Barnt Green (BTG)

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Barnt Green is a junction station at the summit of the Lickey Incline in Worcestershire between Longbridge and Alvechurch or Bromsgrove. It is on the Cross-City Line and Birmingham-Hereford Line (the former splits off from the latter at Barnt Green).

Information
Type:	National Rail (Birmingham-Hereford & Cross-City Lines)
Station code:	BTG
Opened:	1844
Platforms:	4

The station was opened by the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway in 1844 and later became part of the Midland Railway. In 1859 the Midland Railway added a branch at Barnt Green through to Redditch.

The station originally had staggered platforms with the Northbound platform North of the junction and the other two platforms. The Redditch branch was initially single line throughout but the section at Barnt Green was doubled in 1894 and a fourth platform added. The station achieved it's current layout in 1928 when the Northbound platform was moved to be opposite the Southbound one.

Barnt Green and the Redditch branch were considered for closure under Beeching in the early 1960s. Both survived but with a heavily cut back timetable which lasted until the 1980s with just a handful of trains a day. Barnt Green received a much better service after the launch of the Cross-City Line and it's extension through to Redditch. The Cross-City line was electrified in 1992 though the electrification on the Birmingham-Hereford Line not completed until 2018 with much more regular services to and from Bromsgrove.

Two Cross-City Line 323s cross just North of the station

Station footbridge

A WMR 323 approaches from Redditch

Looking towards Birmingham

WMR 323 204 arrives from Bromsgrove

A Cross-Country HST passes through

North Camp (NCM)

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North Camp is a stop on the North Downs Line in Surrey between Farnborough North and Ash. 

A GWR DMU prepares to depart for Redhill

Information
Type:	National Rail (North Downs Line)
Station code:	NCM
Opened:	1858
Platforms:	2

The station was opened as North Camp, Aldershot named after the nearby North Camp area of Farnborough. The station has changed name a number of times over the years. It was renamed Aldershot Camp in 1863, then to Aldershot (North Camp) in 1879. In 1910 the name was changed to Aldershot (North Camp) & South Farnborough, in 1923 this shortened to Aldershot (North). However, the following year the name was changed again to North Camp and it has remained unchanged ever since!

The station goods yard was removed in 1969 but the station building, which was reputedly designed by Lord Kitchener [1], remains in place though nowadays is used by a dental practice. The station is managed by GWR who provide up to two services an hour in each direction between Reading and Redhill.

Level crossing at the end of the platforms

View down the platform

Very faded station sign still showing traces of Network South East

Main station building

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Reading to Guildford (Middleton Press, 1988) Fig. 73

Bicester North (BCS)

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Bicester North in Oxfordshire is a stop on the Chiltern Main Line between Kings Sutton and Haddenham & Thame Parkway. Nearby (though not on the same line) is Bicester Village on the line to Oxford.

Chiltern 168 004 arrives at Bicester North

Information
Type:	National Rail (Chiltern Main Line)
Station code:	BCS
Opened:	1910
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1910. The station as built was far more elaborate than the station which exists now. Bicester North had a goods yard and a couple of through roads for non-stopping services. The Chiltern line drastically cut back in the late 1960s, being singled for a lot of it's stretch though a loop was retained at Bicester North [1]. The track was redoubled in the early 2000s and remodelled through the station to allow for higher speeds. The space formally occupied by the through road became the new Up (London) bound track through the station. The platform was widened as a result (which is why the waiting rooms and other buildings on that platform are so far back!)

The main station building is little changed since the opening of the station with the original canopy. The footbridge is largely as it was since the station was built, though lifts have been added. Originally the bridge had to span four tracks hence its width! The station is managed and served by Chiltern Railways.

Chiltern 165 002 arrives with a South bound service

Under the GWR canopy

Footbridge

Main station building

Just arrived

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Princes Risborough to Banbury (Middleton Press, 2001) plate 63

The Hawthorns (THW)

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The Hawthorns is a railway / light rail interchange in West Bromwich. It is adjacent to West Bromwich Albion's football ground and shares the same name.

Information
Type:	National Rail (Jewellery Lines) & TfWM Midland Metro
Station code:	THW
Opened:	1995
Platforms:	2 (+2 Metro)

The station was opened in 1995 on the site of the football-only Hawthorns Halt which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1931 and stayed open until 1968 though only served football specials.

The Hawthorns was opened as part of the Jewellery Line which restored services to Birmingham Snow Hill unlike the earlier station it is open every day the railway is open and not just on match days.

In 1999 the Midland Metro also opened stops next to the railway station. Access between the platforms is via an over bridge to the ticket hall and station entrances.

LM 172 337 stops on a Stourbridge bound service

Access bridge between all platforms, here we are on the Metro platform, a railway platform is to the right

Railway platforms view

Two Midlands Metro trams

LM 172 345 departs heading for Birmingham

Leicester (LEI)

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Leicester is a major stop on the Midland Main Line as well as a hub for services throughout the East Midlands.

EMR 156 406 stands at Leicester

Information
Type:	National Rail (Midland Main Line)
Station code:	LEI
Opened:	1840
Platforms:	4

The station was opened by the Midland Counties Railway in 1840 (though an earlier station was built elsewhere in the city in 1832). The station was later owned by the Midland Railway, under whom the station was renamed Leicester Campbell Street.

The current main statoon building dates from a major rebuilding of the station in the 1890s when the station was renamed Leicester London Road. It was built with an overall roof over the platforms, however this badly deteriorated after being damaged in the Second World War, the remains were finally removed in the mid-1970s [1]. The station name was changed to simply Leicester in 1969 after the closure of the two other stations in the city in the late 1960s. Further changes to the station including the current booking hall and the platform facilities date from modernisation in the late 1970s.

The platforms are partially covered by modern canopies. There are overall footbridges at both ends of the platforms.

The station has four platforms and is a major stop on East Midland Railway services between London St. Pancras and the North, there are also regular services to other destinations such as Birmingham New St, Derby and Loughborough by EMR and Cross Country.

EMR 222 004 departs

View down the platform, note the canopy

An EMR train stands under the footbridge at the end of the open air end of the platforms

View of the footbridge

EMR 156 498 stands on Platform 4

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Coventry to Leicester (Middleton Press, 2017) Fig. 89

Kirkdale (KKD)

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Kirkdale is a stop on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network at the junction of the Ormskirk and Kirkby branches and is in between Sandhills and Walton or Rice Lane. The station is next to Kirkdale TMD which is the largest depot on the Merseyrail network.

Ormskirk bound Merseyrail 507 016 arrives at the station

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

The station was opened as Bootle Lane in 1848 on a joint line built by the Liverpool, Ormskirk & Preston and Liverpool & Bury Railways. The station was renamed Kirkdale in 1877.

Although still a busy spot on the network Kirkdale used to have a number of other lines and routes pass through or underneath the station. Since 1977 it has been part of the Merseyrail network and is the interchange between the Kirkby and Ormskirk branches which diverge just North of the station.

 

The station was refurbished and modernised in 2000 with a new footbridge and an improved booking office.

Merseyrail 508 124 rests on a TMD siding next to the station

Merseyrail 507 023 departs Kirkdale

Combined footbridge and ticket office

Look down the platform, the TMD is in the background 

Departing for Liverpool

Jewellery Quarter (JEQ)

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Jewellery Quarter is a stop on the Birmingham Snow Hill - Worcester Line between Snow Hill and The Hawthorns.

WMR 172 005 departs Jewellery Quarter

Information
Type:	National Rail (Snow Hill Lines)
Station code:	JEQ
Opened:	1995
Platforms:	2 (+ 2 Midlands Metro)

Jewellery Quarter, serves the area of the same name just outside Birmingham city centre. The station was opened in 1995 as part of the restoration of cross-city services via Birmingham Snow Hill. No station had existed at this location previously though the former station of Hockley, which closed in 1972, was located nearby [1].

In 1999 the Midland Metro tram began operating, a stop at Jewellery Quarter is adjacent to the railway station (and with access via the platform). Access between the two railway platforms is via a footbridge.



Most services to Jewellery Quarter are operated by West Midlands Railway but some Chiltern Railways trains also stop during peak hours.

Station footbridge, a tunnel is just beyond the platforms at the Birmingham end

Chiltern 168 005 at Jewellery Quarter

Down this platform for the trams

Tram stop

In LM days 172 336 departs

[1] Hockley station <http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/hockley_station.htm>

Hartlebury (HBY)

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Hartlebury is a stop on the Worcester-Birmingham Line in Worcestershire between Droitwich Spa and Kidderminster. 

WMR 172 211 departs the station

Information
Type:	National Rail (Worcester-Birmingham Line)
Station code:	HBY
Opened:	1852
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway in 1852, later becoming part of the Great Western Railway. In 1862 it became the original starting point of the Severn Valley Railway through to Shrewsbury. Services to Stourport-on-Severn and Bewdley continued until 1970 and the line to Stourport remained open for freight until 1979.

The station is now unstaffed though the original station building remains, however now has a non-railway use. The footbridge (which was at the level crossing end of the station [1]) and canopies have been removed, access between the two platforms is via a level crossing at the Kidderminster end of the station. The station's facilities are the usual bus shelters and information screens found on an unstaffed station. At the other end of the platforms was a goods yard and cattle dock which were both closed in the 1960s as did another goods yard at the other end of the station,

The station is managed by West Midlands Railway though retains a GWR style nameboard as with a number of stations on the Birmingham Snow Hill lines.

Station sign next to the level crossing

Former station building, now a restaurant and bar

Bus shelter and PIS

GWR style nameboard

WMR 172 221 departs for Worcester

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Worcester to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2007) Fig. 23

Marston Green (MGN)

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Marston Green is a stop on the West Coast Main Line in Solihull in between Birmingham International and Lea Hall. The station is literally at the end of the runway for Birmingham Airport though Birmingham International is the station for airline passengers as this is near the terminal building.

Information
Type:	National Rail (West Coast Main Line)
Station code:	MGN
Opened:	1838
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the London & Birmingham Railway in 1838 on their line between Birmingham and Coventry. The station originally had two goods sidings and a refuge siding. The goods yard was closed in 1964. The signalbox remained in use until 1976.

Due to the proximity of Birmingham Airport (originally Elmdon Aerodrome) there were emergency signals at the station for the event of an aeroplane landing on the railway line!
Both platforms originally had wooden buildings with canopies but following electrification of the line in the 1960s and a rebuild of the station in the mid-1970s nothing of the original station now remains [1].  The station is served by West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway.

TfW 158 838 passes through

Main station building

LNWR 350 107 arrives with a Birmingham bound service

View from the footbridge

View towards Birmingham

A London Euston bound Pendolino passes through

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Rugby to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 99