I live near Stourbridge, in the West Midlands in good old England, and I am proud to claim that Stourbridge is home to the shortest passenger branchline on the British Network, and IIRC, the shortest platform in the country too.
I haven't got any pictures yet - I need a decent digital camera to do that - which I don't have.
However when I do, I'll take pictures of the platform and of the single carriage Railcar - I'll find the model - and also the new replacement.
See, the Stourbridge branch-line does not make a very big profit. So Centro plan on removing the service. "Over my dead body" said Mr Phil Tonks - leader of SLUG (Stourbridge Line Users Group).
So they enlisted the help of a Mr John Parry, MBE to provide a replacement. Step forward his Parry People Mover (PPM).
http://www.parrypeoplemovers.com/PPM50-spec.htm
See there for said machine. It's gas powered, and holds fifty passengers, far more than the usual number on the train.
Just for a bit of trivia... - the journey between Stourbridge Town (the small platform station) and Stourbridge Junction (the main station) lasts - according to the timetable - three minutes. Let me assure you now - it is far shorter even than this, probably a minute and a half to two minutes.
The funny thing about that is when I go to Hagley, the next stop west from Stourbridge Junction, the combined journey for two trains is seven minutes, while it takes me ten minutes to get to the train station on the bus anyway.
Tis amusing.
Speaking of Hagley - I don't know if any of you guys collect Hornby model stuff, but it is Hagley's old footbridge that one of the Hornby Bridges is based on.
Anyway, away from the passenger line for a while now. East of Stourbridge is where the Stourbridge-Tipton/Wednesbury line leaves. It crosses a beautiful viaduct near Stourbridge (such a pity only freight trains run on it) and then runs past my house and into the steel yard at Brierley Hill. From there it runs on through the towns to a point near Tipton, I believe it may even join the West Coast Mainline. Alternatively, there is a single track (the second track was taken up long ago) that is disused that branches just before the Steel Yard and runs through to Wednesbury.
Incidentally, it is this side of the Steel Yard where the semaphore signal is (again, wait for me to get money for a camera to take a picture).
I think that's about it. Other than the fact that Chiltern Railways' "stop absolutely everywhere" Worcester-London Marylebone service also runs through Stourbridge Junction.
So there we go. I'll try get a map or at least the co-ordinates for Google Earth for you all to see
.Sorry for going on!
Dave
