The Hawthorns (THW)

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The Hawthorns is a railway / light rail interchange in West Bromwich. It is adjacent to West Bromwich Albion's football ground and shares the same name.

Information
Type:	National Rail (Jewellery Lines) & TfWM Midland Metro
Station code:	THW
Opened:	1995
Platforms:	2 (+2 Metro)

The station was opened in 1995 on the site of the football-only Hawthorns Halt which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1931 and stayed open until 1968 though only served football specials.

The Hawthorns was opened as part of the Jewellery Line which restored services to Birmingham Snow Hill unlike the earlier station it is open every day the railway is open and not just on match days.

In 1999 the Midland Metro also opened stops next to the railway station. Access between the platforms is via an over bridge to the ticket hall and station entrances.

LM 172 337 stops on a Stourbridge bound service

Access bridge between all platforms, here we are on the Metro platform, a railway platform is to the right

Railway platforms view

Two Midlands Metro trams

LM 172 345 departs heading for Birmingham

Leicester (LEI)

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Leicester is a major stop on the Midland Main Line as well as a hub for services throughout the East Midlands.

EMR 156 406 stands at Leicester

Information
Type:	National Rail (Midland Main Line)
Station code:	LEI
Opened:	1840
Platforms:	4

The station was opened by the Midland Counties Railway in 1840 (though an earlier station was built elsewhere in the city in 1832). The station was later owned by the Midland Railway, under whom the station was renamed Leicester Campbell Street.

The current main statoon building dates from a major rebuilding of the station in the 1890s when the station was renamed Leicester London Road. It was built with an overall roof over the platforms, however this badly deteriorated after being damaged in the Second World War, the remains were finally removed in the mid-1970s [1]. The station name was changed to simply Leicester in 1969 after the closure of the two other stations in the city in the late 1960s. Further changes to the station including the current booking hall and the platform facilities date from modernisation in the late 1970s.

The platforms are partially covered by modern canopies. There are overall footbridges at both ends of the platforms.

The station has four platforms and is a major stop on East Midland Railway services between London St. Pancras and the North, there are also regular services to other destinations such as Birmingham New St, Derby and Loughborough by EMR and Cross Country.

EMR 222 004 departs

View down the platform, note the canopy

An EMR train stands under the footbridge at the end of the open air end of the platforms

View of the footbridge

EMR 156 498 stands on Platform 4

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Coventry to Leicester (Middleton Press, 2017) Fig. 89

Kirkdale (KKD)

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Kirkdale is a stop on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network at the junction of the Ormskirk and Kirkby branches and is in between Sandhills and Walton or Rice Lane. The station is next to Kirkdale TMD which is the largest depot on the Merseyrail network.

Ormskirk bound Merseyrail 507 016 arrives at the station

Information
Type:	National Rail (Merseyrail Northern Line)
Station code:	KKD
Opened:	1848
Platforms:	2

The station was opened as Bootle Lane in 1848 on a joint line built by the Liverpool, Ormskirk & Preston and Liverpool & Bury Railways. The station was renamed Kirkdale in 1877.

Although still a busy spot on the network Kirkdale used to have a number of other lines and routes pass through or underneath the station. Since 1977 it has been part of the Merseyrail network and is the interchange between the Kirkby and Ormskirk branches which diverge just North of the station.

 

The station was refurbished and modernised in 2000 with a new footbridge and an improved booking office.

Merseyrail 508 124 rests on a TMD siding next to the station

Merseyrail 507 023 departs Kirkdale

Combined footbridge and ticket office

Look down the platform, the TMD is in the background 

Departing for Liverpool

Jewellery Quarter (JEQ)

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Jewellery Quarter is a stop on the Birmingham Snow Hill - Worcester Line between Snow Hill and The Hawthorns.

WMR 172 005 departs Jewellery Quarter

Information
Type:	National Rail (Snow Hill Lines)
Station code:	JEQ
Opened:	1995
Platforms:	2 (+ 2 Midlands Metro)

Jewellery Quarter, serves the area of the same name just outside Birmingham city centre. The station was opened in 1995 as part of the restoration of cross-city services via Birmingham Snow Hill. No station had existed at this location previously though the former station of Hockley, which closed in 1972, was located nearby [1].

In 1999 the Midland Metro tram began operating, a stop at Jewellery Quarter is adjacent to the railway station (and with access via the platform). Access between the two railway platforms is via a footbridge.



Most services to Jewellery Quarter are operated by West Midlands Railway but some Chiltern Railways trains also stop during peak hours.

Station footbridge, a tunnel is just beyond the platforms at the Birmingham end

Chiltern 168 005 at Jewellery Quarter

Down this platform for the trams

Tram stop

In LM days 172 336 departs

[1] Hockley station <http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/hockley_station.htm>

Hartlebury (HBY)

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Hartlebury is a stop on the Worcester-Birmingham Line in Worcestershire between Droitwich Spa and Kidderminster. 

WMR 172 211 departs the station

Information
Type:	National Rail (Worcester-Birmingham Line)
Station code:	HBY
Opened:	1852
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway in 1852, later becoming part of the Great Western Railway. In 1862 it became the original starting point of the Severn Valley Railway through to Shrewsbury. Services to Stourport-on-Severn and Bewdley continued until 1970 and the line to Stourport remained open for freight until 1979.

The station is now unstaffed though the original station building remains, however now has a non-railway use. The footbridge (which was at the level crossing end of the station [1]) and canopies have been removed, access between the two platforms is via a level crossing at the Kidderminster end of the station. The station's facilities are the usual bus shelters and information screens found on an unstaffed station. At the other end of the platforms was a goods yard and cattle dock which were both closed in the 1960s as did another goods yard at the other end of the station,

The station is managed by West Midlands Railway though retains a GWR style nameboard as with a number of stations on the Birmingham Snow Hill lines.

Station sign next to the level crossing

Former station building, now a restaurant and bar

Bus shelter and PIS

GWR style nameboard

WMR 172 221 departs for Worcester

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Worcester to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2007) Fig. 23