Northfield Railway Station

Northfield railway station gets a blog post all of its own because I think it’s rather spectacular. It has 4 platforms, but only two are used. It has bricked up subways (that most people don’t know exist) and has completely changed in the ~140years it’s been here.

When the station first opened in the late 1800s, the passenger trains originally used the central platform, with the outer tracks being used for freight. Platforms one and four didn’t exist then! Access to the central platform was gained via the subway under the bridge on West Heath Road (near the petrol station) – you can still see the bricked and boarded up holes today (the other is in the subway at the ticket office end). At the time, Northfield wasn’t part of Birmingham, so the railways brought people, jobs and goods to the rural areas, and subsequently modern Northfield built up around this.

The passenger subway at the ticket office end is now the only subway here, and it has recently (late 2012) had a refurb – lifts have been installed, more lighting, steps and hand rails. There are also two strips of neon green ‘stuff’ on the floor. One of these patches covers the numbers ‘1892’.  My brother (who is a train geek) and I have decided that this date marks the opening of the subway, as the station as a whole was already open for a while before this.

I love looking at old pictures of this area and seeing how little it has changed – the road layouts are pretty much the same, and you can really imagine what the area was like one hundred years ago. Some old photos of the station can be seen here and here.

Walking for Heritage; More Toilets

...and a viaduct with pieces missing!

Thus post contains two elements, neither of which are on the actual walk guide, but are on the route. I have included them as points of interest as you will see them as you walk the route!


More Toilets
This time, a Victorian public urinal! Gosh I spoil you all don’t I?!

Located on the corner of Great Barr St and Heath Mill Lane, Digbeth, this structure has been closed off from the public. I only know about it and what it is because when I was at college in an attempt to become a plumber, we had a full scale discussion about it!

As far as I know, the inside is just a metal wall which gents can pee against, and some poor Victorian child probably had the job of cleaning it. It is quite a fine metal structure and the detail on the external panels is very decorative. I think it is cast iron. 

Partial Viaduct

This is quite something. This wall, as seen on Heath Mill Lane (if walking from Deritend back towards Eastside), doesn’t look like much. It’s only a wall, right?

Wrong.

Once you step onto the towpath and look back up at it, you will see that it is part of a huge brick built structure, a bridge, that goes across the canal. There are no signs to tell you anything about this, but a look on my old mate Google Earth at this area seems to suggest that this was built for use as a railway bridge! I am not sure if it was ever used to carry tracks through this area. It seems quite strange to knock out the archways over the road sections if it was just built to look pretty.

It is quite a peculiar thing to notice once you know that it isn’t just another really high brick wall! You can read more about them both here.

Walking For Heritage; Curzon Street Station

This post follows on from the first Walking for Heritage post.

The First Stop – Curzon Street Station

From Millenium Point (at the Science Park), walk away from it towards Digbeth. Curzon Street Station is on the left.

Curzon Street Station is a fine piece of stonework, it really is beautiful. A few years ago, before it was boarded up, you could see the old hand pulled signal change levers on the top floor! Curzon Street stands quite proud against a backdrop of investment and change for the City – to one side there is Millenium Point and Thinktank, to the other the start of Digbeth as well as the Bullring. To the front and sides is a lot of building work as the new Eastside Park is being developed. To the back is wasteland – presumably the remains of the old platforms and goods yard, but it is now being used as a storage facility, car park and skate park!

Curzon Street was the original London-Birmingham terminus and opened in 1838. It went through a period of change as it went from being a passenger terminal to a goods terminal, and then it was wholly replaced by New Street Station in 1854. There is a plaque on the front wall near the door that commemorates the anniversary of the first arrival of a train from London.

With the proposed HS2 line due to head this way, Curzon Street could well be once again open for business, as the HS2 London-Birmingham link. I believe the plans are to incorporate the current building into the new one and to also extend the line to Moor Street Station (demolishing Park Street Graveyard on its’ way). I was also told the other day that an industrial estate in Nechalls (down near Dollman Street) would also be demolished, as that is where the tracks are due to be laid.

As a first stop for the Heritage Walk, it is quite a grand start and sets you up wondering what else there is to see in the surrounding area.

Moor Street Railway Station

As far as railway stations in the centre of Birmingham go, I wouldn’t say they have a great reputation. Moor Street station is the exception to this – it’s an absolute gem. Amid all the modern, shiny, chrome, glass-fronted, sky-scraping boob-tube shaped buildings, Moor Street is a charming brick built, low level delight.

Before I show you pictures of this beaut, did you know that before housing a railway station, this area was once a prison?! I only found this out recently – a good source of information can be seen here. Moor Street Station was built c.1909 following the construction of the Victoria Law Courts.

Moor Street Station wasn’t always so lovely and beautiful – it was closed in 1987 due to restructuring of the Birmingham railway stations, and it sustained some damage when a bus crashed into it! It was restored at the turn of the millennium and re-opened in 2003. It was restored in a 1930s style, and the main entrance is through the booking hall and concourse instead of the old passenger terminal.

There is a resident steam engine at Moor Street, you can see her from the concourse, but if you ask the staff at the ticket barrier nicely they might let you through to see her up close. She is a GWR 2884 Class, No 2885.

This is a beautiful building to have a mooch around – it really does feel like you’ve stepped back in time. One of the things I like about it is the café called Moor-ish!

And now, some pictures! These were all taken by me on July 23^rd. If you do go, please bear in mind that this is a working railway station! There will be irate passengers, and obstacles, and possibly angry ticket barrier men, but you are free to walk around the concourse and admire.

You can read more here, here and here. More pics here.