Bank (ZBA)

Bank is a large transport hub in the City of London interlinked to Monument tube station. 

Waterloo & City Line 65501 arrives at Bank

Information
Type:	Transport for London (Central, Northern,  Waterloo & City Lines & Docklands Light Railway)
Station code:	ZBA
Opened:	1900
Platforms:	10

The first station called Bank (named after the Bank of England) was opened by the City & South London Railway (now the Northern Line) in 1900. However, the Waterloo & City Railway's terminus then called City opened in 1898. This station was renamed Bank in 1940 though the station and line did not become part of the London Underground until 1994. The Central London Railway (now Central Line) extended to Bank in 1900, opening a couple of months after the CSLR.

Due to the proximity of the CSLR platforms to Monument station an escalator link was opened between the two stations in 1933 [1]. In 1991 the Docklands Light Railway extended to Bank. 

The Bank-Monument complex is one of the busiest on the Underground with sixteen entrances and four ticket halls. Work has been ongoing since 2016 to improve passenger access and facilities. Some of this work involves a new Southbound tunnel for the Northern Line, this will use space from King William Street, the former CSLR station next to Monument. 

Northern Line 51608 arrives

Waterloo & City Line platform

One of the many tunnels in the Bank complex

Another tunnel, it might take someone over an hour to walk every tunnel

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 101

Hatton (HTN)

Hatton is a station in Warwickshire, it is a junction of the Chiltern Main Line and a branch line to Stratford-upon-Avon. On the main line the station is between Lapworth and Warwick Parkway.

Chiltern 165 026 arrives with a service from Stratford-upon-Avon

Information
Type:	National Rail (Chiltern Main Line)
Station code:	HTN
Opened:	1852
Platforms:	3

The station was opened by the Birmingham & Oxford Junction Railway in 1852 at Hatton Junction. Later on the station was owned by the Great Western Railway. The station was pretty extensive with brick buildings on both platforms with canopies [1]. The station also had a goods yard and a turntable. Hatton also once served a further branch to Alcester (via Bearley) though this line has now closed.

 

The original station buildings and goods yard have now long gone and the station is an unmanned halt with just a couple of bus shelters, a footbridge and a permit to travel machine. Access between the two platforms is via a footbridge. One platform is an island serving the Stratford-upon-Avon branch.

During the day there are services between Birmingham Moor Street and Leamington Spa every couple of hours and regular services between Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon. There are also a few services through to Worcester and London Marylebone in the mornings and evenings. Most services are operated by Chiltern Railways (who manage the station) with a few by West Midlands Railways.

66 005 heads through with an (empty) freightliner train

WMR 172 341 departs for Birmingham

Another 66 hauled freightliner passes through

Chiltern 165 009 arrives

Station footbridge

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham (Moor Street) (Middleton Press, 2006) Fig. 3

Kidderminster (KID)

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

WMR 172 211 departs

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

The station was opened by the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway in 1852 as it extended from Worcester to Stourbridge. The station was later part of the West Midlands Railway and Great Western Railway. In 1878 Kidderminster was linked to the Severn Valley Railway. This line closed in 1963 though the SVR in preserved guise later built a new station called Kidderminster Town adjacent to the National Rail station. The former station goods sheds are now SVR buildings, one of them houses the Kidderminster Railway Museum [1].

The station has been rebuilt a number of times over the years. The longest lasting being a mock Tudor building served as the main station building from 1863 until 1968 when it had to be demolished due to dry rot [2]. The latest re-building took place in the Summer of 2020 with a new larger station building replacing the rather utilitarian previous one. Access between the two platforms is via a footbridge or via the road bridge.

The station is served by West Midlands Railway at least six times an hour, some trains from Birmingham Snow Hill terminating at Kidderminster. Chiltern Railway also operate services to London Marylebone during peak hours.

The new station building

The station has the usual basic platform facilities and bus shelters

Station sign

WMR 172 334 arrives with a Birmingham bound service

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

[2] Ibid. Fig. 33

Burghclere

Burghclere was a station in Hampshire on the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway between Highclare and Litchfield. 

Information
Type:	National Rail (Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway)
Opened:	1885
Closed:	1960
Platforms:	2

The station was opened as Sydmonton, which is a village closer to the station than Burghclere, in 1885. The station became part of the Great Western Railway. Burghclere was closed in 1942 but re-opened the following year. The station closed again in 1960 this time for good though freight continued to use the line until the mid-1960s.

The station had twin platforms and a small goods yard including some private sidings and a cattle dock. The main station building is now a private dwelling.

Burghclere station (KD collection)

West Ham (WEH/ZWZ)

West Ham is a major transport interchange in East London between (on the National Rail line) Limehouse and Barking. 

Jubilee Line 96066 arrives at West Ham, the DLR platforms are on the right

Information
Type:	National Rail (London, Tilbury & Southend Line) & Transport for London (District, Hammersmith & City & Jubilee Lines, Docklands Light Railway)
Station code:	WEH/ZWZ
Opened:	1901
Platforms:	8

The station was opened in 1901 by the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway as part of an agreement with Thames Ironworks Football Club, which changed it's name to West Ham in 1900, the station also taking this name. Though the football club moved to a new ground further away from the station in 1904!

The Metropolitan District Railway began operating through West Ham in 1902. The station became part of the LMS Railway in 1923 and was renamed West Ham (Manor Road) the following year [1]. It kept this name until 1969 when the station was transferred to the London Underground and changed back to it's original name. A low level island platform was built in 1979 for North London Line services.

The station was rebuilt in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension project [2]. National Rail services from London Fenchurch Street were also restored. The Docklands Light Railway began operating through West Ham from 2011 replacing the North London Line.

The station has high and low level platforms which cross each other at right angles. The District and Hammersmith & City and National Rail services (operated by c2c) use two island platforms on the high level. The Jubilee Line and DLR use two island platforms on the low level.

A Hammersmith & City Line S7 Stock train

DLR platforms

A Jubilee Line train prepares to depart

Hammersmith & City on the High Level

c2c 357 001 at West Ham

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 166

[2] J.E. Connor, Branch Lines Around North Woolwich (Middleton Press, 2001) Fig. 34

Smethwick Galton Bridge (SGB)

Smethwick Galton Bridge is a stop on the Jewellery Line between Langley Green and The Hawthorns and the West Coast Main Line between Smethwick Rolfe Street and Sandwell & Dudley.

TfW 158 841 departs with a Wales bound service

Information
Type:	National Rail (Jewellery Line & West Coast Main Line)
Station code:	SGB
Opened:	1995
Platforms:	4

The station was opened in 1995 [1] as part of the Jewellery Line scheme to restore services between Smethwick and the re-opened Birmingham Snow Hill. The station is a split-level station where the Jewellery Line and West Coast Main Line from Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton cross (though on different levels, the WCML on the lower level). The station takes it's name from the adjacent Galton Bridge over the Birmingham New Main Line canal.

The station is managed by West Midlands Railway who operate most services which serve the station. It is also served by Transport for Wales, London Northwestern Railway and Chiltern Railways.

A LM 350 passes through

View from the lower level platforms, the bridge carries the Jewellery Line

LM 172 338 on the upper level

Smethwick Galton Bridge as viewed from Galton Bridge!

In ATW days 158 838 stops on the lower level

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Birmingham to Wolverhampton via Tipton (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 59

Merton Park (MOP)

Merton Park was a junction in South West London between Wimbledon and Merton Abbey or Morden Road. It has now been replaced by the Croydon Tramlink.

Merton Park in it's heyday, the main station building can be seen on the left (KD collection)

Information
Type:	National Rail (West Croydon-Wimbledon Line & Tooting, Merton & Wimbledon Railway)
Station code:	MOP
Opened:	1868
Closed:	1997
Platforms:	3

The station was opened in 1868 by the Tooting, Merton & Wimbledon Railway as Lower Merton. The station was at a junction with the West Croydon-Wimbledon Line with a platform serving that line (opening in 1870) and the two other platforms the line to Tooting Junction via Merton Abbey. The station was renamed Merton Park in 1887.

The line to Tooting Junction was closed during the First World War as an economy measure but was closed for good in 1929 [1]. The station continued to serve the West Croydon-Wimbledon Line until the station was closed in 1997 when the line was closed for conversion to Tramlink. A tram stop now stands on the site of the former station. The original station building survived the station closure [2] is now a private dwelling.

Merton Park in 1957, only one platform is still in use (KD collection)

[1] John C. Gillham, Wimbledon to Beckenham before Tramlink (Middleton Press, 2001) Fig. 13

[2] Ibid. Fig. 14

Church Stretton (CTT)

Church Stretton is a stop on the Welsh Marches Line in Shropshire between Shrewsbury and Craven Arms. 

Transport for Wales 175 008 departs Wales bound

Information
Type:	National Rail (Welsh Marches Line)
Station code:	CTT
Opened:	1852
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway in 1852 though slightly further up the line on the other side of a road bridge. The station was relocated to it's current site in 1914 [1], the original station building still exists (it was used as the stationmaster's residence for many years) but is no longer in railway use [2]. The buildings of the relocated station, which had fine canopies, were demolished in 1970 a couple of years after the station became unstaffed. The station goods yard was closed in 1966.

The station nowadays has the usual bus shelters and public information screens of an unstaffed station. Access between the platforms is via a footbridge. The station is managed by Transport for Wales who operate all services which call at Church Stretton.

View up the platform towards Shrewsbury

View from the footbridge

Church Stretton can be seen in the background, the hills including Caer Caradoc beyond

Station entrance

TfW 175 114 heads North

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Shrewsbury to Ludlow (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 34

[2] Ibid. Fig. 37