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Snow Hill Station

Thank you elllbrown, it was the lovely old one, I like the new one too though, I must make an effort to go on the Metro one day.

I went trainspotting a few times with my Brother, I vaguely remember some sort of "I-Spy" book, and leaning over a bridge in Wales...a faceful of steam and smuts!!

rosie.
 
Astoness said:
heres a great link for all our train enthusiasts..fantastics pics take by ex vicar of birmingham richard postill includes snow hill.moor st etc and stations all over the country..think there are about 164 pages to look at so grab a cuppa lol..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/16749798@N08/page50/
Click to expand...


The comparative photo of the west side of the Town Hall in the 1970s and then this past year offers the chance of mentioning you can hardly stand in the same place today and admire the Town Hall architecture. In the earlier days the traffic did a more respectful 5 mph. Nowadays its more like 500!!

If anyone wants a tip regarding the functions on Flickr, above each and every photo is a tab called "Actions". Click on that and then on 'all sizes' and you get a variety of magnifications. (Or Magnificats since we're talking about the Vicar's pictures).
 
No problem.

With the Metro, you have to buy your ticket from the inspector on the tram! They got rid of the ticket machines at the stations ages ago.

I think Snow Hill to West Bromwich was around £4 something return. Looks like it is £5 now for a day trip.

I need to go back on it too, just been using the National Rail network on the Snow Hill lines more recently than the Metro.

You should see all those road works in the city centre for the extension to New Street.

Mainly on Bull Street. Corporation Street and Stephenson Place. Mostly just moving pipes at the moment.
 
Great link Lyn. Shall be checking out all the buildings around the engines on the photos - oops that must sound like total heresy to all you engine enthusiasts (sorrrryyyy!).The engines are magnificent too! Don't know about a cuppa Lyn, think it deserves proper attention. Shall crack open a bottle later. Viv.
 
Going back to the horses, it took me a while to find it, but I have attached a newspaper clipping from 1946. It was my wife's grandfather who unfortunatly was killed by a horse.

Terry
 

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That's very sad Terry, especially as I'd expect horsemen became quite attached to the horses. Viv.
 
Remember the station continued in use for a while as the only 12 platform unmaned halt in the country when you could easily walk across the whole site. Then it was used as a carpark for many years. The TV series Gangsters was filmed there in 1976 or 77.

I remember going around the station after the trains finished looking through the debris. Came across an old cast iron kettle with BR (W) on it but left it because it did not say GWR. What that might have fetched today in auction!
 
28 pages about the ex GWR/BR(W) station Snow Hill; this proves how much folks remember the place with a nostalgic fondness. I also remember the place fondly and so do many others who use the place. New Street, in comparison, in my view, was always a dirty, dingy sort of place.
 
I remember it only from the 1960s. Always there on the journey into town, up Snow Hill on the #29 bus, station to the right. Then in the '70s it became just a shell and a car park. A very sad sight. One of my grandfathers had shares in GWR and one of my other grandfathers had his blacksmiths business on Snow Hill. So as a genealogical interest it's great for me to see the connection, but at the same time it's especially sad to see these images of the decline of Snow Hill. So here's a more optimistic view of the re-development of the station around 1910 (courtesy www.steampicturelibrary.com). Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359842862.548051.jpg
 
You should find time to come back to Birmingham to see the modern incarnation!

I wasn't born when the old one was knocked down, so I only remember the 1987 station from the 1990s onwards. There used to be a green canopy out front to Colmore Row. That is now gone and it is an open square. With a gallery on the left (Whitewall Gallery is next to a Costa Coffee). Opposite is now a Little Waitrose.






I just remembered that Whitewall Gallery are opening a new one in Solihull!

The first artist at the Whitewall Snow Hill was Rolf Harris for a month.
 
Yes Ell. Be interesting to see the new station. Actually the line to Snow Hill runs from Marylebone, which itself is an early old station with lots of character, so would make a nice journey. My ancesters used the line from Marylebone to Birmingham and also the line that went from Snow Hill up to Birkenhead Woodside. So that trip has to go on the list of things to do (in the interests of family research of course!) Viv.
 
I never like travelling through Snow Hill Station, as I can well remember it when it was a busy vibrant place but I suppose what remains is better than nothing. When we visit Birmingham, from Stourbridge, we tend to go through to Moor Street a station that I never knew as a spotter/student of locomotion as it never featured in any family travel patterns. Moor St still has a GW feel to it as it seems to have been rather nicely restored with some of its GW features still intact, sometimes they do seem to get things just righ. The Churchward 2.8.0. is a nice touch as well.
 
Historically Viv, trains from London came from Paddington on the GWR. It's only since the line was re-established 20 years ago that it started from Marylebone.
 
Right Ell. Well if my ancesters used Paddington, that's good enough for me! That's one grand station, must have been incredible fun travelling from there. In fact all of these will have to go on the list, as I want to have a look at Moor Street too after watching the Portillo programme. He seemed very impressed. Viv.
 
Chiltern Railways have the Marylebone franchise and they steadily moved north and now even run Kidderminster to London services through Snow Hill. They have vastly improved the line since they took over and now run trains from Moor Street to London as fast as Virgin used to do from New Street to Euston before they got the Pendolinos. Chiltern did all the restoration work on Moor Street
 
I've been on the Chiltern line many times, usually from Solihull to Marylebone. It's a nice route, and you can get tickets for Super Saver Off-peak currently at £27.50 (was £25 two years ago).

Last time at Marylebone, I was surprised to see this:



 
Well technically you could go from Paddington to Snow Hill, but the route these days would be a bit long.

Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill / Foregate Street with First Great Western. Then from Worcester to Birmingham Snow Hill / Moor Street with London Midland.

So best to use Marylebone with Chiltern Railways.
 
Crosscountry to Oxford or Reading then Worst Great Western to Paddington would be a quicker route than via Worcester. Unfortunately over the years Chiltern fares have gone up quite a bit. I remember their 10 after 10 deal for those aged 55+, £10 if you travelled after 10 o'clock and returned the same or next day.

I have travelled Chiltern from Birmingham to Paddington when the line into Marylebone has been closed for engineering work. Chiltern run one train a day into Paddington, but not from Birmingham, to maintain the drivers route knowledge and their access rights.
 
Worcester is an hour away from Snow Hill on London Midland (I tried going on the route via the Jewellery line and Kidderminster once).

It was nice seeing Paddington on Great British Railway Journeys last week.

I've still to try out Stourbridge Junction / Stourbridge Town.
 
The current view from Livery Street (bottom of Cornwall Street)

2 Snowhill on the left, 1 Snowhill on the right.
Snow Hill Car Park (formerly Livery Street Car Park).
And the remaining wall of the old Snow Hill Station

 
Looking back from the Great Charles Street end toward the tunnel beneath the staircases from the Concourse above and the Great Western Arcade beyond. Taken around about 1973 before the area was used as a car park. The Brockhouse adverts are visible above the staircases.

The London bound trains departed platform 7 on the left.

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/images2/userpics/10449/Snow_Hill_1973.jpg

I had walked the tunnel from the Moor Street end looking for the link to the Bank of England but the torch battery gave out!
 
A new feature near Snow Hill Station is the new living wall!

It has been unveiled just in time for the opening of the new glass office block 2 Snowhill.

From the right of the entrance on Colmore Row



Alongside the station and the current Midland Metro terminus



Where this grass is now, should be by 2015 the tracks for the Midland Metro extension (think the Snow Hill metro stop will be moved out here).



Will the existed Metro stop be returned to Network Rail / London Midland and become Platform 4 for the first time since the late 1990s?
 
This is the existing Snow Hill metro stop (took these last year)







The living wall is to the left and above here.
 
Been to Two Snowhill today (it opened today) and saw the rice exhibit. Also got photos of Snow Hill Station from above (the car park, new 2nd entrance, the line towards Jewellery Quarter tunnel).
Those photos not been uploaded yet.

But have got up more of the Living wall / Midland Metro extension





The new trams will one day come from here

 
A couple of birds eye views from 2 Snowhill

View of the bridge on Northwood Street / Livery Street



2nd entrance to the same bridge



Midland Metro to divert in future to the right (no track bed laid yet)

 
Any ideas on the far left building in Ell's first photo? Looks like the rear of the building backing onto the railway has survived whilst the rest has been modernised.

Does anyone know why the two cores are being demolished in the second photo?

Viv.
 
Due to the 2008 recession, the planned buildings never got completed. It is planned to demolish them and replace them with "landscaped gardens"



Another view of the cores

 
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