Wood Green (Old Bescot) railway station

It opened as Bescot Bridge on 4 July 1837, and was the Grand Junction Railway's main station for Walsall and Wednesbury being located between the two towns. The station was also known as Walsall station and this is how it was initially called in Bradshaw's guides.^[1][2] There is some confusion as to the station name and on what dates it changed. Neele (1904) recalls that it was originally Bescot Bridge, became Walsall and reverted to the original Bescot Bridge in 1847 when the South Staffordshire Railway opened the line between Bescot Junction and Walsall.^[a][4]

The station was a second class station and therefore not all the trains stopped there, in 1837 there were two trains in each direction, by 1839 there were four trains in each direction that stopped.^[2][5]

Bescot Bridge station closed on 1 August 1850 when it was effectively replaced by Bescot Junction.^[6]

The station was located approximately 9¼ miles from Birmingham Curzon Street in a shallow cutting that was crossed by the Walsall to Wednesbury turnpike road, the station was slightly north of the boundary between the two towns.^[7] It would appear that Walsall provided the most passengers as a light van ran between the station and the town.^[5]

Wood Green (Old Bescot) station was opened by the London and North Western Railway on the same site on 1 February 1881.^[8]

The station had two platforms, one either side of the double running line, both platforms were access from the road overbridge, there were no goods facilities, the station only dealt with passengers and parcels.^[7][9]

The station closed on 5 May 1941.^[8] The line remains open.^[10]

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