The Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway was authorised in 1846. It agreed to joint construction with others of the costly Wolverhampton to Birmingham section, the so-called Stour Valley Line. This work was dominated by the hostile London and North Western Railway, which used underhand and coercive tactics. The section between Shrewsbury and Wellington was also built jointly, in this case with the Shropshire Union Railway.

Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. Located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Birmingham, the population in 2021 was 263,700.