White City (ZWC)

White City is a stop on the London Underground's Central Line in West London between Shepherd's Bush and East Acton. 

A Central Line train departs

Information
Type:	Transport for London (London Underground Central Line)
Station code:	ZWC
Opened:	1947
Platforms:	4

The station was opened in 1947 replacing the Central Line's former station Wood Lane. The station was originally planned to have opened in 1940 though progress was put on hold by the Second World War. Between White City and Stratford the Central Line is underground [1]. 

The station has three through lines with the central line having platforms on both sides. Unlike most stations White City has right hand running through the station not left hand. This is due to a legacy of Wood Lane station, which was the Central London Railway's original Western terminus and had a loop for trains to return.

Central Line 91235 arrives with an East bound service

Heading off West

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 168

Cheltenham Spa (CNM)

Cheltenham Spa is a stop on the Birmingham-Bristol Line in Gloucestershire between Ashchurch for Tewkesbury and Gloucester.

GWR 155 219 arrives at Cheltenham Spa

Information
Type:	National Rail (Birmingham-Bristol Line)
Station code:	CNM
Opened:	1840
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway in 1840 as Lansdown. Lansdown was named after a housing development a mile from the town centre, the railway company forced to open the station away from the town centre [1]. The station was later renamed Cheltenham Spa (Lansdown) by the LMS and finally just Cheltenham Spa in British Railway days. 

Cheltenham's other stations such as Malvern Road (1966) and Cheltenham South & Leckhampton (1962) have now closed. One thing to note is that the "Spa" part of the name was a marketing invention by the railway company to make the town more attractive to tourists.

Much of the station has remained fairly unchanged since 1840 with the original iron pillars still in place. The station entrance's original stone portico with columns was replaced by a wooden canopy in the 1960s [2]. The footbridge is also a more recent replacement. Both platforms have canopies. There are two entrances to the station on either side of the railway line.

Cheltenham Spa is a busy station with up to twelve trains per hour operated by Great Western Railway, Cross Country and Transport for Wales. Recently there have been proposals to improve the station and increase operational flexibility including the building of two bay platforms for terminating services (which currently have to terminate on the main line). However all plans are currently on hold.

XC 43 384 at the tail of a HST service departing the station

Main station building, just one column now remains (on the left)

The other entrance is somewhat less ornate

View down the platform

XC 170 398 departs for Cardiff Central

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Bromsgrove to Gloucester (Middleton Press, 2006) Fig. 86

[2] Ibid. Fig. 91

Leicester North

Leicester North is the Southern terminus of the Great Central Railway in Leicestershire, it is just South of the former station Belgrave & Birstall.

Repton stands at Leicester North having arrived with a service from Loughborough Central

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Great Central Railway)
Opened:	1991
Platforms:	2

Belgrave & Birstall was opened by the Great Central Railway in 1899 and closed in 1963 along with much of the Great Central Railway not long afterwards. A preserved stretch of the railway using Loughborough Central as a base was opened in the 1970s, also known as the Great Central Railway. The GCR began to extend South from Rothley in the 1980s. The GCR extended past the site of Belgrave & Birstall (which was demolished due to it's poor state) and built a new station called Leicester North which opened in 1991.

The station at first had no buildings, using a carriage to act as ticket office. A permanent station building was opened in 2001. A canopy was added to the building in 2009. The station has two platforms though one is very short. The station is arranged as a true terminus with a passing loop and includes buffers re-used from London Marylebone.

Main station building

A train stands at Leicester North

End of the line, the second smaller platform is on the right

Station sign

Repton prepares to run around the train

Woofferton Junction

Woofferton Junction was a stop on the Welsh Marches Line in Shropshire between Berrington & Eye and Ashford Bowdler. It was also the terminus of the Tenbury Railway to Bewdley. 

Information
Type:	National Rail (Welsh Marches Line & Wyre Forest Line)
Opened:	1853
Closed:	1961
Platforms:	3

The station was opened in 1853 as Woofferton by the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway, as part of a Southern extension of the line from Ludlow to Hereford. The station became a junction (and renamed Woofferton Junction) in 1861 with the arrival of the Tenbury Railway. This line was later extended through to Bewdley as the Wyre Forest Line.

A bay platform was added to the station in 1889 for the Wyre Forest Line. Access between the platforms was via a footbridge. The station was closed in 1961 when the Wyre Forest Line was closed. The station site is now in industrial use, the goods shed as seen in the photograph below still exists.

GWR 6349 heads through with a Hereford bound freight (KD collection)

Shadwell (SDE/ZSW)

Shadwell is a stop on the London Overground East London Line between Whitechapel and Wapping. The adjacent DLR station is between Tower Gateway / Bank and Limehouse. 

LO 378 216 heads off

Information
Type:	Transport for London  (London Overground & Docklands Light Railway)
Station code:	SDE (Overground) ZSW (DLR)
Opened:	1876 (Original) 1987 (DLR)
Platforms:	4

The station was opened by the East London Railway in 1876. Between 1900 and 1918 the station was known as Shadwell & St George-in-the-East but reverted back to the original name thereafter. The station was served by the District and Metropolitan Railways and later became part of the London Underground's East London Line. The East London Line station was closed between 2007 and 2010 before being re-opened as part of the London Overground.

The original ticket hall was replaced in 1983 [1]. Interchange was the DLR station was improved with a gated access point to the North of the station. The station has two facing platforms underground with a surface level ticket office.

Shadwell DLR station is officially a different station though is adjacent to the London Overground station [2] (less than fifty metres away). It opened in 1987 as one of the original DLR stations. The station has an island platform on a viaduct with entry at surface level. The London, Tilbury and Southend Line out of London Fenchurch Street passes the DLR station (though there is no physical connection).

Docklands Light Railway platform

Overground entrance, the sign for the DLR station can be seen

A c2c 357 passes the DLR station

View along the Overground platform, which is fairly narrow

Another view of the DLR platform

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, East London Line (Middleton Press, 1996) Fig. 94

[2] Stephen Jolly & Bob Bayman, Docklands Light Railway (Capital Transport, 1986) p. 22

Bromsgrove (BMV)

Bromsgrove is the station at the bottom of the famous Lickey Incline in Worcestershire (between Barnt Green and Droitwich Spa). It is a stop on the Birmingham-Worcester Line and one of the termini of the Cross-City Line.

WMR 323 219 stands at Bromsgrove

Information
Type:	National Rail (Birmingham-Worcester Line & Cross-City Line)
Station code:	BMV
Opened:	1840
Platforms:	4

Bromsgrove was opened by the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway in 1840 and later operated by the Midland Railway who had a wagon works next to the station [1]. The station didn't get off to a good start, a few months after opening a steam locomotive exploded at the station killing the crew.

The station went into a long decline, in 1969 the station reduced to a single platform serving the (dwindling) number of trains stopping in both directions in peak hours only. The original station buildings were also removed [2]. A second platform was added in 1990.

 

In 2007 plans were made to build a new Bromsgrove station next to the old one (slightly more to the South). Although problems with funding and contaminated land delayed the building it finally opened in 2016. The new station has four platforms and since July 2018 has hosted Cross-City Line trains after electrification of the Lickey Incline.

Only West Midlands Railway serves Bromsgrove nowadays (Cross Country also did until recently but no longer), as well as Cross-City services to Four Oaks, Lichfield City and Lichfield Trent Valley via Birmingham New Street there are also services to Hereford via Worcester Foregate Street, Great Malvern and Worcester Shrub Hill.

Worcester bound WMR 170 635 stands at the station

An approaching Cross Country 170 about to pass through the station

Station forecourt

View down the platform towards Worcester

Footbridge

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Bromsgrove to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2006) Map. III

[2] Ibid. Fig. 9

Manor Road (MNR)

Manor Road is a stop on the West Kirby branch of the Merseyrail Wirral Line between Hoylake and Meols. 

Merseyrail 508 120 departs for West Kirby

Information
Type:	National Rail (Merseyrail Wirral Line)
Station code:	MNR
Opened:	1940
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in 1940, the line it was on was the former Wirral Railway line which was electrified in 1938. The station gained the same Art Deco style station buildings as other stations on the line with concrete canopies [1].

The station has a staffed booking office. Access between the two platforms is via a footbridge. The station is managed by Merseyrail who also operate all services to/from Manor Road.

Main station building

Shelter with concrete canopy

Another view of the main building as seen from the footbridge

Footbridge

Merseyrail train stands at the station

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Birkenhead to West Kirby (Middleton Press, 2014) Fig. 48

Llangybi

Llangybi was a stop on the Carnarvonshire Railway in Gwynedd, North West Wales between Ynys and Chwilog. 

Information
Type:	National Rail (Carnarvonshire Railway)
Opened:	1869
Closed:	1964
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Carnarvonshire Railway in 1869 on it's line from Caernarfon to Afon Wen, though only for fairs and markets, the station being some distance from the village of Llangybi. The station became part of the London North Western Railway in 1870 and from 1872 had services every day. The station originally had a single platform but in 1915 gained a second when a passing loop was built at Llangybi. The platforms were rebuilt out of concrete just after the Second World War.

Although the line was fairly busy during the Summer due to holiday traffic, during the Winter months it was very quiet. The line was a victim of the Beeching Report and Llangybi, along with the rest of the line, closed in 1964. The former station building survives as a private dwelling.

Platform view, a signalbox was at the end of the platform (KD collection)