Bulwell NET

Bulwell is a tram stop on the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) on Line 1 between Bulwell Forest and Highbury Vale. It is adjacent to Bulwell railway station. 

Tram 221 at Bulwell

Information
Type:	Nottingham Express Transit
Opened:	2004
Platforms:	2

Bulwell was opened in 2004 as one of the original stops on the NET, occupying space once taken up by Bulwell railway station's second platform. Bulwell has an island platform. A footbridge allows access across the tram and railway lines to the railway station and beyond. Tram line and railway run side by side at this location. 

The line is single track north of the stop as far as Highbury Vale stop. The line is double track south of the stop.

236 departs south for Nottingham centre

A tram at Bulwell, the railway station is on the left

Tram stop view

The railway station can be accessed via this footbridge

Another arrival

Selly Oak (SLY)

Selly Oak is a stop on the Cross City Line in Birmingham between University and Bournville. 

WMR 323 216 departs for the city, under the footbridge

Information
Type:	National Rail (Cross City Line)
Station code:	SLY
Opened:	1876
Platforms:	2

The station was opened as Selly Oak and Bournbrook in 1876 by the Midland Railway, the station was renamed to Selly Oak in 1904. The line through Selly Oak was doubled in in the late 1880s having originally been built as single track. This required a new bridge and a modified track alignment due to the need to cross the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. The station was rebuilt in 1885 [1]. The current station dates from another rebuild in 1978 when the station became part of the southern half of the Cross City Line. Recent changes include a facelift to the station in the early 1990s. The station car park has also been enlarged a number of times.

The station is on an embankment with access between the platforms via an enclosed footbridge which also has lifts. The station is managed by West Midland Railway.

Standard Cross City Line corrugated iron shelters

Between the platforms

Down the platform

323 240 arrives

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Bromsgrove to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2006) Fig. 89

Rock Ferry (RCY)

Rock Ferry is in the Birkenhead area of the Wirral, it is served by Merseyrail's Wirral Line between Green Lane and Bebington.

Merseyrail 508 128 arrives at Rock Ferry

Information
Type:	National Rail  (Merseyrail Wirral Line)
Station code:	RCY
Opened:	1862
Platforms:	4

The station was opened in 1862 by the Chester & Birkenhead Railway replacing an older station called Rock Lane. Rock Ferry became part of the expanding Mersey Railway network in 1891 [1] and was their Southern terminus and interchange with services coming up from the South.

In the 1980s the Merseyrail electric network was extended South to Hooton [2][3] and finally through to Chester and Ellesmere Port. Rock Ferry was changed to a through station. The former Merseyrail terminating platforms are now mostly used for stabling stock with only a handful of services using the platforms, everything else using the two through platforms.

The station has a footbridge for access between the platforms as well as a partial canopy.

508 115 stands at Rock Ferry

508 123 arrives at the station

Two trains pass

[1] Jonathan Cadwallader & Martin Jenkins, Merseyside Electrics (Ian Allan, 2010) p. 78
[2] John Glover, BR Diary 1978-1985 (Ian Allan, 1985) p. 118
[3] Cadwallader & Jenkins p. 78

Abbey Wood (ABW)

Alphabetically the first railway station on the list in Britain [1]! Abbey Wood is a stop on the North Kent Line in east London between Plumstead and Belvedere and also a terminus of the Elizabeth Line.

An Elizabeth Line train rests at Abbey Wood

Information
Type:	National Rail (North Kent Line) & Transport for London (Elizabeth Line)
Station code:	ABW
Opened:	1849
Platforms:	4

The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1849. In 1899 it became part of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway. The station, in 1986, became one of the first stations to have an APTIS equipped ticket office, within a few years this became the standard across all stations on the network. The station was also rebuilt in 1987.

The Elizabeth Line opened in 2022 with Abbey Wood as one of it's eastern termini, though the station was completely rebuilt again for the new service and opened in 2016!

Station entrance

Elizabeth Line purple roundel

On the platform

[1] The last station in the alphabet is Ystrad Rhondda in south-east Wales. There are a few closed railway stations which would come before Abbey Wood in the alphabet. Abbey, later called Abbey and West Dereham, is possibly the station which would come first of all. The Norfolk station closed in 1930. It was close to Stoke Ferry which we have covered.

Elliot Junction

Elliot Junction was a stop on the Dundee & Arbroath Railway between Arbroath and Easthaven. 

Elliot Junction [1]

Information
Type:	Dundee and Arbroath Railway
Opened:	1866
Closed:	1967
Platforms:	1

The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway in 1866. The station was the scene of an accident in 1906 when a stationary train was hit by another one. Twenty two people were killed. The station was closed for a few months late in the First World War though re-opened before the war was over.

The station closed in 1967.

[1] "The Perth-Dundee-Montrose Section of the LMSR", The Railway Magazine p. 119

Leigh (LIH)

Leigh is a stop on the Redhill-Tonbridge Line in Kent between Penshurst and Tonbridge.

Southern 377 327 departs

Information
Type:	National Rail (Redhill - Tonbridge Line)
Station code:	LIH
Opened:	1911
Platforms:	2

The station was opened in 1911 by the South Eastern Railway as Leigh Halt though was renamed Lyghe Halt in 1917 [1] (Leigh is pronounced the same as Lye). The station was changed back to Leigh Halt in 1960 and finally just Leigh in 1969. By then it had become an unstaffed station. The line through Leigh was electrified in 1993.

The station has only basic facilities. It is on an embankment with ramps down to road level. The station has a ticket machine and bus shelters. The station is managed by Southern who maintain one train per hour in each direction.

View down the platform

Preparing to depart

Station entrance

Railway bridge

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Redhill to Ashford (Middleton Press, 1990) Fig. 47

Shrewsbury (SHR)

Shrewsbury is a major railway junction in Shropshire near the Welsh border. 

The castle overlooks WMR 196 107 after its arrival from Birmingham New Street

Information
Type:	National Rail (Welsh Marches Line, Heart of Wales Line, Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury Line)
Station code:	SHR
Opened:	1848
Platforms:	5

The station was opened in 1848 by the Shrewsbury & Chester Railway. The station was later jointly operated by the Great Western and London North Western Railways and known as Shrewsbury United but changed to Shrewsbury General when it came under GWR control [1]. The station was enlarged in 1854, the early 1860s and between 1899 and 1903, the platforms extending over the river Severn. The station building has imitation Tudor architectural touches to help it fit in with it's surroundings including Shrewsbury castle which overlooks the station. 

At the end of the platforms on the river end of the station is Severn Bridge Junction signal box [2]. The 180 frame box, built by the LNWR [3], is the largest surviving mechanical signal box in the world.

Shrewsbury is managed by Transport for Wales and is also served by West Midlands Railway and Avanti West Coast. Among the services which call at Shrewsbury are TfW trains on the Aberystwyth-Birmingham International route, TfW Heart of Wales and Welsh Marches services, and WMR trains from Birmingham New Street.

WMR and TfW side by side 

Bay platform and its extensive buildings

Transport for Wales 150 252 arrives

Main station building

A Transport for Wales 153 has just arrived

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury (Middleton Press, 2009) Fig. 111

[2] Ibid. Fig. 119

[3] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Shrewsbury to Ludlow (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 4

Queensway (ZQW)

Queenway is a stop on the London Underground Central Line in west London between Notting Hill Gate and Lancaster Gate. 

Central Line 91085 departs

Information
Type:	Transport for London (London Underground Central Line)
Station code:	ZQW
Opened:	1900
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Central London Railway in 1900 as Queen's Road. The station was built to the standard template of the CLR designed by Harry Bell Measures and retains its original station building. The station building had a flat roof for commercial development. The Coburg Hotel was built atop the station in 1907. The station was renamed Queensway in 1946 [1].

There used to be a reversing siding to the east of the station, this was replaced by a facing crossover. Trains can be turned back in both directions from Queensway in times of disruption. The station was refurbished in the mid-2000s and the lifts were replaced.

Platform roundel

Down the platform

Off it goes

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 150