St Fillans

St Fillans was a stop on the Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway in Perthshire between Dalchonzie Halt and Lochearnhead.

St Fillans [1]

Information
Type:	National Rail (Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway)
Opened:	1901
Closed:	1951
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway in 1901. The railway, although it carried passenger traffic, was intended for freight. However, the amount of freight traffic disappointed and passenger revenues were not high enough to cover the costs of the line. St Fillans and the other stations on the line were closed in 1951.

The station had a station building on it's west platform which still exists though the line has now been lifted. The station had a good yard to the north.

[1] G.A. Sekon, "Twentieth century railway development, No: 14 Caledonian Railway", Railway & Travel Monthly Vol. 5 No. 30 (October 1912) p. 283

Fazakerley (FAZ)

Fazakerley is a stop on the Merseyrail Northern Line's Kirkby Branch in Liverpool between Rice Lane and Kirkby. 

Merseyrail 507 028 departs Fazakerley bound for Liverpool Central

Information
Type:	National Rail (Merseyrail Northern Line Kirkby Branch)
Station code:	FAZ
Opened:	1848
Platforms:	2

The station was opened as Simonswood in 1848 by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. The station was renamed Aintree in 1850 but as there was already an Aintree station on another line (though nowadays also part of the Merseyrail network) the station was renamed again to Fazakerley in 1860. The station was later part of the London Midland Scottish Railway. The line through Fazakerley was electrified in 1977.

The station is a typical Merseyrail station with a staffed ticket office and trains at up to every fifteen minutes between Kirkby and Liverpool Central. Access to platform is via stepped ramps or lifts.

Alight here for Aintree University Hospital

507 025 arrives with a Kirkby bound service

View down the platform

Another view of 507 026

507 026 arrives heading in the other direction this time for Liverpool

London Paddington (PAD)

London Paddington was one of the iconic "Big 4" London terminuses and was the headquarters of the Great Western Railway. The GWR first built a station at Paddington in 1838 but this was a temporary site pending the building of the current station. This was opened in 1854 with an impressive three span arched roof designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

GWR 802 015 at London Paddington

Information
Type:	National Rail (Great Western Main Line, Elizabeth Line & Thames Valley Lines)
Station code:	PAD
Opened:	1838
Platforms:	16

The station was enlarged with a fourth roof span in the early 1900s. In front of the station is the Great Western Hotel, built in the 1850s to form the main facade of the station, although this is now a Hilton hotel. After the opening of the Elizabeth Line in 2022 London Paddington now has sixteen platforms (not all are full length) with another six platforms in the adjacent London Underground stations.

It is the terminus of the Great Western Main Line, Thames Valley commuter services and Heathrow Express/Connect services to Heathrow airport. All services to the station are by Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express/Connect (which has being taken over by GWR) and the Elizabeth Line. 

Stepping back a few years to when the iconic HST ruled Paddington!

A variety of services in FGW/early GWR days

The latest entrance to the station

A line up of GWR IETs

GWR 165 104 on a local service

Tonbridge (TON)

Tonbridge is a stop on the South Eastern Main Line in Kent between Hildenborough and Paddock Wood. It is also the terminus of a line from Redhill and there is a line to Hastings.

Southeastern 466 031 at Tonbridge

Information
Type:	National Rail (South Eastern Main Line)
Station code:	TON
Opened:	1842
Platforms:	4

The first station in Tunbridge (as the town was known then) by the South Eastern Railway in 1842. This station was slightly to the east of the current one which opened in 1864. Before that in 1852, the station was renamed Tunbridge Junction with the opening of a branch to Hastings. The station was moved to it's current location when the SER opened a new route from London Bridge which joined the existing line at Tunbridge. The station was renamed Tonbridge Junction in 1893, when the town itself was renamed Tonbridge to avoid confusion with Tunbridge Wells. The final rename to Tonbridge occurred in 1929 [1]. Next to the station is are two large railway yards either side of the station, the goods shed and locomotive depot has been closed [2].

The main station building which is on a bridge over the railway lines was rebuilt in 1958. The main line through Tonbridge was electrified in 1961. The Hastings Line was electrified in 1986, the line to Redhill finally followed suit in 1993. The station was refurbished in the early 2010s. The platforms are down steps or lifts from the road bridge level main station building. The station is managed by Southeastern Railway.

View down the platform

Southern 377 327 waits with a Redhill service

A variety of locomotives and stock at Tonbridge yard

Southeastern 375 907 arrives at Tonbridge

GB Railfreight 73 128 leads two sister locomotives through Tonbridge

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Redhill to Ashford (Middleton Press, 1990) Fig. 53

[2] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Tonbridge to Hastings (Middleton Press, 1987) Fig. 6

St Peter's Square Metrolink

St Peter's Square is one of the main hubs of the Greater Manchester Metrolink and the network's busiest stop. 

One of the island platforms at St Peter's Square

Information
Type:	Greater Manchester Metrolink
Opened:	1992
Platforms:	4

The stop was opened in 1992 as one of Metrolink's original city centre stops. As built, the stop had two side platforms but was rebuilt in 2009 to improve passenger facilities. The stop was completely rebuilt again in 2016 and now has two island platforms allowing for cross-platform interchange.

Metrolink 3062 approaches St Peter's Square

Chancery Lane (ZCY)

Chancery Lane is a stop on the London Underground Central Line in central London between Holborn and St Paul's. 

A Central Line train departs

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

The station was one of the original Central London Railway stations which opened in 1900. The station entrance was in a different location and moved in 134s when the station was rebuilt with a new ticket hall and escalators down to platform level [1] (the original station being lifts or stairs only). The station was also renamed Chancery Lane (Gray's Inn) at this time though the name was soon changed back.

To avoid running underneath surface buildings (and therefore incurring fees) the eastbound tunnel is located above the westbound one. Below the station was a deep level air raid shelter which post-war became the Kingsway telephone exchange.

Preparing to depart

Platform roundel

Down the platform

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 109

Bletchley (BLY)

Bletchley is a stop on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) to the south of the centre of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire between Milton Keynes Central and Leighton Buzzard. It is also the terminus of the Marston Vale Line from Bedford. 

LNWR 350 263 departs for Milton Keynes Central

Information
Type:	National Rail (West Coast Main Line & Marston Vale Line)
Station code:	BLY
Opened:	1846
Platforms:	6

The station was built as part of the original stretch of the London & Birmingham Railway, which eventually became part of the West Coast Main Line. The station opened in 1846. Bletchley became an important intercity station especially with the formation of the new city of Milton Keynes - for a time Bletchley was the main station. Its importance lessened with the opening of Milton Keynes Central station three miles to the north in 1982 [1]. Although Bletchley is served by London Northwestern Railway trains along the WCML no Arriva West Coast services stop there.

Bletchley is at the junction of the WCML and one of the termini Marston Vale Line to Bedford, it is also next to Bletchley depot. It is currently served by London Northwestern Railway (WCML and Marston Vale Line). New high level platforms are being built for East West Rail between Oxford and Cambridge which will open later in the 2020s.

GBRf 66 738 near the station

View down the platform

Footbridge

Station forecourt

LNWR 350 401 arrives with a north bound service

[1] John Glover, BR Diary 1978-1985 (Ian Allan, 1985) p. 74

Wolverhampton (WVH)

Wolverhampton is a stop on the West Coast Main Line in the West Midlands between Sandwell & Dudley and Stafford as well as other local and intercity routes. 

Avanti WC 390 047 and friend at Wolverhampton

Information
Type:	National Rail (West Coast Main Line & Others)
Station code:	WVH
Opened:	1852
Platforms:	6

The station was opened in 1852 by the Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Stour Valley Railway. This was not the town's first station though, the first opened in 1837 (and closed in 1873). The new station was initially called Wolverhampton Queen Street. The Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway opened a station next door, but on lower ground, in 1856 as Wolverhampton Low Level, this station was served by the GWR and linked to the other station by a pedestrian tunnel [1]. In 1885 Wolverhampton Queen Street was renamed Wolverhampton High Level.

The station was rebuilt in the mid-1960s [2] to coincide with the electrification of the West Coast Main Line. The Low Level station was closed in 1972 which led to the High Level station being renamed to just Wolverhampton in 1973. The station was enlarged with three new platforms added to the station over the following decades [3]. The station was rebuilt again in the late 2010s, the new station building opening in 2021. The West Midland Metro is also being extended to a new terminus stop outside of the station.

The station is managed and served by West Midlands Railway, it is also served by Avanti West Coast, Cross Country and Transport for Wales.

The new station forecourt, the tram tracks can be seen in the foreground

Back in London Midland days, 360 251 and friend

Wolverhampton's signal box

Footbridge

WMR 196 110 stands at the station

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Birmingham to Wolverhampton (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 106

[2] David Lawrence, British Rail Designed 1948-97 (Ian Allen, 2016) p. 83

[3] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury (Middleton Press, 2009) Fig. 9

Symington

Symington was a junction station on the Caledonian Railway in South Lanarkshire between Lamington and Thankerton or Coulter.

Symington station [1]

Information
Type:	National Rail (Caledonian Railway)
Opened:	1848
Closed:	1965
Platforms:	3

The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway in 1848 on it's line from Carstairs to Carlisle. The station became a junction in 1860 with the opening of the Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway which eventually reached Peebles. Symington station was resited in 1863 to where the junction was. The station had three platforms, the line to Peebles sharing an island platform with the line towards Glasgow.

The line to Peebles was closed in 1950, Symington itself was closed in 1965. The line remains open and is nowadays part of the West Coast Main Line.

[1] H.C.H. Moller, "The Peebles branch of the LMSR", Railway Magazine p. 30