Notes: Bromford Bridge Racecourse station was located on the Birmingham & Derby Junction Railway (B&DJR) Tame Valley Line which opened as a double-track route between Water Orton and Birmingham Lawley Street on 10 February 1842. The B&DJR opened a railway between Derby and a junction with the London & Birmingham (L&B) at Hampton in Arden on 12 August 1839. From Hampton the B&DJR trains had to travel over the L&B to reach Birmingham, which caused considerable expense. The Tame Valley Line gave the B&DJR their own route into the city where they opened their own terminus at Birmingham Lawley Street.

The original station on the site was named Bromford Forge and was opened on 16 May 1842. The surrounding area at the time was rural, and traffic receipts must have been poor as the station closed in around May 1843.

In 1895 a racecourse was built on a site close to the original station which would go on to attract many thousands of people, both from the local area and further afield. The Midland Railway (MR) decided that there was an opportunity to gain some of this traffic, and a new station was constructed on the site of the Forge station named Bromford Bridge Racecourse. The new station opened on 9 March 1896 and consisted of two lengthy platforms located on the up and down goods lines. A MR signal box was constructed in the centre of the down platform controlling movements into the large marshalling yard at Washwood Heath. The station was a basic affair. In common with many other racecourse stations, no buildings were provided at platform level. There was a booking office of wooden construction provided at street level with steps to reach the platform directly from the office. Main access was via sets of wooden steps leading to Bromford Lane directly from the up and down platforms; a horse dock was also provided at the station on the down side.

The station was used only in conjunction with race meetings and, therefore, never appeared in the public timetables. During these meetings staff were brought in from various other stations to work at Bromford Bridge. Contained within an accident report dated 27 January 1913, J.W Pringle states that the ‘station is closed all year, except for seven or eight occasions when it is opened for two or three days at a time’. Attendances at the racecourse dwindled in the early 1960s, and an offer of £1.25 million from Birmingham City Council for the land on which the racecourse stood was accepted by the shareholders, meaning they received £16 for every £1 share they owned. The final meeting was held on 21 June 1965 with Lester Piggott flying in from Newmarket to ride a double race. The station would officially close on 28 June 1965 although it is suggested that the station closed earlier as excursion leaflets during April and May 1965 show Birmingham New Street and Snow Hill as terminating points.

Today there is little evidence left that a station existed there although, on closer inspection, the apertures for the stairs from Bromford Lane bridge are still visible from trackside. The platforms and signal box have been demolished with the up platform side now the site of a storage yard.

Tickets from Michael Stewart and route map by Alan Young.

For Further information on this Midland Railway route see Mike Musson's
Warwickshire Railways website

Sources:

• A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain - Volume 7 The West Midlands - Rex Christiansen - David St John Thomas Publisher 1991

To see other closed stations between Birmingham and Castle Bromwich click on the station name: Birmingham Lawley Street, Saltley,
Castle Bromwich