Clearing disused railway tracks in Staffordshire - one step at a time
A band of volunteers have been busy clearing and maintaining a disused railway line for the last two years – one step at a time.
And after clearing up to five miles of track, which are now open to walkers and cyclists, Back the Track members have now unveiled some new steps.
The new £9,000 access connects a section of the former South Staffordshire line, which travels from Walsall to Lichfield, to the canal at Brownhills, near the A5 - known as route five.
The move has joined up miles of new walking routes, while the steps mean walkers no longer have to climb a muddy bank to get the canals.
Wendy Morton, MP for Aldridge and Brownhills, agreed to cut the ribbon and officially open the new steps, which were built by Stretton Construction and funded by landfill site operator, Enovert.
Brian Stringer, chairman of Back the Track, said: "We needed to install a ramp alongside the track, after clearing more of the overgrowth, as far as Brownhills.
"We realised it would connect the railway line to the canal near the A5, known as route five. There's an aqueduct there, which takes the canal over the train track.
"A lot of people wanted to walk this route and travel along the towpath, but it meant climbing quite a steep and sometimes muddy bank, which could be quite dangerous.
"Now it's all connected, it opens up places like Chasewater.
"We tried to get funding but eventually Enovert put forward the cash and it was all completed by Stretton Construction, which has done a brilliant job.
"They started work on it about three or four weeks ago.
"People can now access the track and then carry on along the canal towpath. It was nice to get Wendy Morton to open the steps too.
"We've managed to get different parts of the tracks back into use over the four or so years. We're all retired volunteers."
Mr Stringer said clearance work was now at the point where the line moved from the West Midlands into Staffordshire territory.
"We've spent about £10,000 on the clearance project so far and it's all come through funding," he said.
"As a group, we've taken it as far as we can now. We need to make sure we maintain the four or fives miles we have now cleared.
"It's basically the route from Pelsall to Brownhills, which hasn't been tarmacked.
"Hopefully, someone from Staffordshire will be able to look at moving the clearance work even further."
