A SLIDE show was given by David Morgan on the history of local railways.

The Stratford to Moreton tramway of the 1820s was the first significant railway in this area and carried mainly freight in horse-drawn open wagons supplied by local traders. People had to pay tolls along the line.

There was a tramway from Dusthouse Quarry near the canal at Tardebigge, which was used to transport the sandstone to the top wharf, and was unusual because it ran uphill.

The strange thing about the railways in the 19th century was that they all bypassed the towns.

During the Second World War, the line from Stratford to Northampton was used extensively as it avoided Birmingham and Coventry, which were prime targets.

In the 1960s, just before Dr Beeching's report, Redditch was declared a New Town and this is what saved the Barnt Green to Redditch line, as the stone for the building of the new town was brought by rail from Tytherington Quarry, Gloucestershire.

During the 1970s an amalgamation of factors, including the fuel crisis, meant passenger numbers increased, so British Rail reintroduced local stations out towards Longbridge, which strengthened the case to reopen the line as far as Redditch.