Warwickshire's Industrial Railways

Nechells Power Station

The growth in electricity demand meant that the City of Birmingham needed a new power station to supplement its Summer Lane Power Station beside the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal in the city centre. Following purchase of a suitable plot of land next to Birmingham & Warwick Canal and Midland Railway, construction work commenced on the Nechells’ site in 1914, but the start of WW1 resulted in labour and material shortages, which halted the work and a temporary generating station had to be built instead. This was brought into operation in November 1915 and during 1916 a short standard gauge rail line from the Midland Railway’s sidings at Washwood Heath was built together with a single road engine shed. Once the war was over, work recommenced on the originally planned Power Station and it was eventually opened by the Prince of Wales in June 1923 and was unofficially called the Princes Power Station.

By 1933 the City’s electricity Department owned 314 railway wagons and seventy canal boats which transported coal from collieries in Warwickshire, South Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Cannock Chase. At Nechells most coal was supplied by rail although a there was a large Telpher installation for unloading canal barges. In 1946 a second larger Power Station (Nechells B) was started and this was completed in 1954. Extra sidings were laid to serve the coal handling plant of the new Power Station and additional 0-6-0T locomotives were introduced requiring the rebuilding of the engine shed. Rail traffic ceased when the Nechells B Power Station closed in July 1982.

The table below details the Standard Gauge Steam Locomotives that worked on the Nechells Power Station Site.

Robert Ferris

Ref: nechells111 MEB Archive A panoramic view of the Nechells Princes Power Station Site and its various components

Ref: nechells112 MEB Archive View of Nechells B Power Station's step-up transformers which supplied the electrical network with electricity

Ref: nechells109 MEB Archive Another view of the coal unloadig area of Princes Power Station with several Private Owner 7 plank wagons

Ref: nechells110 MEB Archive View of the coal tipping equipment in operation outside Nechells Princes Power Station

Ref: nechells108 MEB Archive Construction of the coal unloading area outside Nechells Princes Power Station and the Telpher installation

Ref: nechells100 JA Peden Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns No 4 is seen shunting at Nechalls Power Station on 3rd June 1970

Ref: nechells101 AJ Booth Baguley Drewery 0-6-0 Works No 3681 is seen at rest at Nechells Power Station on 21st September 1976

Ref: nechells1103 R Shill CEGB 0-6-0T No 3 hauling a rake of empty mineral open wagons from the Nechells Power Station

Ref: nechells166 M Wood Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn 0-6-0T No 3 and Peckett 'W6' class 0-4-0ST No 2 standing stationary

Ref: nechells167 M Wood Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn 0-6-0T and Peckett 0-4-0ST locomotives outside the 'new' locomotive shed

Ref: nechells168 M Wood Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn 0-6-0T No 3 waits as Peckett 'W5' class 0-4-0ST No 1 collects empty wagons

Ref: nechells137 R Monk An unusual type of Baguley–Drewry 0-6-0 Diesel Hydraulic locomotive seen on 14th October 1982

Ref: nechells136 R Monk A comparatively rare example of a post-nationalisation 'private owner' coal wagon seen dumped on the tippler

Ref: nechalls299 R Carr A Robert Stephenson and Hawthorn locomotive stands near to Nechells Power Station's shed in November 1971