Selly Oak railway station

History

It opened on 3 April 1876 on the Midland Railway's Birmingham West Suburban Railway branch to serve the burgeoning suburbs of Selly Oak and Bournbrook. The entrance to the station was on Heeley Road.

On 20 August 1883, a goods train from Granville Street to Lifford was passing over the bridge over the canal at Selly Oak station when at a speed of 15 mph it derailed and damaged much of the wooden railing of the bridge. The engine remained on the bridge, but two of the wagons broke through the wooden fencing and tumbled down the embankment.

Originally built as a single track line, the route through Selly Oak was doubled between 1883 and 1885 when the Midland Railway connected the northern end of the line through to Birmingham New Street station. The viaduct north of the station which carried the old line over the canal and then the Bristol Road could not be widened so it was replaced on a new alignment. The railway crossed the canal with a new bridge consisting of two principal girders 126 ft long, weighing 47 LT each. The bridge over the Bristol Road was built to the north of the existing bridge and comprised a 60 ft iron span over the road weighing around 450 LT. The line continued on its deviation north of the original line until ¼ mile south of Selly Oak station where a new shorter viaduct was reached. Selly Oak station was rebuilt on the new alignment with platforms 150 yd long and a subway at the Birmingham end of the station. The new station buildings on the up platform comprised a central booking hall with waiting rooms for ladies and gentlemen on either side, and offices and porters' room. The down platform had a simple waiting room.

The bridge over the Bristol Road was replaced in 1931 by the L.M.S. The new bridge weighed about 200 LT, with the two side girders alone weighing 35 LT each.

The station area has changed considerably since the Midland Railway days and lost virtually all its original features as the station was completely rebuilt by British Rail in 1978 to designs of the architect John Broome along with the others on this line when the Cross-City route was commissioned. Prior to the rebuild, the station had only received a limited service (mainly at peak hours) for much of the 1960s and 1970s.

On 11 April 1993, a railway employee at the station was threatened with sticks and two masked men stole takings of hundreds of pounds. The station received a £85,000 () facelift in 1994 with the number of car park spaces expanded from 50 to 86, new lighting, fencing and closed circuit TV

Facilities

The site has recently been expanded with the addition of a new car park with 93 free spaces, making Selly Oak station a new Park and Ride site. The station and line are on an embankment.

Pedestrian and vehicular access to the station is via Bristol Rd (B384) on the northbound side, and via Heeley Rd on the southbound side. Access between platforms is via a covered overhead bridge, with lifts available. The overhead bridge has views of Bournbrook, The University of Birmingham and the city centre itself.

The station is equipped with real-time information departure boards which were previously installed in 2006 by former Cross City Line franchise holder Central Trains. There are automated ticket machines and windowed ticket booths.

Services

The station is served by West Midlands Trains with local Transport for West Midlands branded "Cross-City" services, operated using EMUs.

The off-peak service pattern is as follows:

Mondays to Saturdays:

• 4 tph northbound to , via , and
  • Of which:
    • 2 tph continue to
• 4 tph southbound to
  • Of which:
    • 2 tph continue to
    • 2 tph continue to

Station masters

• Nathaniel Dottoms 1876 - 1877 (afterwards station master at Somerset Road)
• Thomas Viney 1877 (afterwards station master at Coaley Junction)
• W.G. Stevenson 1881 - 1882 (formerly station master at Church Road, afterwards station master at South Wigston)
• James Dingley 1882 - 1883 (afterwards station master at Coughton)
• R. Harwood 1883 - 1885
• J.H. Marston 1885 - 1886 (afterwards station master at South Wigston)
• J. Hull 1886 (formerly station master at Short Heath)
• William Robert Ambler 1888 - 1890 (formerly station master at Somerset Road)
• J.E. Dann 1890 - 1891
• Henry Lewis 1891 - 1902 (formerly station master at Somerset Road, afterwards station master at Ystalyfera)
• John H. Brayne 1902 - 1904 (formerly station master at Weston-on-Trent, afterwards station master at Kings Heath)
• W.H. Baines 1904 - 1908 (afterwards station master at Willenhall)
• C.W. West 1908 - ???? (afterwards station master at Heeley)
• E. Meredith ca. 1914
• Samuel Burdett from 1935 formerly station master at King's Cliffe)
• Albert White ???? - 1948
• H.J. Turner 1948 - 1954 (formerly station master at Camp Hill)
• W. Close ???? - 1959 (afterwards station master at Portishead, Somerset)
• W.H. Shepperson 1959 - ???? (formerly station master at Sharnbrook)

References

References

1. . ["Selly Oak (SLY)"](http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/SLY/details.html). *Rail Delivery Group*.
2. . (8 April 1876). ["Local and District News"](http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000150/18760408/005/0003). *Worcester Journal*.
3. . ["Accident at Selly Oak on 20 August 1883"](http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=7512).
4. . (20 August 1883). ["Alarming Railway Accident at Selly Oak"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000644/18830820/059/0002). *Birmingham Mail*.
5. . (15 August 1885). ["Midland Railway Report"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/18850815/038/0004). *Nottingham Evening Post*.
6. . (26 May 1885). ["Midland Railway Diversion into Birmingham. An Interesting Work"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000033/18850526/017/0005). *Birmingham Daily Post*.
7. . (29 December 1931). ["New Birmingham Bridge"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000669/19311229/074/0002). *Birmingham Daily Gazette*.
8. Lawrence, David. (2018). "British Rail Architecture 1948-97". Crecy Publishing Ltd.
9. . (12 April 1993). ["Rail Snatch"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002488/19930412/022/0004). *Sandwell Evening Mail*.
10. . (1 July 1994). ["Station unveils new look"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002488/19940701/371/0044). *Sandwell Evening Mail*.
11. "Birmingham City Council - Railway Station Car Parks".
12. "Class 730 fleet". West Midlands Railway.
13. "Train Timetables and Schedules {{!}} Selly Oak".
14. "Cross City line: Lichfield Trent Valley/Four Oaks – Bromsgrove / Redditch {{!}} Timetable from Sunday 14 December 2025".
15. . (1871). ["1871-1879 Coaching"](https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1728/images/32167_636897_0431-00409?ssrc=&backlabel=Return). *Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts*.
16. . (1881). ["1881-1898 Coaching"](https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1728/images/32167_626640_0604-00170?ssrc=&backlabel=Return). *Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts*.
17. . (1881). ["1881-1898 Coaching"](https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1728/images/32167_626640_0604-00416?ssrc=&backlabel=Return). *Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts*.
18. . (3 September 1891). ["Midland Railway Staff Changes"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000327/18910903/008/0002). *Derby Daily Telegraph*.
19. . (1899). ["1899-1908 Coaching; Piece 1027"](https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1728/images/32167_636897_0432-00014?ssrc=&backlabel=Return). *Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts*.
20. . (29 March 1935). ["King's Cliffe"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003302/19350329/537/0023). *Peterborough Standard*.
21. . (30 November 1954). ["Mr. H.J. Turner"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000619/19541130/095/0005). *Birmingham Daily Post*.
22. . (2 September 1959). ["New Stationmaster for Selly Oak"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002134/19590902/426/0018). *Birmingham Daily Post*.