A September 1963 view looking north through the Works towards Stafford Road Junction and Oxley viaduct down the line from Victoria Basin (Herbert Street goods depot by this time). The building on the right is the carpenters shop, and beyond that is the old machine shop, with the long taller building beyond the black tower structure being the boiler shop that had once been the (High Level) erecting shop. The 1932 repair shop lies to the left, obscured by older buildings housing the coppersmiths shop and the iron foundry. Simon Dewey.

Between January 1961 and the closure of Stafford Road Works in February 1964, over 590 locomotives had been dealt with, the last being an ex-Great Western '2800' class 2-8-0, No 2859 from Pontypool Road shed in for a Light/Casual repair, entering the Works on 16 December 1963 and being released on 11 February 1964. This locomotive is still in existence, having been saved from Dai Woodham's scrapyard at Barry Island, however, it presently remains in unrestored condition. Unfortunately no example of an actual Stafford Road Works-built engine was ever kept for preservation - a great pity, and sad loss to Wolverhampton's proud industrial heritage.

Prior to closure, a small number of BR diesel shunters (Class '08' as subsequently designated) from Oxley and Tyseley sheds had been repaired during 1962, and also the departmental engine PWM 654 had received attention in 1961, a pale reflection of the long history of small engine repairs that the Works had always concentrated on over the years.

As a footnote, it should be mentioned that for a long time Stafford Road Works also had a separate thriving industry in producing various types of medium to heavyweight iron castings, ranging from chimneys (both locomotive and building) through to water columns and large building supports. An example of such a chimney casting can been seen in the stores section of the National Railway Museum at York.

Additionally, there was also a separate construction plant set up alongside the Victoria Basin line. Known as 'Spike Island', it produced vast amounts of unclimbable security fencing made up from old boiler tubes that were no longer usable on the locomotives. Some remains of this type of tubular fencing can still be found along the Birmingham Canal Navigation, which ran close to the lower shed yard and alongside the shed coaling plant. At one time these black-tar dipped fence sections could be seen all around the GWR system, these protecting engine sheds, goods yards and sidings, etc. A short footpath leading to an underground passageway adjacent to the canal was even nicknamed Birdcage Walk in view of the amount of boiler tube fencing that could be seen alongside the canal towpath and above the entrance.

An example of 'Spike Island' boiler tube fencing still in place alongside the canal in 1985. Boiler tubes that were too old or damaged to be of any further use in locomotives were sent over from Stafford Road Works to a separate manufacturing plant located beside the Victoria Basin line, not far from the Works. Here these were cut to length, shaped to a point, and finally dipped in hot tar to produce a weatherproof coating both inside and out. Some sections of this fencing still exist, and they have now been included in the Wolverhampton Locks Conservation Area Appraisal issued in May 2013 as being an item of historic interest. Author.

A 1969 view from the high ground at the southern end of the Stafford Road Works site looking north and showing the full extent of the 1932 repair shop, albeit pictured some five years after closure of the Works. The nearest section (with the slightly lower gable) had housed the wheel shop, machine shop, and sundry stores, and it is the toilet block that projects out about mid-way down its length. As already described, the two taller gables formed the repair shop itself, but it is worth noting that there was no physical separation of these sections internally. With demolition of the site now looming, no longer would locomotives use the now redundant traverser to enter the building through the lofty doors to begin their overhauls and be revitalised. Simon Dewey.

Following closure, most of the Works and its shed buildings were finally demolished during the late 1970s, and the connecting corridor between the two halves of the Works actually collapsed of its own volition into the Stafford Road below. The very last building to be demolished was the old lower yard erecting shop, its roof still supported by Stafford Road-manufactured cast-iron columns, having been retained for use as a tyre storage warehouse following the clearance of the rest of the site. A modern trading estate now occupies the site of the Works and sheds on both sides of the Stafford Road, with only occasional fragments of the old brick or stone retaining wall still in place, so as to give an indication of the previous history of the site. A set of stone approach steps leading up to the old Great Western Works employees' institute even lingered on in isolation until around 1985, although the institute building itself was by then long gone.

Some time later, the West Midlands County Council erected a small cast plaque close to the junction of Gorsebrook Road and Stafford Road to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Great Western, and also to recall the fact that the Stafford Road Works and locomotive sheds were situated immediately south of Gorsebrook Road, and that between 1859 and 1908 nearly 800 locomotives had been built there. The plaque may even still be there, unless it has been stolen for its scrap value by metal thieves. However, the preservation of a Wolverhampton Stafford Road-built engine much earlier on would have been a far better tribute to the Works, with 2-6-2T No 4519 still being available for purchase from British Railways up until October 1963.

References and Acknowledgements

The Armstrongs of The Great Western - Harold Holcroft.
An Outline of Great Western Practice and Performance 1837 to 1947 - Harold Holcroft.
The Wolverhampton Railway Gazette - published by John Bates and Mervyn Srodzinsky.
Rail Centres: Wolverhampton - Paul Collins.
Brunel's Broad Gauge in the Black Country - Michael Hale.
The Locomotives of The Great Western Railway - published by The RCTS.
'The Wolverhampton Chronicle' and 'Express & Star' newspapers.
The search engine facilities at the National Railway Museum, York.

In addition, both John Bucknall and Simon Dewey must also be given due credit for their invaluable assistance and photographic input, both in connection with this and any subsequent articles with regard to the GWR at Wolverhampton. The contribution to early railway history at Wolverhampton, as can be derived from the photographs taken at Stafford Road by R.H. Bleasedale, must also be taken into account as many of the photographs which are reproduced here have been taken from some of his original sepia prints. Finally, thanks go to Colin Moss with regard to his help as to diesel working in the Wolverhampton area in the 1960s.

Here we see the buildings at the southern end of the Works site before their demolition in 1969. On the left is the tank shop dating from 1932 with, centrally, the vehicular entrance to the Works off the Stafford Road and the No 2 water tank adjacent, behind which can be seen the GWR Enginemen's Institute building. The water tank in the distance is that of Stafford Road shed. Simon Dewey.
 
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