The Butts Spur Line.
basil | 2/27/2006 | 9:15 am
The track passed through arch at right end of bridge
The Butts spur line was constructed around 1860 to link Foregate Street Station to the river and canal at Diglis it was never continued past the Cathedral. The track was finally taken up in 1957. Locomotive 2007 ran on this line hauling freight waggons.
The loco on plaque is 850 class small wheeled 0-6-0 saddle tank, built Wolverhampton 1891-1892.
The Butts railway came down a brick incline from near Foregate St Station on to Little Pitchcroft, alongside The Common. It swung round towards the Grandstand following the river.From here there was a reverse point control sending the line south towards the bridge. It passed the Worcester slaughter house, where the blood ran into the river. Then it crossed on an iron bridge over the public slipway which was originally created as a Roman cobbled ford. It than ran to the bridge along the North Quay passing through a flood arch on to South Quay alongside the corn mill for several hundred yards. Here progress was halted by the Bishop who would not allow passage of the Cathedral. The intention was to take the line to Diglis Docks. Here trains for the Midlands could be loaded with Timber, Steel, Oil etc.This would have established Worcester as an important inland port. The Bishops action destroyed the commercial potential for Diglis and with it hundreds of jobs but he was happy in his palace. I do not remember any wagons on South Quay but saw regular market trains on the North Quay loading and unloading Cattle and Sheep as well as smart horse boxes bringing race horses to Pitchcroft.We would put halfpenny pieces on the line and the engine flattened them into pennies. We also put some of mums dress making pins in a cross on the line and they were flattened into miniature scissors. On Little Pitchcroft the GWR had a brick built engine shed and steam engine pump putting water into a large iron Braithwaite tank on the roof for the engines. It also pumped river water up a long pipe to Shrub Hill for the Loco Sheds.This was underground to prevent freezing and could still be there. The Public Slipway was illegally closed by the Council after two thousand years,as they required an act of Parliament to do this.There is not a public slip on the whole length of the navigable river. Some of the brickwork for the Butts line is visible by the Infirmary and alongside Infirmary Walk. Max Sinclair.
Unusual sign at Shrub Hill.
For years Locomotives took trains of wagons from Shrub Hill goods yard down into the Vinegar works in Lowesmoor. At the road crossings most unusual signals were erected to control road and rail traffic.
These were made by the pioneering Worcester signal makers Mckenzie and Holland who supplied railways all over the world. I dont think they would be observed by todays traffic. Max.
