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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line
Tyseley Shed: gwrt3213
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In early 1904 the Civil Engineering Department of the Great
Western Railway were having second thoughts about the suitability of the 60
acres of land acquired at Tyseley. They estimated that 958,000 cubic yards of
infill was required to level the site, of which 382,000 cubic yards could be
obtained from the cuttings to be constructed during the widening north of
Birmingham (between Hockley and Handsworth). The cost of purchasing the total
required infill, conveying this to site and carting out was estimated to be
£95,800 and in addition the traffic constraints of bringing the material
through Snow Hill Station would cause significant delays to the project.
Building on infilled land also required additional foundations for both the
Engine and Carriage Sheds which was estimated to cost £10,000.
Furthermore it had been identified that the River Cole, the Cole Valley Sewer
and three other sewers belonging to the Yardley District Council would need to
be diverted and Sparkbrook would need to be culverted (these can be seen on map
'gwrt2967a'). This work was estimated to cost
£35,000.
An alternative plot of land which would not require infill
had been identified to the east of Hall Green Station. This site had the
disadvantage that it was about half the size of the Tyseley site and was also
about one mile further from the centre of operations in Birmingham. This was
thought to require a pair of additional running lines laid between there and
Tyseley junction, but even with the cost of these lines there was a significant
saving, estimated to be £115,600.
The attached letter shows that by the end of March 1904 the
final decision as to the location of the replacement Engine Shed and Carriage
Sidings had still not been taken and it was therefore decided to postpone the
widening work on the Bordesley and Tyseley section, but to pursue the work
between a point north of Tyseley and another point north of Olton, which was
required irrespective of the decision on the Engine Shed and Carriage Sidings
location. The cost of the agreed Engineering works was recorded as only
£56,500.
Robert Ferris
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