. Retrieved 10 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Sutton Park Station". Rail Around Birmingham. 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  7. ^ Yate, Bob (2018). The Midland Railway Route from Wolverhampton: The Story of the Line from Wolverhampton to Walsall, Sutton Park and Water Orton (First ed.). Oakwood Press. p. 123. ISBN 9780853614494.