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New Street Station From 1854 - 1966

I remember seeing the A1 60114 W.P.Allen on that special working at New Street on that particular Saturday, i think sometime in 1964.

It was my first A1, in fact it was my first LNER pacific.

What i didn't expect was to see the engine again on Worcester shed the day after, apparently it had failed somewhere en route.
 
Not quite sure which thread to put this on , but in the Jan 2013 issue of Backtrack magazien there is an article by Mike Thorne on his memories of Railways in the 1950s & 1960s around the Birmingham area
 
I think that scanning and posting of an article only published within the last week or so would be a definite breach of copyright , and very frowned upon
 
I remember seeing the A1 60114 W.P.Allen on that special working at New Street on that particular Saturday, i think sometime in 1964.

It was my first A1, in fact it was my first LNER pacific.

What i didn't expect was to see the engine again on Worcester shed the day after, apparently it had failed somewhere en route.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoggFNjlSig

Theres about 50 seconds of film footage of the day at New Street in 1964
2.22 / 3.07 minutes . maybe you can see yourself Neville among the spotters ??
ragga :fat:​
 
Hi

Great Pictures from the Famous Michael Mensing of New Street Platform 7.
I would hurtle down or up from Platform 2 (stechford) along the Bridge to 7 and down the Steps. In those days a Seperate Ticket Office for the old Midland Railway operated. It was situated on the edge of Queens Drive and Platform 7. I got my Ticket to Tamworth around 7/- for the Day.
I can still smell the Old Midland Railway. Wonderful days.

Mike Jenks
 

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We went fishing to Tamworth a couple of times. It would be an early morning train caught at Saltley Stn. Two or three old coaches with no inter compartment connection and pulled by a Duck six I think...well a six anyway just three connected wheels on each side and no bogies.
 
Two fabulus photo's Mike, takes me back, as you say they invoke the unique smells, and tastes, of steam days, "The old blood and custard" of our youth.
paul
 
Takes me back too. I remember the excitement as the train rolled in to New St as I came home on leave.
(And the gloom going back to camp !).
 
Here are a few photo's of New Street & Northfield stations taken with my 'Box Brownie' in the 1950's.Sorry for the poor quality but they may be of interest.s.jpg
 
That's a very sad photo Brumgum. I think Platform 9 was the one I used to get the Cheltenham train from - do matter what they do to New Street, it will never be the same, it had its own personality, never to be replaced.
 
Re: The (new ) New Street Station

The roof was damaged and shaken in wartime bombing, but after the war it was found to be unsafe and was dismantled in 1947. (from Century of Railways around birmingham vol 1)
 
mikejee said:
The cafe also apparently had waitress service, of a sort. I certainly do not remember it.
Click to expand...

Quite so, you sat at table pushed a button and after some time a lady appeared having walked down a passage between adjacent "booths" which seated four or six people.

At the time (circa 1966-7) it felt pretty cool and was certainly up a level from the Kardomah though quite soon the Formica facing over the plywood "boxes" in which you sat soon started to peel away and the aisles used by the waitresses ended up with a fine patina of trodden in grease. The seat covering material was plastic and very slippy but eminently wipe downable.

Late in the evening "gentlemen of the road" would often take up residence so by around 1985 they, and the booths, were cleared out in favour of those small raised round tables where you propped yourself against whilst slurping coffee from a paper cup. By then it wasn't at all cool.

New_Street_station_cafe_circa_1970.jpg

The Timeshift program was an excellent melange of film stock including the view from the cab of a Blue Pullman as it passed Bordesley station en route the city and brought back a couple of long forgotten experiences.

I, like a many other budding designers, made our way down to London in the summer of '65 to be interviewed by George Williams, then Director of Industrial Design in the hope we could join the party going on in his offices just off the Euston Road.

I can recall making a very, very early start in the Ford Popular heading down the A5 wearing my John Stephen suit arriving just in time for my time slot and parking outside St Pancras without a yellow line in sight.

Needless to say I didn't get an offer as I still had a year to complete at Gosta Green but was invited to return the following Spring. Sadly George passed away in November.... Hey ho
 
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I used New Street a lot in the early 60's, and cannot remember any café/restaurant, o that type anywhere on any railway station. Paul
 
I remember a cafe kind of thing at New Street Station, the walls were painted pale green (as everything seemed to be in those days) but I only remember tables and chairs and not 'booths'. I have heard recently that a widowed aunt of mine worked there, but no idea what date.
 
Hi shortie there was one there at one time in the period then they tried to rearrange it to self service and it was worst than the original
Design it was worst than ever and the que for paying was as long as a station platform and your coffee and what nots was cold when and if you could find a seat to sit on and it was around the time they put a turn stile out side the coffee stall and you paid a penny to get into the toilet
It was a fancy chrome stile which was havoc there was more people queuing up more than the coffee shop
 
Hi

This went past my eyes the other day. Its the closing down of a Cafe.
I cant remember much of the facilities.
I will keep trying interesting isn't it.

Mike Jenks
 

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In Mike's photo the sign above the door is " ......... and waiting room". Definitely looks like a former railway service. And the light in the photo looks like it's an interior shot, like it could be inside a covered station. And there are cups on the windowsill outside the cafe. So someone must have had a quick cuppa in the shelter of the station and dashed for their train. Viv.
 
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