New Main Line, heading out of Birmingham

New Main Line heading out of Birmingham

November 2025

Its a bit tricky to define the area heading out of Birmingham towards Smethwick and Tipton, but its a stretch of canal which is rich on history. 

H E Evans was certainly fascinated by the area and he left behind a great collection of photos from the early 1960's, offering a fascinating insight into the canalside landscape 60 years ago.

At some point I will try and track down these locations and turn the archive photos into a set of "then and nows", and probably a Canal Hunter video, but for now I though I would order them in sequence as you leave the city, ready for the next phase of the project.

Please note that the H E Evans photos come from CRT's National waterways Archive and my thanks goes to them for maintaining them for us all to enjoy.

A scene vastly altered by time. This was the western entrance to the Oozells St Branch taken from Vincent St on 3.11.1963 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Icknield Port Road / Monument St Bridge in 24.11.63 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Near Soho Junction 25.3.62 Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Crossover of Icknield Port Loop (right) with Soho Loop (left) 24.11.63 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

 24.11.63 Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

 Harborne Railway Bridge (LNWR No2 under Northbrook St on 24.11.63 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Lee Bridge carrying Dudley Road (built in 1826)  24.11.63 Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Western entrance to Soho Loop at Winson Green 24.11.63 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

 Winson Green Toll House near Soho Branch junction in 27.11.60 Notes say it was present on 25.3.62 but gone by 3.11.63

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Crossover Bridge at Winson Green Island 24.11.63 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

BCN New mainline near Soho Foundry with the entrance to the Cape Arm on the right 25.3.62

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Entrance to the Cape Arm on 24.11.63 Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Crossover Bridge into the "Avery Loop" (I have never found a better name for it) opposite the Cape Arm entrance in 24.11.1963 Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

A classic industrial skyline approaching Smethwick Junction on 20.10.1963 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Short unnamed arm near Smethwick Junction to the rear of Cornwall St on 24.11.63 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

View south from Rabone Lane Bridge (lattice bridge carried railway to Foundry Lane Gasworks Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Looking north towards Smethwick Junction from Rabone Lane Bridge 24.11.63 

Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Smethwick Junction on 20.10.63 Source H E Evans CRT National Waterways Archive

Characters of the BCN

 Characters of the BCN

In my enthusiasm to track down the locations of the BCN I realise I often overlook the faces which used to be seen around the regions canals

I have a terrible memory for names so this page is devoted to remembering these individuals,  and help me remember who they were!

Fred Heritage Source Laurence Hogg Collection

Joe Safe with Fred Heritage Source Laurence Hogg Collection

Alan "Caggy" Stevens - one of a kind and the BCN's last working boatmen to use horses 

Source Bob May / BCNS Archive

Caggy Stevens at Oldbury

Source Bob May / BCNS Archive

Cacggy Stevens at work Source Martin Leech

Enoch Mason, Pumpmaster at Perry Barr

Ken Keay - Laurence Hogg Collection

Ken Keay Caulking - Source Laurence Hogg Collection

Tame Valley Canal

Tame Valley Canal

November 2015

The 8.5 mile Tame Valley Canal was a late addition to the region's canal scape, built in 1844 partly to offer a bypass round the congested city centre route to the Black Country, and partly to prevent any rival canal company constructing a rival waterway into what they saw as BCN territory.

It was built with money borrowed from the Bank of England and whilst it was an engineering triumph to rival the Shropshire Union Canal with its soaring embankments and deep cuttings. It never really lived up to its expectations in terms of traffic volumes, at least till the lower part of it was used to carry vast volumes of coal from the Cannock Coalfield to the industries of eastern Birmingham during the first half of the 20th century.

Over time I keep coming across archive photos of this obscure waterway and in particular those of H E Evans taken in the early 1960's, just after the commercial carrying era had ended. This collection is contained in Canal And River Trust's National Waterways Archive in Ellesmere Port and my thanks go to them for preserving an unusually comprehensive collection of BCN related images.

The following images document the Tame Valley Canal from its Junction with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to the east with the Walsall Canal in the west.

Tame Valley Canal viewed from Salford Bridge on 18.9.57 before the M6 was built.

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Hospital Berth at Witton Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Willow Wren Boats moored at Witton on 10.12.1961

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Aston Well pumping station (not canal) in 10.12.61 Built in 1867 and operational till 1932 - demolished in 1967 during the construction of the M6 motorway

 Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Approaching GEC from Salford Bridge on 3.12.61

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Lichfield to Aston railway bridge 3.12.61

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

GEC Works at Witton with Telpher Crane 3.12.61

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

GEC works 3.12.61

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Perry Barr bottom Lock

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Perry Barr Bottom Lock with BCN cottages and pumping station

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Perry Barr Lock Details 

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Lock Cottages at College Road

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

BCN Cottages and lock at College Road

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Perry Barr Top Lock

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Spouthouse Lane Aqueduct at Hampstead

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Rushall / Newton Junction

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Aqueduct over Wolverhampton / Aston rail line 25.8.1963

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Tame Valley from Balls Hill Bridge10.12.61  

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Canal Cottages at Holloway Bradge 25.8.63

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Jones Bridge (Rail) at Golds Hill 25.8.63 

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Golds Hill Rail Crossing 25.8.1963  

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Golds Hill Rail Crossing 25.8.1963  

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Northern end of Danks Branch crossing Tame Valley Canal 25.8.63 

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

BCN Cottages at Golds Hill 10.12.61

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Ocker Hill Power Station from Golds Hill 10.12.61

Source H E Evans - courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive

Tame Valley Junction with the Walsall Canal 10.12.61

Source H E Evans courtesy of CRT's national waterways Archive

The above photos have been assembled from various sources, including those freely found on the internet. My thanks go to the many photographers alive and dead who have contributed to this collection and in so doing, are keeping the memory of these lost canals alive. These images are reproduced for ease of research are are not necessarily the property of this blog, and as such should not be used for commercial gain without the explicit permission of the owner (whoever that may be).