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During 1942 additional track work was laid to enable the then-new '''Smethwick Drop Forgings Ltd.''' ("SDF") factory on the Stourport road at Kidderminster to gain main line rail access via the British Sugar Corporation's [[Foley Park sidings]].<ref name=Turley>[[Bibliography#Books|Turley (2005)]] p. 77.</ref> Much of the land between SDF and the Foley Park sidings was owned by [[Thomas Vale & Sons]] who had their own private siding connected to the BSC sidings. SDF acquired an area of land from Thomas Vale prior to the new track work being laid.<ref>1940s plan of the proposed new siding</ref>
SDF already supplied forgings for aviation and allied industries and the automotive, railway, electrical, agricultural machinery and general engineering trades.<ref>[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Smethwick_Drop_Forgings Smethwick Drop Forgings, Grace's Guide To British Industrial History]</ref> The idea of a modern forge was conceived prior to World War II, the 42-acre site acquired at Kidderminster and plans drawn up. <ref name=Worthington>[https://www.kidderminster.co.uk/reviews/139/ Worthington, John, 'How SDF began', kidderminster.co.uk, 21 November 2014] (Retrieved 27 May 2024)</ref> A shadow factory was built for SDF in Kidderminster in about 1939, making components for both aircraft and vehicles.<ref>[https://radish.wyreforestdc.gov.uk/media/4769796/heritage-impact-assessment-2019-appendix-a.pdf Wyre Forest District Council Local Plan Pre-Submission Publication September 2019 Heritage Impact Assessment] (Retrieved 29 May 2024)</ref> With the outbreak of war, the Ministry of Supply stepped in and speeded up construction. Production, was mainly for the armed forces (including tank parts).<ref name=Beddoes>[http://www.miac.org.uk/drop.html Keith Beddoes via miac.org.uk]</ref>) began in 1942. During the war about 1,200 workers were employed at Kidderminster.<ref name=Worthington>[https://www.kidderminster.co.uk/reviews/139/ Worthington, John, 'How SDF began', kidderminster.co.uk, 21 November 2014] (Retrieved 27 May 2024)</ref>
Owing to the amount of wartime traffic it generated, SDF was provided with small shunting locomotive by the Ministry of Supply ("M.O.S.").<ref name=Turley/> The locomotive, W.G. Bagnall 0-4-0ST works no. 2664/1942 "S.D.F No 1", remained at Foley Park until late 1947 before moving to Newcastle Upon Tyne.<ref name=Beddoes/><ref group="note">Turley refers to "William Barclay of Stafford". This is presumably a typographical error; W.G. Bagnall were based at Stafford while Andrew Barclay & Sons were a Scottish company.</ref>
After the war, military production was drastically reduced and the workforce there at the site dropped to under 150.<ref name=Worthington/> The track work between SDF and the Foley Park sidings has not been found on any post-War OS maps, suggesting it may have been lifted again after M.O.S. use ended. The business ceased trading in 2016.
==See also==
