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Railways
The railways were something of an obsession for my father, that much is
clear from the huge bias in the collection towards the subject.
For me, it's been a difficult area to tackle. There is an
enormous amount of interest associated with the days of steam.
How could I select the most important photo's from the hundreds
available?Initially, I took the easy route and concentrated on stations. This, I felt, was an area that would appeal to the widest audience. The section on local stations was very interesting to me, especially identifying long gone stations. I used a modern A to Z and my father's 1962 OS map of Birmingham but for a double check on my interpretations I would hop along to the Rail Around Birmingham website - here you'll find modern day pictures that I'm sure many will be interested in. You will find some of my father's railway photographs on the Warwickshire Railways site where Mike Musson provides in depth captions that will be of interest to rail enhusiasts
A couple of stations that should logically have been included in the local stations section were Rubery and Longbridge. However, I discovered that these were part of the long defunct Halesowen Line. There seems to be a lot of interest in this so I have dedicated a few pages to it. My thanks to Andy of Rail Around Birmingham for helping with this section.
Where there were groups of photo's that stood alone, I decided to produce dedicated pages for them. These include the Cromford and High Peak Railway, Ffestiniog Railway, the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, the Liverpool Overhead Railway, the Severn Railway Bridge and the Clee Hill incline. Similar pages will be added later.
My plans for 2007 include the addition of more Birmingham related photo's. These will include sidings, junctions, signal boxes etc. There is quite a lot of organisational work to do to make these pictures easily accessible but I'm sure the end result will be worth it. I also intend to make a start on the long-promised pages of Midland Area and National stations.
In December 2006 I treated myself to a copy of 'British Railway Steam Locomotives 1948-1968'. I will use the information from the book to enhance captions for any pictures that feature steam engines.
I would appreciate any feedback about these images that can be provided. Any experts out there, please get in touch!
To try and reduce download times I have divided the photographs into various sections. Please select the link of interest.
| Birmingham and Local Stations A-G |
Includes:
Adderley Park, Aston, Blake Street, Bournville, Camp Hill, Dudley, Five Ways, Four Oaks & Gravelley Hill |
| Birmingham and Local Stations H-O | Includes: Hazelwell, Kings
Heath, Kings Norton, Marston Green, Moseley & Northfield |
| Birmingham and Local Stations P-Z |
Includes: Perry Barr, Selly Oak,
Smethwick (Rolfe Street), Soho Road, Spon Lane, Stechford, Vauxhall and Duddeston & Winson Green |
| Birmingham and Local Stations in
Colour |
Colour
photo's of Birmingham and local stations |
| Birmingham Rail Sites |
Sheds, Sidings, Junctions,
Signal Boxes and more! |
| New Street Station at Work |
Photo's of New Street Station
from 1948 upto 1964 |
| New Street Station Centenary |
All about an event held June 1-3
1954 including the brochure and details of SLS Specials run at the time |
| Halesowen Railway |
All about the Halesowen Railway. Includes Rubery Station and Longbridge Station |
| Midland Area Stations | From counties bordering the West Midlands |
| National
Stations |
Stations not covered by the
above categories |
| Ffestiniog
Railway |
The early days of the Ffestiniog
Railway |
| Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway |
Photo's from 1962, the year
before the line re-opened |
| Cromford & High Peak Railway |
Photo's from the late 1940's and
from a High Peak Tour in 1961 |
| Severn Railway Bridge |
Pictures of the bridge and
station taken in 1964 |
| Liverpool Overhead Railway |
Photo's from 1955, the year
before the railway closed |
| Clee Hill Incline |
Colour
photo's of the cable-operated Clee Hill incline from 1955 |
| Big Bertha and the Lickey Incline |
Photo's from 1948 and 1949 |
| Dad's Days Out |
Re-live my father's excursions
from the 1940's, 50's and 60's |
| My Favourite Slide |
A superb colour picture of the Euston
Arch in 1955 |
For more railway pictures, check out the New Street Station section of the Birmingham page
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