Editing Sutton Coldfield (section)

==== Arrival of the railways ====
For the majority of the 19th century, people travelled between Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield by horse-drawn carriage, a journey that took around 80 minutes.<ref name="freemason" /> Birmingham received its first railway in 1837 with a terminus at Vauxhall station, now [[Duddeston railway station]]. In 1859, an act of Parliament{{which|date=February 2025}} was passed for the construction of a railway line connecting Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield via Erdington.<ref>{{cite book|title=General Report of the Board of Trade on the Railway and Canal Bills of Session 1859|year=1859 |publisher=Board of Trade |page=52 }}</ref> Construction commenced in 1860 on the line which passed through Vauxhall station, although by this time it was being used only as a goods station. The line opened on 2 June 1862 with [[Sutton Coldfield railway station]] being the terminus. An act of Parliament{{which|date=February 2025}} for the continuation of the railway to [[Lichfield]] was passed on 23 June 1874, with construction starting in October 1881<ref name="showell" /> and services beginning in 1884.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lichfield City Station |url=http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/Stations/lichfield_city.php |work=Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands |access-date=6 November 2010}}</ref> The line was extended to [[Lichfield Trent Valley railway station]] on 28 November 1888.<ref>{{cite book |last=Butt |first=R.V.J. |title=The Directory of Railway Stations |year=1995 |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |location=Yeovil |isbn=1-85260-508-1 |page=142}}</ref>

A proposed second railway line by the Wolverhampton, Walsall and Midland Junction Railway Company through Sutton Coldfield was met with opposition from residents who were concerned about the route cutting through Sutton Park. A meeting objecting to the proposal was held on 15 April 1872,<ref name="showell" /> however, construction was authorised on 6 August in the same year. The WWMJR company merged with [[Midland Railway]] in 1874 and construction commenced soon after. To calm objections from residents, Midland Railway promised cheap local coal and paid £6,500 for a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch through Sutton Park.<ref name="wr">{{cite web|title=LMS Route: Water Orton to Walsall |url=http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/waterortonwalsall.htm |publisher=Warwickshire Railways |access-date=6 November 2010}}</ref> Services on the line began on 1 July 1879, with trains stopping at [[Penns railway station|Penns (Walmley)]], [[Sutton Coldfield Town railway station|Sutton Coldfield Town]], and [[Sutton Park railway station|Sutton Park]] in the town, as well as at [[Streetly railway station|Streetly]], [[Aldridge railway station|Aldridge]], and [[Walsall railway station|Walsall]]. Ultimately, the line connected the Midland Railway's [[Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway]] line to their [[Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway|Birmingham to Derby line]].<ref name="wr" />

The railways quickly led to Sutton Coldfield becoming a popular location for day excursions and picnic parties for the residents of Birmingham, escaping the pollution of the city for the landscapes of Sutton Park.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCulla|first=Dorothy |title=Victorian and Edwardian Warwickshire: from old photographs |year=1976 |publisher=B. T. Batsford |isbn=0-7134-3101-6|page=112 }}</ref> The 1863 edition of ''[[Bradshaw's Guide]]'' described Sutton Coldfield as "a place of no very particular note, beyond an occasional pic-nic excursion".<ref name=Bradshaw>{{cite book|last=Bradshaw|title=Bradshaw's Descriptive Railway Hand-book of Great Britain and Ireland|year=1863|publisher=Old House|location=Oxford|isbn=9781908402028|pages=Section III, Page 21}}</ref>  In the [[Whit week]] of 1882, 19,549 people visited Sutton Park, with numbers dropping to 11,378 in the same week the following year. In 1884, there were 17,486 visitors, of whom 14,000 went on the Monday.<ref name="showell" /> In 1865, on a small eminence adjacent to Sutton Coldfield station, the Royal Hotel was constructed, hoping to capitalise on the new tourist industry the town was witnessing. The hotel was beset with financial difficulties and closed down in 1895, becoming Sutton Coldfield Sanatorium for a short period of time.<ref name="DVJCH" />

As well as becoming a tourist spot, Sutton Coldfield became popular with people who worked in Birmingham and also were able to live away from the pollution of the city and travel to the city and town by train.<ref>{{cite book|last=Simmons |first=Jack |title=The Railway in England and Wales, 1830–1914 |year=1978 |publisher=Leicester University Press |isbn=0-7185-1146-8|page=101 }}</ref> During the late 19th century, it was the wealthy manufacturers who moved to Sutton Coldfield, and it was not until the turn of the century that ordinary workers were able to move as well.<ref name="Beresford" />

In 1836, [[George Bodington]] acquired an asylum and sanatorium at Driffold House (now the Royal cinema), Maney, where he researched pulmonary disease.