Hereford (HFD)

Hereford is the junction of the Cotswold Line and the Welsh Marches Line. On the latter it is between Abergavenny and Leominster.

WMR 170 502 waits at Hereford

Information
Type:	National Rail (Cotswold & Welsh Marches Lines)
Station code:	HFD
Opened:	1853
Platforms:	4

The station was opened in 1853 as Hereford Barrs Court [1]. It was jointly operated by the standard gauge Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway and the Great Western Railway's broad gauge Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Railway. The broad gauge line was converted to standard gauge in 1869. The station was renamed Hereford in 1893 when the GWR's Hereford Barton station was closed.

The station's original station buildings were replaced with the current structure in 1878-83 during a major rebuild of the station [2]. The station has four platforms with a footbridge connecting them.

The station is managed by Transport for Wales. It is served by Transport for Wales services along the Welsh Marches Line. West Midlands Railway services from Birmingham New Street terminate here as do GWR Cotswold Line services from London Paddington.

A pair of WMR 170s at Hereford

View of platform 3 and the main building

TfW 175 008 arrives with a Wales bound service

Footbridge

Hereford signal box

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Worcester to Hereford (Middleton Press, 2004) Map. XXX
[2] Ibid. Fig. 114

Birmingham International (BHI)

Birmingham International is a stop on the West Coast Main Line in the West Midlands between Marston Green and Hampton-in-Arden.

An LNWR 350 lurks under the station roof

Information
Type:	National Rail (West Coast Main Line)
Station code:	BHI
Opened:	1976
Platforms:	5

Birmingham International (which is actually in Solihull) was opened by British Rail in 1976 to serve the newly opened National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham Airport [1][2]. The name is derived from the airport which at the time was called Birmingham International Airport. The station is connected to the NEC by a covered walkway.

The station is located on the West Coast Main Line and is served by Avanti West Coast, Transport for Wales, Cross Country, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway. The station has a very regular service from Birmingham New Street which is only a few minutes away.

Birmingham International used to be linked to the airport by the world's first public Maglev train in service, developed by British Rail at Derby [3][4]. It has now been replaced by cable hauled cars.

WMR 323 205 at Birmingham International

View down the platform

Station concourse

An ATW (now TfW) 158 arrives

LNWR 350 241 waits to depart

[1] Chris Heaps, BR Diary 1968-1977 (Ian Allan, 1988) p. 97
[2] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Rugby to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 94
[3] Colin J Marsden, Departmental Stock (Ian Allan, 1984) p. 36
[4] Colin J Marsden, 25 Years of Railway Research (OPC, 1989) p. 111

Cambridge Heath (CBH)

Cambridge Heath is a stop on Enfield & Cheshunt Line in East London between Bethnal Green and London Fields.

Greater Anglia 379 012 at Cambridge Heath

Information
Type:	Transport for London (London Overground)
Station code:	CBH
Opened:	1872
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1872 on a new, more direct, route from London to Enfield Town. The original double track line was made four-track in 1894, however platforms to serve these fast lines have never been added to Cambridge Heath. The station was closed in 1916 as a wartime economy measure though re-opened in 1919.

The line through Cambridge Heath was electrified in 1960. The station was served by Greater Anglia in the later privatised era though since 2015 the station has been part of the London Overground network.

The station is on a viaduct. There are at least four services an hour in each direction between London Liverpool Street and Cheshunt or Enfield Town.

Platform view, steps down to the road level

379 012 arrives at the station in Greater Anglia days

Greater Anglia 315 822 stands at the station

317 652 passes on the fast lines

379 023 also passes on the fast lines

Picton

Picton was a stop on the Northallerton to Eaglescliffe line in North Yorkshire between Yarm and West Rounton Gates.

A train passes Picton signalbox in 1954 (KD collection)

Information
Type:	National Rail (Northallerton to Eaglescliffe Line)
Opened:	1852
Closed:	1960
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Leeds Northern Railway in 1852. The station was the junction of what became the Picton-Battersby Line which opened in stages from 1857 (the next station on the line from Picton was Trenholme Bar).

The line to Battersby closed in 1954 after a long decline. Picton station remained open for a few more years for services on the Northallerton to Eaglescliffe Line. The station was closed to passengers in 1960, the goods yard remained open until 1964. The only remnant of Picton that now survives is the former stationmaster's house and some traces of a platform. The former goods yard is now used by a stone merchant.

The station was to the North of a level crossing which was controlled by Picton signalbox. The signalbox remained operational until 1997 when the line was resignaled.

Tunbridge Wells West (TWW)

Tunbridge Wells West is the terminus and headquarters of the Spa Valley Railway in Kent.

Ring Haw runs around it's train at Tunbridge Wells West

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Spa Valley Railway)
Station code:	TWW
Opened:	1866 (Closed 1985)
Re-Opened:	1996
Platforms:	1

The station was opened as Tunbridge Wells in 1866 by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway.  This was the town's second railway station, the South Eastern Railway opening a station in 1845 (later named Tunbridge Wells Central). The station was renamed Tunbridge Wells West by the Southern Railway in 1923 [1].

Tunbridge Wells West was the town's largest station with a two storey main station building and five platforms. To the South of the station was an engine shed and yard. The station declined in the 1950s and 1960s as the various branch lines it served were closed down. It was nearly closed itself in the 1960s but managed to survive until the mid-1980s when it was considered uneconomic by British Rail to carry out renewal work to track and signalling that was desperately needed. The station closed in 1985.

However in 1996 the station was re-opened (in a modified form) as the headquarters of the Spa Valley Railway, which restored parts of the former Wealden Line through to Eridge (which was reached in 2011 and gives the railway a main line connection). Not all of the former station has been preserved however. The main station building still exists but is now a restaurant, the goods yard and sidings are now occupied by a supermarket. However, a station with a single platform has been built next to the former locomotive shed which services the locomotive fleet of the railway.

View of the yard

Tunbridge Wells West signalbox

The former LBSCR loco shed

A DEMU in the yard, this type used to serve the station in it's final BR days

A Class 33 receives attention in the shed

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Branch Lines to Tunbridge Wells (Middleton Press, 1988) Fig. 114

Bedworth (BEH)

Bedworth is a stop on the Coventry-Nuneaton Line in Warwickshire between Coventry Arena and Bermuda Park.

LM 153 334 departs

Information
Type:	National Rail (Coventry-Nuneaton Line)
Station code:	BEH
Opened:	1850 (Closed 1965, re-opened 1988)
Platforms:	2

The original station was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1850. The station had a small goods yard and a siding for Bedworth Brickworks [1]. This station was closed in 1965 along with the other intermediate stations on the line. A new station was built on the site of the old one, it opened in 1988. The station was upgraded in 2011, the platforms being lengthened.

Bedworth is an unstaffed station in a cutting. Access to the platforms is via ramps down from road level. The usual bus shelters and displays provide passenger facilities. The station has an hourly service in both directions handled by West Midlands Railway.

The Class 153 departs, a passenger shelter on the opposite platform

Station sign

Station view from the bridge which crosses the line

Shelter and WMR signage

WMR 153 371 arrives

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

Wimbledon (WIM)

Wimbledon is a major transport interchange in South West London served by National Rail, London Underground District Line and Tramlink services.

SWR 455 870 on platform 8

Information
Type:	National Rail (South Western Main Line & Thameslink) Transport for London (District Line & Tramlink)
Station code:	WIM
Opened:	1838
Platforms:	9 (+ 2 Tramlink)

The first station, known as Wimbledon & Merton, was opened by the London & South Western Railway in 1838, this station was the opposite side of Wimbledon Bridge, slightly to the South of the current station [1]. The District Railway extended it's line from Putney Bridge in 1889 building a terminus. The original Wimbledon station was rebuilt on the current site. Some years earlier in 1855 the Wimbledon & Croydon Railway opened a line from Wimbledon to West Croydon, since 2000 this line has been part of Tramlink. The station was renamed Wimbledon in 1909.

The Southern Railway rebuilt the station in the the 1920s [2]. Made from Portland stone, this is still the main building of the station. The station has eleven platforms [3]. Four are for District Line services which terminate at Wimbledon. Two platforms are for suburban rail services, one for Thameslink. Two platforms are retained for outer suburban services though tend to be used mostly during the Wimbledon tennis championships. There are also two platforms for Tramlink.

Thameslink 700 004

View down the platform, towards the signalbox

Tramlink 2543 waits to depart

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 169
[2] John Scott Morgan, London Underground in Colour (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 20
[3] John C Gillham, Wimbledon to Beckenham (Middleton Press, 2001) Fig. 2

Llanfyllin

Llanfyllin was the terminus of the Llanfyllin Branch Line from Llanymynech in Powys. The previous station on the line was Bryngwyn Halt.

Llanfyllin (KD Collection)

Information
Type:	National Rail (Llanfyllin Branch Line)
Opened:	1863
Closed:	1965
Platforms:	1

The branch line was opened by the Oswestry and Newtown Railway in 1863 to access limestone quarries along the Llanfyllin valley. The branch later became part of the Cambrian Railway and later still the Great Western Railway. The branch line, along with Llanfyllin and the three intermediate stations was closed in 1965 along with the line between Oswestry and Welshpool from which it had branched off.

The station had a running around loop and a small goods yard with a shed. An industrial estate now occupies the station site though the station building and goods shed still survive.

Berkswell (BKW)

Berkswell is a stop on the West Coast Main Line in the West Midlands between Tile Hill and Hampton-in-Arden.

LNWR 350 114 departs London bound

Information
Type:	National Rail (West Coast Main Line)
Station code:	BKW
Opened:	1844
Platforms:	2

The station (which is actually in Balsall Common not Berkswell) was opened in 1844 by the London & Birmingham Railway as Docker's Lane. It was changed to Berkswell in 1853, then Berkswell & Balsall Common in 1928 [1]. Nowadays it is known as just Berkswell.
The station originally had staggered platforms either side of a level crossing [2] but this was changed in 1900 to the current configuration. Berkswell was once a junction for a line that ran to Kenilworth but this closed in 1969. The level crossing was replaced by a sunken road bridge in 2004 to allow for higher speeds on the West Coast Main Line through Berkswell.

The station is managed by London Northwestern, who also provide all services to the station. There are usually two trains an hour in each direction during the week and Saturdays between Birmingham New Street and London Euston. Access between the two platforms is via a footbridge.

View down the platform

LNWR 350 265 heads through the site of the former level crossing

Main station building

View down the platform

LNWR 350 116 arrives heading for Birmingham

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Rugby to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 84
[2] Ibid. Fig. 83