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Gods Wonderful Railway G W R

I am not sure Bernard but I think it was part of the mosiac mural at the bottom of Snow Hill in the middle of the island. It has now been filled in for a new traffic system, I don't know if any of the original was saved, I hope it was.
 
You know Dave I took that picture in 1995, and I just can not remember
where it was! I have a feeling it was in the Cathedral area, I think it was
on the wall near a subway, could be by the Minnories somewhere ,oh gosh
my memory for dates etc has been so good over the years, my daughter has always said I will ask me Dad,he will remember, not any more!
Perhaps it will come back to me, bye Bernard
 
Bernard67Arnold said:
You know Dave I took that picture in 1995, and I just can not remember
where it was! I have a feeling it was in the Cathedral area, I think it was
on the wall near a subway, could be by the Minnories somewhere ,oh gosh
my memory for dates etc has been so good over the years, my daughter has always said I will ask me Dad,he will remember, not any more!
Perhaps it will come back to me, bye Bernard
Click to expand...

Hi Bernard,

Was it in the subway at the junction of Bull St/Steelhouse Lane/
Snow Hill and Colmore Row. I'm sure I can remember a mural down
there.

Kind regards

Dave
 
Hi

Im not sure of the whole of the GWR but yes the TV series
Gods Wonderful Railway gave the Severn Valley Railway
which is a huge seperate thread its huge public acclaim.
Began in 1980 it ran for several years.
A huge and contorversial subject for us Steam buffs LMS GWR
ER and SR which one was the best.
I still think standing in Tamworth Field back in the 1950's
seeing a huge LMS Coranation class hurtling towards Tamworth
Station takes some beating. still thata only my opion.

Mike Jenks
 
I think the mosaic is near the entrance to a subway near Snow Hill Queensway.It was designed by Kenneth Budd and Alan Kemp and unveiled in 1969.
On the Livery Street side is a part of the old station that I think was built into the new station.
I took a photo of it about 1980 when the rest of the station had been demolished.I think the doorway may have led into the subway that once connected platforms 5 and 7.Note the GWR monograms in the glazed terracotta ware.
4103412074_62ac194567.jpg
 
Interestingly the one and only original feature that remained untouched during the road improvement is an ugly concrete looking square shaped structure with vents on the side. I believe this is hugely significant but does anybody care to guess why? Why is it that the aesthetically pleasing sculptures were removed and yet this dated and ugly structure remains untouched? The answer? I believe this building is linked with the underground Birmingham Anchor and the fact it has not been removed or demolished proves that the tunnels not only exsist but indeed still have an important use. I have read that this structure could be either a power station type hub or an air filtration unit.
 
Hi Mrfaultless, welcome to the forum.
Where is the structure you are referring to situated? I am sure one of the members will know the answer for you.
Sue
 
Hi Sue,

Thank you for the welcome. The attached link shows a photograph of the redeveloped underpass and traffic junction. You can clearly see that the best assets have been removed and yet the mysterious and some what ugly building structure remains. I am convinced it must be connected to the underground nuclear war bunker. I would guess that the vented shaft is an air intake and the other building is helping to power the tunnels?

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&rlz=1C1SKPL_enGB461GB461&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=lC223Y_C_HZQRM:&imgrefurl=https://busesphotoblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/buses-on-a41-st-chads-circus-queensway.html&docid=AVwPZgPzAQANyM&imgurl=https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9UjoTZtwNOM/UCU32TDGYLI/AAAAAAAAMAI/BsJhyEYtbaI/s640/800px-Buses,_seen_from_Birmingham_Snow_Hill_railway_station_-_DSC08884.JPG&w=640&h=480&ei=xf4vUN_zM6ad0QXZ7IDoDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=184&vpy=289&dur=764&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=92&ty=115&sig=105275859660228356307&page=2&tbnh=145&tbnw=187&start=18&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:18,i:167

For comparison here is an earlier photo, you can see that they even went to the effort of removing the trees. The fact that everything has been either removed or revamped and this building remains untouched highlights its unpublished importance.

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?sta...3&tbnw=234&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:190,i:40
 
Only a rumour, but I was told it was an underground bunker should we have had a nuclear war. I was told it would have been for the chosen few. But like I say, just a rumour. Bit ironic really, when you consider it was close to the JFK memorial. Viv
 
Hi Viv,

I have no doubt that the Birmingham Anchor exists as i have done much research into its exsistance and have also been lucky enough to speak to somebody who once helped maintain parts of the underground system. Details can be found here-

https://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/b/birmingham_anchor_exchange/index.html

When realizing that the public were becoming 'aware' of the underground system the tunnels were said to be flooded, however i know that they have pumps constantly pumping water up to the sewer systems above. This structure is interesting because it proves that the bunker is not defunct as we are led to believe.
 
What a fascinating article! Thank God it was only once put on standby. As a child, I remember the Cuban Crisis quite well. I was in junior school and kids were saying we could all die. I also remember my mum and her friend discussing what a terrifying world we were living in, and that they wouldn't want to be the next generation having to deal with the effects of nuclear fallout, I expect a feeling fuelled by memories of Hiroshima etc. I did wonder if any photos exist fromwhen the press were let in on the Anchor secret. Be interesting to see them if there are any. Viv.
 
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