Monument Lane Station was opened in 1854 for passenger trains but was known as Edgbaston from 1853 when it was not advertised for trains. However, apart from providing a need for passengers to access or egress the platforms, there was also the need to serve as a "ticket platform". The need to check passenger tickets seems to have been the original purpose for this station and may have been used for such a purpose when the Stour Valley Railway first opened for passenger traffic.
As to the locomotive shed, this establishment had the purpose of initially supplying coke and water for locomotives as well as a place to maintain. The railway tunnel north of New Street had tracks on an incline that raised at a gradient from 1 in 76 to 1 in 77 which meant that train speed was affected in the early days and journeys through the tunnel varied.