The station was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1934 in what was then the London Paddington to Birkenhead Line. The station was known as Birches & Bilbrook Halt when it opened, it reverted to the current name in 1974.
The two platforms are staggered either side of a road bridge with access to the platforms via ramps from the road. The station is unstaffed with just the basic bus shelters and information screen for passengers. The station is served by at least one train an hour by West Midlands Railway.
Belper is a stop on the Midland Main Line in Derbyshire near Derby and in between Duffield and Ambergate.
Information
Type:
National Rail
(Midland Main Line)
Station code:
BLP
Opened:
1840
Platforms:
2
The original Belper station was opened in 1840, in a different location to the current station [1]. The original station was just over a kilometre to the South of the town centre but this proved unpopular with townsfolk.
In 1878 the Midland Railway built the current station in it's current location in a cutting in the town centre. The old station site remained in use for goods traffic until 1979.
Belper station became unmanned and the original station buildings demolished in 1973 replaced by the usual modern shelters. The station was refurbished in 2005 with new shelters and passenger information screens [2].
Most trains to Belper are on the Matlock-Nottingham or Newark Castle Derwent Valley route operated by East Midlands Trains. There are also a couple of peak time trains to Sheffield and London St Pancras.
EMT 156 413 departs for Matlock
An EMT Meridian passes through
General platform view
Station sign
View from the footbridge
EMT 153 326 arrives heading for Derby
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Derby to Chesterfield (Middleton Press, 2017) Fig. 36 [2] Ibid. Fig. 43
Birmingham International is a stop on the West Coast Main Line in the West Midlands between Marston Green and Hampton-in-Arden.
An LNWR 350 lurks under the station roof
Information
Type:
National Rail (West Coast Main Line)
Station code:
BHI
Opened:
1976
Platforms:
5
Birmingham International (which is actually in Solihull) was opened by British Rail in 1976 to serve the newly opened National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham Airport [1][2]. The name is derived from the airport which at the time was called Birmingham International Airport. The station is connected to the NEC by a covered walkway.
The station is located on the West Coast Main Line and is served by Avanti West Coast, Transport for Wales, Cross Country, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway. The station has a very regular service from Birmingham New Streetwhich is only a few minutes away.
Birmingham International used to be linked to the airport by the world's first public Maglev train in service, developed by British Rail at Derby [3][4]. It has now been replaced by cable hauled cars.
WMR 323 205 at Birmingham International
View down the platform
Station concourse
An ATW (now TfW) 158 arrives
LNWR 350 241 waits to depart
[1] Chris Heaps, BR Diary 1968-1977 (Ian Allan, 1988) p. 97 [2] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Rugby to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2008) Fig. 94 [3] Colin J Marsden, Departmental Stock (Ian Allan, 1984) p. 36 [4] Colin J Marsden, 25 Years of Railway Research (OPC, 1989) p. 111
Birmingham New Street is the largest railway station in Birmingham and the central hub for the railway network outside of London. It is the sixth busiest station in Britain and the busiest interchange outside of London.
Information
Type:
National Rail
(West Coast Main Line &
Other trunk and local lines)
TfWM Midland Metro
Station code:
BHM
Opened:
1854
Platforms:
13 (+2 Metro)
The station was first opened in 1854 by the London & North Western Railway and was very different to the station as it is now. When built it had the largest single span roof in the world (London St Pancras took this title from New Street in 1868 [1]). This roof was badly damaged by bombing in the Second World War, temporary canopies being built after the war when the remains of the original roof were dismantled [2].
The station was completely rebuilt in the 1960s as part of the West Coast Main Line electrification and modernisation programme. The new station design was a complete departure from the old one, as with other station rebuilds of the period British Rail were keen to integrate retail into the rail travel experience and the station was built with a shopping precinct on top of it. The new station was intended to show how concrete could be used "with strength and delicacy" [3]. However the public was a bit sceptical about this especially as the new low concrete roof over the platforms made them rather dark and depressing [4] and the station has frequently featured in polls for Britain's worst buildings!
By the twenty first century Birmingham New Street was becoming rather tired and was struggling to cope with greatly expanded passenger numbers. Work began on a major redevelopment of the station in 2010 with a new concourse, a high roof over that concourse and improved retail facilities (Grand Central). At platform level things have also improved somewhat though the problems with an overall low roof remain. The Midlands Metro was extended from Birmingham Snow Hill to New Street in 2016. This is the current terminus of the light rail network and harks back to New Street pre-World War 2 when the Birmingham tramway network had it's hub outside of the station [5].
LM 350 116 stands ready
Despite recent refurbishment at platform level the station can still be a bit dark and dingy
Station concourse
New Street is a hub for local services including this LM 323
Two Class 170s peer out into the light
A Midlands Metro tram stands outside New Street
[1] Mark Norton, Birmingham New Street Station Through Time (Amberley, 2013) Stp. 6 [2] Vic Mitchell, Birmingham to Tamworth & Nuneaton (Middleton Press, 2014) Fig. 4 [3] David Lawrence, British Rail Designed 1948-97 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 101 [4] Norton p. 56 [5] Vic Mitchell, North of Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2014) Fig. 71
Birmingham Moor Street is Birmingham's second busiest railway station, situated on the Snow Hill lines between Bordesley and Birmingham Snow Hill.
Chiltern 68 015 and 168 110 at the two bay platforms
Information
Type:
National Rail (Snow Hill Lines)
Station code:
BMO
Opened:
1908
Platforms:
4
Birmingham Moor Street was built by the Great Western Railway to relieve pressure on Birmingham Snow Hill. Local GWR services from the South terminated at Moor Street instead, the other side of the Snow Hill tunnels. Moor Street became a terminus in 1968 with the closure of Snow Hill and the tunnels.
Moor Street itself became run down and depreciated during the 1970s and was under threat of closure itself, being the poor relation compared to Birmingham New Streetwhich is a short walk away. There is no direct rail connection between the two stations though Moor Street was built on top of the LNWR lines running into New Street. The large goods yard at Moor Street was closed in 1972. [1]
Birmingham Snow Hill (and the tunnels) reopened in the mid-1980s. Two new through platforms were built at Moor Street for these lines (and the three original terminating platforms closed). A new entrance built and canopies of the at-the-time common style of corrugated metal (as still used at stations like University). [2]
With Network South East running through services from London Marylebone to Moor Street in the early 1990s the station began to thrive again. To cope with demand, two of the terminus bay platforms were restored to service and the whole station was renovated in the early 2000s by Chiltern Railways (who manage the station) and the Birmingham Alliance. Moor Street could be further expanded in the 2020s under plans to improve West Midlands rail, with two extra bay platforms being built and services to Kings Norton and Tamworth added to the station. Moor Street will be next to the new HS2 terminus Birmingham Curzon Street.
Moor Street was restored as a GWR station using the style common in the interwar period. The original station building has been the base around which everything else has been rebuilt with the 1980s entrance demolished and new canopies and signage matching the period. Moor Street was used to represent an early 1970s London Marylebone in the BBC spy drama "The Game", the station needing little redressing.
One feature of the old station not restored were the locomotive traversers used on the original terminus lines. These allowed locomotives to be switched to an adjacent track taking up less space than a traditional cross-over [3].
Benderloch was a stop on the Ballachulish Branch Line in Argyll and Bute between North Connel and Barcaldine.
Benderloch station [1]
Information
Type:
Caledonian Railway (Ballachulish Branch Line)
Opened:
1903 (Closed 1953)
Re-opened:
1953 (Closed 1966)
Platforms:
2
The station was opened in 1903 by the Callander & Oban Railway, later becoming part of the Caledonian Railway. The station was closed in May 1953 due to flooding washing away a bridge but was re-opened a few months later, however it closed for good in 1966 when the line was closed.
The station had two platforms which were either side of a passing loop. Both the LMS and British Railways positioned camping coaches at the station.
[1] E.B Hutchinson, "Signalmen and their duties", (Railway Magazine) p. 408
Bentley is a stop on the Alton Line in Hampshire (there is also a Bentley station in South Yorkshire) between Farnham and Alton.
SWR 450 055 at Bentley
Information
Type:
National Rail
(Alton Line)
Station code:
BTY
Opened:
1854
Platforms:
2
The station was opened by the London & South Western Railway in 1854. The line through the station was doubled in 1901, the station gaining canopies at this time [1]. In 1905 the Bentley & Bordon Light Railway was built linking Bentley to a military camp at Bordon, a bay platform being added for the new branch line. This line was closed to passengers in 1957 and closed completely in 1966.
The line to Alton was singled in 1985 though a passing loop has been installed for operational flexibility. Most trains, in either direction, use platform 1 which is where the main station building is situated. A footbridge allows access for when platform 2 is in use, which is usually during peak hours. The station is managed by South Western Railway. The station usually has an hourly service in both directions. Not all services on the line stop at Bentley.
Station building
The platforms are not long enough for a double rake of Class 450s
Footbridge
A Class 450 approaches
At the station
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Woking to Alton (Middleton Press, 1988) Fig. 82
Brayton was a junction railway where the Solway Junction Railway joined the Maryport & Carlisle Railway in Cumbria. On the latter Brayton was between Leegate and Aspatria on what is now the Cumbria Coast Line.
Signal box at Brayton Junction [1]
Information
Type:
Solway Junction Railway
Opened:
1844
Closed:
1950
Platforms:
3
The station was opened by the Maryport & Carlisle Railway in 1844 though was not available for public use until 1848. In 1870 Brayton became a junction station when the Solway Junction Railway arrived, the next stop along the line being Bromfield. The station had extensive sidings for the Solway Junction Railway.
However, passenger traffic on the Solway Junction Railway was never high and was suspended in 1917, though reinstated after the First World War only to cease for good when the Solway Junction Railway closed in 1933. The station remained open on the mainline until 1950 when passenger traffic ceased, goods traffic continued until the mid-1960s.
Coaches stored at Brayton sidings
[1] G.J. Aston & D.S. Barrie, "The Solway Junction Railway", Railway Magazine 70 (415) p. 32
Birkenhead Park is a stop on the Merseyrail Wirral Line on the Wirral between Conway Park and Birkenhead North.
Merseyrail 777 011 departs for Liverpool Central
Information
Type:
National Rail (Merseyrail Wirral Line)
Station code:
BKP
Opened:
1888
Platforms:
2
The station was opened in 1888 as a joint station [1] and interchange between the Wirral Railway's line to West Kirby and the Mersey Railway's line to Liverpool Central. The station takes it's name from a nearby Victorian municipal park.
When it was opened Birkenhead Park consisted of two island platforms, one for each railway operating from it. Trains bound for Liverpool often had their locomotives changed to those with condensing equipment for opration through the Mersey tunnel. Through trains on the Mersey Railway ended in 1903 with the electrification of the line. Wirral Railway trains (by now operated by the LMS) were electrified in 1938. Merseyrail trains still use the LMS third-rail electrification.
The station was badly damaged during a bombing in 1941 during the Blitz, the main building was destroyed and the line closed for eleven days. The station was rationalised in the late 1980s with just one island platform used nowadays, the other platform was demolished in 1992 [2]. The station is managed by Merseyrail.
508 130 stands at Birkenhead Park
Station frontage
A view of the ramp up to the station building level
507 002 arrives
View down the platform
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Birkenhead to West Kirby (Middleton Press, 2014) Fig. 8 [2] Ibid. Fig. 14
Betchworth is a stop on the North Downs Line in Surrey between Dorking Deepdene and Reigate.
GWR 165 116 departs the station
Information
Type:
National Rail
(North Downs Line)
Station code:
BTO
Opened:
1849
Platforms:
2
The station was opened by the Reading, Guilford & Reigate Railway in 1849. The station was located close to the Betchworth Quarry Railway which operated an extensive multi-gauge network which was linked to the North Downs Line by an exchange siding next to the station [1]. The quarry railway was closed in 1960.
The station is now unstaffed though retains it's original South Eastern Railway station house on the platform which is now a private residence. Access between the platforms is via a level crossing at the Reigate end of the platforms. The station is managed by Great Western Railway with a train an hour in each direction most of the week.
View down the platform
Former station building
Level crossing
Preparing to depart
GWR 165 106 arrives
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Guildford to Redhill (Middleton Press, 1989) Fig. 85
