Bewdley (BEW)

Bewdley is one of the stops on the Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire between Kidderminster Town and Northwood Halt
A train stands on platform 1 and prepares to depart



Information
Type: Preserved Railway (Severn Valley Railway)
Station code: BEW
Opened: 1862 (Closed 1970)
Re-Opened: 1974
Platforms: 3

The station was opened in 1862 by the West Midland Railway on their line from Hartlebury to Shrewsbury, later becoming part of the Great Western Railway. Originally Bewdley was a busy junction. The Tenbury & Bewdley Railway opened a line through the Wyre Forest in 1864 [1] and in 1878 a line down to Kidderminster was added by the GWR.



Bewdley began to be run-down in the 1960s along with much of the railway system. The Wyre Forest line closed in 1962 and the Severn Valley line in 1963. The remaining passenger services were ended in 1970 and the station closed. However, by now the Severn Valley Railway project had already started and in 1974 the SVR bought Bewdley station as part of its expansion down from Hampton Loade. Bewdley is one of the main stations on the SVR and was its administrative base until recently. Nowadays, it is the home of the SVR's wagon restoration works. The SVR's heritage DMU fleet is also usually stabled at Bewdley.

Bewdley has three platforms, platforms 2 and 3 being an island platform which is accessed via a footbridge. These platforms are usually the only ones used except at galas when local trains from Kidderminster terminating at Bewdley or specials will use platform 1.

Changing rail usage patterns and commuter need have seen some interest from Network Rail and some train operators like Chiltern Railways to run through services from the network to Bewdley but at the moment (and likely will for the foreseeable future) the station remains part of a preserved railway!
40106 stands at Bewdley

Class 20 viewed from the footbridge

View of the island platform 
Main station building on the left as a Class 31 comes through 
A Western stands at an old "Western" station

[1] Michael Welch, Diesels on the Western (Capital Transport, 2013) p. 5

Syston (SYS)

Syston is a stop on the Midland Main Line / Ivanhoe Line in Leicestershire between Leicester and Sileby
EMR 156 498 approaches Syston


Information
Type: National Rail (Ivanhoe Line)
Station code: LSW
Opened: 1840 (Closed 1968)
Re-opened: 1994
Platforms: 1

The station was opened by the Midland Counties Railway in 1840 on the line from Leicester to Nottingham and Derby. A new line from Syston to Melton Mowbray was opened in 1846. The station was rebuilt in 1874 due to the quadrupling of the Midland Main Line. The station was closed in 1968, the station building was later dismantled and rebuilt at Swanick Junction at the Midland Railway Centre [1].

The station was re-opened with a single platform on a bi-directional slow line in 1994 as part of the Ivanhoe Line. The station is unstaffed with basic facilities. It is managed by East Midlands Railway.
66 171 heads light engine through Syston

View down the platform

An EMR Meriden passes by

EMR 156 470 prepares to depart



[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Leicester to Nottingham (Middleton Press, 2018) Fig. 17

Five Ways (FWY)

Five Ways is a stop on the Cross-City Line in central Birmingham between University and Birmingham New Street
Station entrance



Information
Type: National Rail (Cross-City Line)
Station code: FWY
Opened: 1885 (Closed 1950)
Re-Opened: 1978
Platforms: 2

The station was opened by the Midland Railway in 1885 as part of the Birmingham West Suburban Railway which was extended to Birmingham New Street [1]. The station, which had suffered from a decline in traffic due to competition from buses, was temporarily closed in 1944 as a wartime economy measure though this was made permanent in 1950. The station was re-opened in 1978 [2] as part of the Cross-City Line and the station rebuilt in a similar red brick and metal sheeting style [3] to some of the other stations on the line [3]. The line was electrified in 1993.

The station platforms are in a cutting with a surface level entrance and booking hall. Access to the platforms is via stairs or lifts. The two platforms have partial canopies in a style used on a number of Cross-City Line stations. The station is managed by West Midlands Railway.
WMR 323 213 arrives with a South bound service

View down the platform towards the city centre

View showing the footbridge

WMR 323 206 prepares to depart

The main station building is on stilts

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Bromsgrove to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2006) Fig. 100
[2] John Glover, BR Diary 1978-1985 (Ian Allan, 1985) p. 19
[3] David Lawrence, British Rail Architecture 1948-97 (Crecy Publishing, 2018) p. 154
[4] Mitchell & Smith Fig. 104

Caledonian Road and Barnsbury (CIR)

Caledonian Road and Barnsbury is a stop on the North London Line between Camden Road and Highbury & Islington
London Overground 378 228 stands at the station


Information
Type: Transport for London (London Overground
North London Line)
Station code: CIR
Opened: 1852
Platforms: 2

The station was first opened as Caledonian Road in 1852 by the London North Western Railway. However, this station was to the East of the current station which opened in 1870 as Barnsbury [1]. The station was renamed Caledonian Road & Barnsbury in 1893. 

The original platform 1 was replaced by an island platform in 2010 with platforms 2 and 3 being the open stations. Access to the island platform is from a footbridge. The original station building with surface level entrance was demolished in 1969 [2]. The current station has the standard and usual London Overground facilities. The station is close to (though unconnected with) Caledonian Road tube station on the Piccadilly Line.
Bridge next to the station

A 378 prepares to depart

Footbridge to the island platform from the old (now disused) platform 1

On the platform

View from the footbridge



[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, North London Line (Middleton Press, 1997) Fig. 47
[2] Ibid. Fig. 51

Leominster (LEO)

Leominster is a stop on the Welsh Marches Line in Herefordshire between Ludlow and Hereford
TfW 175 007 departs


Information
Type: National Rail (Welsh Marches Line)
Station code: LEO
Opened: 1853
Platforms: 2

The station was opened in 1853 by the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway, a joint venture between the GWR and LNWR. Two branch lines were later opened from Leominster, to Worcester and to Kington. The station had five platforms with fast lines passing through the station [1]. The two branches were closed in the 1950s. The station had an elevated signalbox over one of the platforms, this was closed in 1964. A goods yard closed in 1967.

The station now has just two platforms with one train per hour stopping in each direction between Manchester Piccadilly and Carmarthen, operated by Transport for Wales. The station has a ticket office open part time in the main station building.
This footbridge crosses the line

Main station building

Platform shelter

Station footbridge, with lifts

Preparing to depart



[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Worcester to Hereford (Middleton Press, 2004) Fig. 40

Wythall (WYT)

Wythall is a stop on the North Warwickshire / Shakespeare Line in Worcestershire between Whitlocks End and Earlswood. Although just outside the West Midlands area the station is still included in the West Midlands PTE area.
WMR 172 331 departs for Stratford



Information
Type: National Rail (Shakespeare Line)
Station code: WYT
Opened: 1908
Platforms: 2

The station was opened in 1908 by the Great Western Railway as Grimes Hill Platform (Grimes Hill being the name of the area immediately adjacent to the station). In 1914 it was renamed Grimes Hill & Wythall Platform [1], in 1974 it became just Wythall. The station has always been rather basic, lacking a goods yard. Original station facilities were a pair of pagoda style huts on the platforms. Not much has changed over the years though the shelters are now concrete!
Wythall is served by trains on the hourly service from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon. Most Birmingham services terminate at Stourbridge Junction though some continue to Worcester Foregate Street. Wythall no longer has a ticket office though the building remains in place.
Former ticket office

View down the platform


A West Midlands Railway 172 departs for Stratford-upon-Avon

Permit to travel machine, now removed

Another West Midlands Railway service arrives at the station

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

Mornington Crescent (ZMC)

Mornington Crescent is a stop on the Charing Cross Branch of the Northern Line between Euston and Camden Town
A Northern Line train prepares to depart


Information
Type: Transport for London (Northern Line Charing Cross Branch)
Station code: ZMC
Opened: 1907
Platforms: 2

The station was opened in 1907 by the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, the original name mooted for the station being Seymour Street. The station was little used compared to other stations on the line and for a long time was not open on weekends with trains to Edgware not stopping at the station. The station was closed in 1992 to replace the lifts, due to funding issues and complications with the project the station remained closed for six years but re-opened in 1998. After it's re-opening (which at times was not certain [1]) the station has been open on weekends. The station retains it's original Leslie Green designed building and original blue tiles.

The station is probably most known for the spoof game Mornington Crescent which is featured on the long running Radio 4 comedy show "I'm sorry I haven't a clue".
Down the platform

Station building

Between the platforms

A Northern Line train departs

Waiting for the next



[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 143