History
The Bradley Branch was built in two distinct phases. The first phase began on the Broadwaters Extension of the Wednesbury Canal, later known as the Walsall Canal, after its extension to Walsall Town Basin, which was completed in 1799. From Moorcroft Junction, the branch ascended through three locks, to reach the collieries at Bradley Hall, and was opened in 1796. The Wyrley and Essington Canal merged with the Birmingham Canal Navigations in 1840, and links between the two canal systems included the Walsall Extension Canal, which ran northwards from Walsall to meet the Wyrley and Essington at Birchills Junction. With the Walsall Canal now providing a link to the south or the north, six locks were built in a straight line from the Wednesbury Oak Loop of the BCN Old Main Line to the Bradley Hall line, which was straightened and its three locks rebuilt. It was opened in 1849, becoming known as the Bradley Branch or Bradley Locks Branch, and closed in 1961.
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