• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Curzon Street Railway Station

My old dad used to be a carter for the railways, and at one time he stabled his horse in Curzon Street. He worked for the LMS.
 
Thanks for posting the article on Curzon Street Station...Mrs. T. Mr. Freddie Gick, mentioned in the article, has the right idea as far as this building is concerned. It always looks like the Council has no money for heritage projects. I know there are a lot of them on the list. However, this building should have a future as per it's history of Birmingham Railways. I hope a suitable conclusion can be reached before too long. It's a good thing that the building is being boarded up to protect it but then again it will soon look like another abandoned building.

I could have a rant about how much public money is wasted by the City on seemingly unimportant schemes but I won't. I think most people on this Forum know what I mean in this regard.
 
Curzon St Railway

I Wish I Had A ONE POUND NOTE For Every Time I Walked Past That
Fantastic Biulding In The Forties And Through The Late Fifties
Walking My Grand Mothers Dog Called Butch , He Was A Big White Dog
With ABig Black Patch Around His Eye, My Nan Lived T Number 1 New canal Street Just Along Fom There Three Hundred Yards From It .
She Uses To Have A Red Fire Bell Stand Right Out Side The Door On A Stand
You Would Smash The Glass And Call The Fire Brigade In Them Days
Thank God There Was No Vandels Around In Them Days
The Only Vandells I Can Recall Are The Cows Being Brought Down New Cannl St To The Hide And Skin Yard There Would Be Hundreds Walking Down
Every Sunday Morning They Would BE On The Pavement ,They Would Stop And Stare In The Shop Windows At Us Until The Men Moved Them On
But I Think It A Very Nice Building And Should Be Restored And Never Knock It Down , Its A Pity We Can not Put The Clock Back I Say
Have A Nice Day Every-body Best Wishes ASTONIAN ,;;;;;;;;
 
Hi Barrie. My Dad Also Drove Horse And Cart For The L.m.s From Curzon Street Goods Yard. He Retired 57 Years Ago With A Pension Of 10/- A Week After Working For The Co. For 50 Years, He Also Drove A Steam Wagon Early On In The Century. I Have A Photo Of Him With His Horse Somewhere
 
Hi Geff. Small world eh'. There is a photo of an LMS carter in one of the "Old Birmingham" books, its my old dad. :)
 
curzon street station

the Times on Feb 18 had an article about attempts to rebuild the Euston arch which now lies in pieces in the river Lea at a cost of 10 million pounds.Someone beat me to it in writting a letter to the Times pointing out that we still had the building from the other end of the line here in Birmingham and they actually printed it in todays edition!!!
 
Curzon Street Station

Everyone,
Thinking a bit bigger, they are about to redevelop the monstrosity which is now New Street why dont we all put pressure on the city and the developers to incorporate this wonderful building into the new development of New Street IE move the whole building! The civil engineers have managed to do it at Portmerion and locally at the Black Country Museum, all it needs is us the 'Great Birmingham Public' to want and yes, insist that it happens.
Naturally they will say it is impossible, it's too expensive, it's not practical all the arguments they used when they wanted to develop New Street in the sixties and Snow Hill in the seventies when people wanted some maintenance done on the existing train sheds.
We got what we deserved for not persevering.
If you go to Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, [and more recently, and high profile] St Pancras, for instance it is clear that these strucures can be preserved for our future generations. It is down to us, the people on forums like this, who care, to get the ball rolling.

Bill.
 
Nice thought, but surely the historic thing about Curzon St. station is the location - the original northern terminus of the London-Birmingham railway.
New St. Station certainly needs to be swept away and replaced, but by a modern station that will encourage the public to use it without feeling suicidally depressed by it's dark, morbid atmosphere.
Curzon St. is a national monument and should be recognised as such - its development as a museum in its own right is the sort of attractor that area of the city needs.
 
My Granddad worked at the London North West Railway on the goods Dept at Curzon Street Station that was about 1909 he earnt 18/-(90p) per week (10 hours a day, 6 days a week) he then became a goods guard and wages went up to 20/- a week (£1) he worked his way up to a main line passenger guard wage went up to 35/- a week (£1.75) his main run was Birmingham to Euston three times a day.

Julia
 
I gather that Curzon St is the oldest surviving example of railway architecture IN THE WORLD. Surely it would be nothing short of criminal for it to disappear? THere must be SOMETHING we can all do....? We've already lost the historic Queen's Hotel that used to be next door........
Graham
 
Re: a bit of a worry

Hello - my Granddad was a goods guard and a special constable at curzon street station - his warrant card shows he was sworn in, in September 1914.When he started work he was paid 18/- (90p) week 10hours a day 6 days a week!! as a main line passenger guard he got paid 35/-(£1.75) week he said his main run was B'ham to Euston (1hour 50mins) three times a day. I am not sure how long he worked there for he went on to purchase some land which was being sold in strips at the Mount, Shirley and farmed Poultry. When I found the information about Curzon Street and saw the lovely pictures of such a wonderful building I could not understand why so much had been demolished. I agree what is left should be preserved. Is it now a publically owned building?
Julia
 
I have a Bradshaws Railway Companion of 1841 giving times of train arrivals and departures, fares, maps, etc., for 1841. There is no mention of either New Street or Snow Hill as stations, the reference is simply Birmingham! Does anyone know which station that would have been in 1841? It is interesting to note that a 2nd class ticket from Birmingham to London was 20s 3p which must mean that in real terms, it's cheaper to travel by rail now than it was then!
Dear Speaky, The station we now now as Curzon station was the station you are refering to, during my research I have found that there was a station called Birmingham (later snowhill), although the dates I have are 1852 as a wooden structure, the wooded building being replaced in 1871,and third rebuild in 1906, the Great western hotel was built @ 1868. Im looking for information to support the theory that the arches (before the hotel was built)was where Bulpitt and sons( Swan Brand) originated from. Hope this helps.
 
Re: a bit of a worry

I have been going round this area a lot in the last few months taking photographs.

For those that do not know the Curzon Street Station building is right inside an area called "Eastside" that is being developed. The station is planned to stay and be included in the new development.

Here is a recent panorama photo showing how the site is now (well at least a few months ago). It is a wide photo so you need to scroll to the right to see it all.

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=48489823&postcount=7

I have posted about a dozen panoramas of the Eastside area that you can see here

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1024483

Also more general photos of Eastside here (that I have linked to Google maps)

https://www.panoramio.com/user/3749097
 
Heres a lovely picture of Curzon Street Railway Station. The picture is dated 1838.

Curzon_St_Station.jpg
 
img108.jpg
I know a lot of this will already have been posted but the text with this print says,The Liverpool to Birmingham Railway reached Birmingham in 1837 and the London to Birmingham Railway in 1838. The terminus was at Curzon Street but this was some way from the city centre and access was poor. Four other companies ran lines into Birmingham during the next fifteen years and central stations opened at New Street and Snow Hill in 1852. Stations on these lines encouraged suburban growth, for instance, Kings Heath developed after the station opened in 1840 on the Birmingham to Gloucester line. Other suburban lines were built after 1860, e.g. The Sutton Coldfield line in 1862 and the Harborne line in 1874.
 
Hey everyone.. just a quick note about the main building, which you might already know?. The two arches(shown in the print) were never actually built, because of un-sound ground =)
Cheers Simon
 
Back
Top