BR Birmingham Snow Hill

Videos made in the 1960s, gleaned from Warwikshire Railways.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z8Zp2RFX4U" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Snow Hill was completely rebuilt when the line through it was resurrected. For years it was a terminus but historically it had been a through station and for the last 12 years or so it has become a through station again, with also a tram platform.

I was living in Birmingham when the line was rebuilt - and took the opportunity to walk through the tunnel before it was restored to traffic.

And of course there is no hint of steam there.

Than you for your personal experiences there, George, and the information.

To be more complete, Snow Hill was originally the main Great Western station in Birmingham. Its main line led to London Paddington via Oxford and Reading. GW trains could pass through Snow Hill and continue on to Liverpool and the Welsh lines. The line continued to Wolverhampton where there was a separate station, visible from the LMS station but now without track (if it is still there as I haven't been there for about 20 years).

On the formation of British Rail, policy was to downgrade the GW line to mainly secondary trains - DMUs for local commuting. Later BR policy was to terminate trains at Birmingham and therefore the line beyond Moor Street was closed. The track through the tunnel to Snow Hill was removed. While I was doing a postgraduate degree in a university in Birmingham the new policy was to relay the track through the tunnel to Snow Hill, reopening the station there. People were invited to walk through the tunnel before the track was installed. I think even then they envisaged the next stage which was to continue the line further north. But the purpose of the reopening was to carry trains made up of DMUs. I don't believe any loco hauled trains used the line in the 1980s. It was for local commuters into Birmingham. I used to travel home to Dorset at weekends and I would sometimes take the train from New Street direct to Bournemouth, and sometimes from Moor Street, changing at Reading for the south Coast.

I don't know what company operates the trains to Snow Hill nowadays (and don't much care).

George, has Moor Street Station been reopened? Can you give us any background on it?

johnthefireman wrote:George, has Moor Street Station been reopened? Can you give us any background on it?

I have a feeling that only the new through platforms are used. But I really haven't been there for possibly 20 years. I vaguely remember seeing the old station deserted. It's possible the tracks there are not even connected to the through line. When I was in Birmingham I used to take trains from there quite often.

Moor Street Station was re-opened in 2002 and a lot of work done to make it look nice (and operate better) combining the original buildings and 1980s ones.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingha ... 906049.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
From re-opening to 2014 it was home to GWR 2884 Class 2-8-0 No. 2885 which sat in one of the unused platforms, this has now gone and the platform brought in to use
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_2884_ ... 2885_2-8-0_(6761025903" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).jpg
It has 14 1/2 trains an hour serving it (one service is bi-hourly) so is a pretty busy station.

A magnificent job of restoration; I saw Moor Street in 1966, and it looked pretty down-at-heels. What forces were behind the restoration--Network Rail, Chiltern Railways, the city of Birmingham? Things like that don't happen unless someone or some group is pushing hard for it, and it was certainly worth the effort in this case. (Interesting how things go in phases; there will be a period when all vestiges of the past must be erased--e.g. Euston--and a generation or two later they're working to preserve the heritage.)

George mentions the GWR Wolverhampton station. Here's a link to a Wiki article on it and a ten year old photo below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverham ... ay_station" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverham ... ay_station" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ExCo mentions Moor Street Station in Birmingham. Here's a Wiki article on it and a photo below.

Through the 80's and 90's, I visited Wolverhampton LL (and HL); in the early 80's it had abandoned track thru the passenger train shed; the station was intact, though dilapidated; track was present also the outside, away from the HL station, for goods. In 2004-05 the track was removed (and also a lonely, abandoned freight car in the southern side of the station). It looked as if they were going to make it into a museum (not sure about that plan, but it didn't happen, regardless). Now the LL station has been turned into a party/wedding venue, with elements of the station remaining as part of the exterior decoration; interesting, but sad. Inside the attached website, at the bottom, is a link to a 360 degree present day view of the area between the HL and LL stations. Sam http://www.grandstation.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am glad the old GW station has found some new use. It's a fine looking building and it was sad to see it just abandoned in a sea of waste land. I suppose wedding venue is a good use for it.

(Personally I don't much like large weddings, and my wife and I were married in a register office with two witnesses.)

It's worth pointing out that the new station at Snow Hill is much simpler than the one shown in the film. I think it has four through platforms and no overall roof. One of the platforms is in fact for trams to Wolverhampton. These use the route of the former Great Western in part, and on roads in other parts. The old station was mostly dismantled and removed decades ago. The last time I was there I could see no sidings so that the layout of the track was very simple. In the old station there were needed places to park steam engines. One of the many advantages of getting rid of steam was a simplification of tracks everywhere, and no need for water columns, ash collection and so on. One of the many reasons why steam engines were so expensive to run was that they needed all those additional tracks and apparatus - water columns, ash disposal, coal delivery.

Moreover, present day Snow Hill isn't intended to be a terminal. No trains would start from there - except for the trams.

Some beautiful photography in that http://www.grandstation.co.uk/gallery" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Notice the remaining platform edge yellow line, beyond the photo of the bride; much of station still there! Sam