Clapham High Street (CLP)

Clapham High Street is a stop on the London Overground South London Line between Wandsworth Road and Denmark Hill.

London Overground 378 151 departs

Information
Type:	Transport for London (London Overground South London Line)
Station code:	CLP
Opened:	1862
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway in 1862 as Clapham though it was renamed Clapham & North Stockwell within a year. The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway began using two platforms next to the LCDR ones. The original platforms and station building (though no longer in railway use) survive but the two later built platforms were closed in 1916 and no longer exist.

The line was electrified to 6.6kV AC overhead in 1909 though converted to standard Southern Railway DC third rail in 1928. The station name was changed back to Clapham in 1937 before the final change to Clapham High Street in 1989. The station was taken over by the London Overground in 2012, up until then the station had been managed and served by Southern.

Station entrance

View down the platform, access is via these subways

At the station

Alyth

Alyth was the terminus of a branch line of the Caledonian Railway in Perthshire. 

A train at Alyth [1]

Information
Type:	National Rail (Caledonian Railway)
Opened:	1861
Closed:	1951
Platforms:	1

The station was opened by the Alyth Railway in 1861, the final stop on a branch line from Alyth Junction (with two intermediate stops). The station later became part of the Caledonian Railway and it's successors. Although traffic on the line was good early on, the population of Alyth declined over time and so did traffic and the need for the railway. Alyth and the branch line were closed for passenger traffic by British Railways in 1951 though the line did remain open until 1965.

[1] "The Perth-Dundee-Montrose Section of the LMSR", The Railway Magazine p. 4

Newtown / Y Drenewydd (NWT)

Newtown / Y Drenewydd is a stop on the Cambrian Line in Powys between Caersws and Welshpool.

Transport for Wales 158 839 at Newtown

Information
Type:	National Rail (Cambrian Line)
Station code:	NWT
Opened:	1863
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway in 1863, it became part of the Cambrian Railway two years later. This was not Newtown's first station however, that was opened in 1859 by the Llanidloes & Newtown Railway, a bay was served by this railway which closed in the early 1960s. The station was rebuilt in 1869 and the current station building dates from this rebuild [1]. The station had two goods yards which are now closed. 

The station is managed and served by Transport for Wales with services between Birmingham International and Aberystwyth or Pwllheli. Access between the platforms is via a footbridge.

Main station building

Road bridge and footbridge behind

Footbridge

View down the platform

A TfW 158 heads off

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Shrewsbury to Newtown (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 113

Tyseley (TYS)

Tyseley is at the junction of the Chiltern Main Line and Stratford-upon-Avon line in Birmingham between Small Heath and Spring Road or Acocks Green. It is also adjacent to a motive power depot and the Birmingham Railway Museum / Tyseley Locomotive Works (see below).

A non-stopping Cross Country service heads through Tyseley

Information
Type:	National Rail (Chiltern Main Line, Snow Hill Lines)
Station code:	TYS
Opened:	1906
Platforms:	4

The station was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1906 on what was originally the line from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside at the junction of the North Warwickshire Line down to Stratford-upon-Avon [1], the station was known as Tyseley Junction for a time. The station has a ticket office and entrance on the main road bridge that crosses a wide cutting. The four platforms consist of two islands both of which retain their GWR canopies and platform buildings.


Tyseley did lose the use of two of its platforms for a time but these were restored by Network Rail in 2008. The station is remarkably unchanged from its GWR days though the track layout has been greatly simplified [2].

Under the canopies

The booking hall is located on the road overbridge

Down the platform

Birmingham Railway Museum / Tyseley Railway Works

A large motive power depot and carriage sidings were built next to Tyseley railway station to cater for GWR's Birmingham division. The steam shed was closed in 1967. A couple of years a charitable trust was set up to build and maintain a workshop for steam locomotives which were now entering preservation. Lease of a site at Tyseley depot was purchased, flanked either side by parts of the remaining MPD and work began on the new steam workshop in 1969 [1].

By 1972 facilities were sufficient to allow the first trial run of a steam locomotive on the main line after BR withdrawal between Tyseley and Didcot. The site is now usually known as the Tyseley Railway Works (though the Tyseley station nameboards still refer to the railway museum). The works are the base of the steam excursion operator Vintage Trains as well as being host to a number of rebuild, restoration and new build projects as well as looking after the museum's collection and other rolling stock.

New build steam locomotives in the workshop

GWR Pannier tank 7752 at an open day

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Banbury to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2004) map. XXVI
[2] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham (Moor Street) (Middleton Press, 2006) fig. 94 
[3] Birmingham Railway Museum Guide Book, p. 5

Plaistow (ZPL)

Plaistow is a stop on the London Underground's District and Hammersmith & City Lines in east London between West Ham and Upton Park.

S7 stock prepares to depart

Information
Type:	Transport for London (London Underground District, Hammersmith & City Lines)
Station code:	ZPL
Opened:	1858
Platforms:	3

The station was opened by the London Tilbury & Southend Railway in 1858. The District Railway reached the station in 1902, with services electrified in 1905. The station was rebuilt at this time and the buildings remain in use today, the canopies having LT&SR cast on them. Mainline services between London Fenchurch Street and Southend Central continued to call at Plaistow until 1962. The station was transferred to the London Underground in 1969. The mainline continues to pass the station though platforms to serve those lines are out of use and are now derelict.

A locomotive works was built next to the station in 1880, though closed in 1925. Carriage and wagon maintenance continued until 1932. A motive power depot was built in 1911 though closed in the 1960s. 

Plaistow has two through lines and a bay for terminating services though this platform is not heavily used [1].

View down the platform

Under the fine canopies

Heading east

About to depart into the morning sun

Bay platform

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 149

Trinity Way Metro

Trinity Way is a stop on the West Midlands Metro Line 1 in West Bromwich between Kenrick Park and West Bromwich Central. 

Tram 31 arrives at Trinity Way

Information
Type:	West Midlands Metro
Opened:	1999
Platforms:	2

The tram stop is one of the original stops on the network which opened in 1999. Unlike some other stops on the line, Trinity Way was not built on the site of a former railway station. The stop is named after the nearby A4031 Trinity Way road.

A tram departs bound for West Bromwich

Standard tram shelter

Viewing up the line towards West Bromwich

Abergavenny / Y Fenni (AGV)

Abergavenny / Y Fenni is a stop on the Welsh Marches Line in Monmouthshire between Hereford and Pontypool & New Inn.

Transport for Wales 158 832 departs

Information
Type:	National Rail (Welsh Marches Line)
Station code:	AGV
Opened:	1854
Platforms:	2

The station was opened in 1854 by the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway. The station later became part of the GWR. The station building was built of pink semi-ashlar sandstone in the Italianate style and is now Grade II listed. In 1950 the station was renamed Abergavenny Monmouth Road but was changed back to just Abergavenny in 1968.

The station's platforms are accessed via a footbridge. The station is managed by and served by Transport for Wales with the usual frequency of at least a train per hour in each direction on the routes between Cardiff Central and Manchester Piccadilly or the North Welsh coast.

View down the platform

175 106 departs Abergavenny

Signal close-up view from the footbridge

Platform facilities

Preparing to go

Bridgnorth

Bridgnorth is the northern terminus of the Severn Valley Railway and is the home of it's steam locomotive depot.

Warship D821 arrives at Bridgnorth

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Severn Valley Railway)
Opened:	1862 (Closed 1963)
Re-Opened:	1970
Platforms:	2

Bridgnorth was originally a stop on the Severn Valley Line between Hartlebury and Shrewsbury which was opened by the Severn Valley Railway in 1862. Later on, the line was taken over by the Great Western Railway. The station was closed in 1963 along with much of the rest of the line.

Bridgnorth became the headquarters for the fledgeling Severn Valley Railway Society in the late 1960s and work began on restoring the line to use. The first train ran from Bridgnorth to Hampton Loade in 1970 and since then the SVR has gradually extended down to Kidderminster. However, the line North of Bridgnorth has never been restored and due to the trackbed being built on and other obstacles it is likely Bridgnorth will remain the northern terminus.

The station has undergone a major improvement including a new building in the GWR style to match the rest of the station and refurbished existing facilities. Adjacent to the station is Bridgnorth motive power depot and locomotive works. Access to the town is via a footbridge just outside the station.

1450 in front of the steam shed

D2961 behind the steam shed in a storage yard

55 019 prepares for a future work down the line

D9551 in the storage yard

Diesel and steam in the MPD yard

Custom House (CUS/ZCE)

Custom House is a stop on the Elizabeth Line in east London between Canary Wharf and Woolwich. It is a stop on the Docklands Light Railway between Royal Victoria and Prince Regent.

An Elizabeth Line train prepares to depart

Information
Type:	Transport for London (Elizabeth Line & Docklands Light Railway)
Station code:	CUS/ZCE
Opened:	1855
Platforms:	4

The station was originally opened by the Eastern Counties Railway in 1855 with a rebuilding in 1891 [1]. In British Rail days the station was served by the North London Line but the station closed in 2006 by then much simplified, though parts of the 1891 station survived until 1969. However, in 1994 the Docklands Light Railway opened a station adjacent to the original heavy rail station on the DLR's extension to Beckton. The original station has been replaced by the Elizabeth Line station which oepned in 2022.

The station is next to ExCeL exhibition centre which is connected to the station via a walkway. The Elizabeth Line and DLR parts of the station are on the same level.

Elizabeth Line roundel

Down the DLR platform, the Elizabeth Line platforms are to the right

The DLR station is titled Custom House for ExCeL

Down the Elizabeth Line platforms

A DLR train arrives

[1] J.E. Connor, Branch Lines Around North Woolwich (Middleton Press, 2001) Fig. 58