Birmingham and Local Stations P-Z

Covers Perry Barr, Selly Oak, Smethwick (Rolfe Street), Soho Road, Spon Lane, Stechford, Vauxhall & Duddeston and Winson Green

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Perry Barr

This must be the only station where the old buildings are worse than the current ones!  It almost looks temporary...  My suspicion is that the extensive redevelopment of the roads near the station resulted in the demolition of older station buildings before these pictures were taken in 1962.  Can anybody comment?  The 1955 picture at the top doesn't really provide many clues.

Selly Oak

Selly Oak station looks quiet compared to today.  It is now a Park & Ride station and is part of the Cross City Line.

Smethwick (Rolfe Street)

Look at the little garden near the bench on the right hand side of this picture.  Can you imagine such a thing today? The large building with the tall chimneys is a pub that was called, unsurprisingly, The Station Inn.

Soho Road

I love this series of pictures.  My father was once again being a little naughty taking these but thank heaven he did - they're splendid! The station was already long abandoned by 1962 when these images were captured. I believe it was located near the junction of Ivy Road with Soho Road but on the opposite side from Ivy Road.

Spon Lane

Spon Lane Station, unsuprisingly, was on Spon Lane!  On a modern day map you need to find Spon Lane South which the M5 crosses.  The station and tracks were just to the south of the canal, as can be seen on the lower photo.  Also visible in the centre of the lower photo is the top of the fantastic station building.

Stechford

Doesn't Stechford Station look wonderful in the top picture?  The modern day station should make us hang our heads in shame....  Mind you, the exterior is looking pretty tatty in the middle (1963) picture. The bottom picture was labelled, "From Up Main Home".  It took a while to work out that my father had climbed a signal to take this fantastic picture!

Vauxhall & Duddeston

The two pictures from 1955 show the station looking pretty sorry for itself with the main station building looking like it has been damaged by fire.  It's not surprising that it had been replaced by a modern building by 1961 but the modernisation of the platform building seems to have been unnecessary to me.

Winson Green

OK - use your imagination!  The station is there if you look hard enough... This unusual view might have been taken to capture the indicator signals to the left and right.  Does anyone know what they might have been used for?

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