A Lickey Light Railway. ......

[rogerfarnworth]

Lickey Light Railway – Modern Tramway Vol. 13 No. 146

The mention of ‘Lickey’ in the railway press usually conjures up thoughts of the Lickey Incline and the bankers needed to enable steam-powered trains to make the climb.

In an article written in 1949 (Modern Tramway’s Prize Article of 1949) and published in February 1950, B.J. Pridmore prophetically proposed a Light Rail solution to anticipated traffic issues on the transport corridor centred on the Bristol Road.

Would cities in the UK which already had some reserved tram tracks have benefitted from forward thinking that sustained the use of trams through the latter years of the 20th century on tracks and routes which would be suitable for the current wave of Light Rapid Transit/Modern Tramway provision?

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/01/10/a-lickey-light-railway-modern-tramway-vol-13-no-146/

The mention of ‘Lickey’ in the railway press usually conjures up thoughts of the Lickey Incline and the bankers needed to enable steam-powered trains to make the climb.

In an article written in 1949 (Modern Tramway’s Prize Article of 1949) and published in February 1950, B.J. Pridmore prophetically proposed a Light Rail solution to anticipated traffic issues on the transport corridor centred on the Bristol Road.

Would cities in the UK which already had some reserved tram tracks have benefitted from forward thinking that sustained the use of trams through the latter years of the 20th century on tracks and routes which would be suitable for the current wave of Light Rapid Transit/Modern Tramway provision?

 

[Cross City]

There used to be a tramway all the way from the city centre down to Cofton Hackett at the foot of the Lickeys didn't there? The large median in the dual carriage way section of the Bristol Road from there up to Edgbaston is certainly indicative of it and I'm surprised it's not been earmarked for an easy West Midlands Metro expansion.

There is even still some old track at the Cofton terminus and what I assume was some sort of station building (now a rather decent Chinese restaurant).

Plug these coordinates into Google Maps to see.
52.38390659051104, -2.002013097264668

 

[zwk500]

Would cities in the UK which already had some reserved tram tracks have benefitted from forward thinking that sustained the use of trams through the latter years of the 20th century on tracks and routes which would be suitable for the current wave of Light Rapid Transit/Modern Tramway provision?

Protecting these alignments and including the future provision of a tram route in the big 1960s/70s road building plans would undoubtedly have benefitted UK cities later on, but alas, they thought the car was the future...

It is worth pointing out however that a significant proportion of the "original" tram routes (on or off road) would not be considered suitable for todays systems as the requirements for tram design have completely changed, as well as the types of traffic trams interacted with then and now. To retain these sections in service would have essentially require continuous operation rather than mothballing and renovation later.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Yes. Certainly the tight radii in city centres would have needed to be at least adjusted but systems which used the central area of wide dual carriageways may well have been satisfactory with minor changes.

 

[daodao]

Lickey Light Railway – Modern Tramway Vol. 13 No. 146

The mention of ‘Lickey’ in the railway press usually conjures up thoughts of the Lickey Incline and the bankers needed to enable steam-powered trains to make the climb.

In an article written in 1949 (Modern Tramway’s Prize Article of 1949) and published in February 1950, B.J. Pridmore prophetically proposed a Light Rail solution to anticipated traffic issues on the transport corridor centred on the Bristol Road.

Would cities in the UK which already had some reserved tram tracks have benefitted from forward thinking that sustained the use of trams through the latter years of the 20th century on tracks and routes which would be suitable for the current wave of Light Rapid Transit/Modern Tramway provision?

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/01/10/a-lickey-light-railway-modern-tramway-vol-13-no-146/

The former Bristol Road reserved track tramway may seem a good route for a WM Metro extension, but much of it runs parallel to the high frequency electrified Cross City suburban line.

I don't think there is anywhere in the UK where a former first generation reserved track tram route has been re-used for a new second generation tramway (apart from Blackpool). However, part of the Mauldeth Road West central reservation in Manchester, originally designed for an express tramway to Sale but never built, has been used for the Metrolink line to the Airport.

 

[Cross City]

The former Bristol Road reserved track tramway may seem a good route for a WM Metro extension, but much of it runs parallel to the high frequency electrified Cross City suburban line.

This is true but IMO the metro system is ripe for an expansion from Edgbaston to Quinton and Halesowen (and a P&R at the M5 J3) with another line branching off where the Hagley Road meets the b4121 West Blvd going down to Northfield, Longbridge and Cofton.

It’s nearly all very wide and fairly quiet avenues for the entire route and most of it is nowhere near a rail station.

 

[Whisky Papa]

It's not a part of the world I know at all, most of my travels by road in the area have been on the north or west sides of Birmingham. Although I'd seen maps of the Birmingham network before, and was also aware they had reserved tracks, I hadn't appreciated how much of this route was on reserved track - it now seems a huge waste of a valuable public transport asset, but if there was any UK city that would have regarded the car as king, it would be Birmingham.

I am intrigued by the suggested service pattern in the article, and some of the unusual methods of achieving it. Given the 60 trams an hour suggested for the flighted outward peak service in the article, there could only be a minimal time saving before catching up the stopping tram in front and I gather this method is purely to deter short distance passengers. It might certainly work with buses, where the limited stop-one could overtake, but with trams it just sounds like a recipe for passenger confusion and worse. Did any British network actually operate limited stop trams, does anyone know?

I also find the idea of some stops being open only at off-peak hours somewhat bizarre; if the author believes there is shopping / social traffic to be had locally, maybe a parallel bus service would accommodate that better, ideally with more closely spaced stops than the light rail route as a benefit.

Does anyone know what the headway actually was on these routes? The author is suggesting a fairly modest 10 minute off-peak headway beyond Selly Oak, presumably every 20 minutes on each outer branch. That is a huge differential to the peak hour service envisaged, resulting in large amounts of expensive kit sat in depots most of the day and crews on expensive split shifts. Maybe this was viewed as less of a problem back then, but it doesn't strike me as a realistic way to operate. Perhaps the author's thoughts of the eventual move to 'Continental' ideas of a flatter peak service operated with crush-loaded single-deckers needed to be have actually been the first step? Easier for extensions in city-centre tunnels, too...