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Snow Hill Station

Vivienne14 said:
St John Ambulance staff waiting at Snow Hill station for returning wounded soldiers in 1916. Was wondering if the Hotel also became a place for dealing with the wounded? Never seen anything written about it but it would have been very convenient. Viv.

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During and most likely as long as National Service continued, there was a presence at Snow Hill of The Church Army who had a canteen and a Railway Transport Officer where servicemen finding themselves delayed could report to him and he would advise their unit that they would be late back - hopefully avoiding being posted AWOL!
 
Another look at Snow Hill Tunnel, this time from the ramp up to the car park.



The end of platform 3. Platform 4 would have to be reinstated on the right (if there is room).



Looking down the severed Midland Metro track to the ex Snow Hill Tram Stop, while St Chad's Tram Stop is to the left.

 
Having just looked at the very modern photographs posted by ellbrown, I thought this may be a good time to once again compare those photographs to the old Snow Hill Station.

This is a wonderful Birmingham Mail compressed photograph, showing Snow Hill Station, looking down Snow Hill, from the Snow Hill/Colmore Row crossroads.

Note the steep incline down Snow Hill, compared to the railway level.

In the 1950's I worked in a music store down Snow Hill, opposite the station, and every lunchtime, I would go up to our third floor, where I had set up a drum kit around the stock area, and practice, looking out of the window, at this view.....so happy memories.

Eddie.

P.S Unfortunately I have had to crop the photograph, in order to upload it, so it loses a little of the wonderful incredible photograph.
 

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Eddie, I am assuming that is the old parcels bay at the bottom right of the photo which was near the junction of Snow Hill and Gt Charles Street.
 
norfolk brummie said:
Unfortunately I have had to crop the photograph, in order to upload it, so it loses a little of the wonderful incredible photograph.
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Hi Eddie, you could try Eric's method of reducing pics. It keeps the full pic contents when reducing.
cookie273uk said:
I find the following way the easiest to 'down size' pics/files for uploading
(1) right click on selected pic
(2)click 'open with'
(3) click 'paint'
(4) press Control and letter W together, in the resulting box reduce from 100% to (say) 50%, click OK click 'x' in top right hand corner.
Eric
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Having followed the very good instructions give toe by Phil & Eric, here is the result, showing the original photograph, in all its glory.
Thanks guys, much appreciated.

Eddie
 

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Would assume that was down what is now called Snow Hill Queensway, where One Snowhill, Two Snowhill and the new Three Snowhill (under construction) are now.
 
The present road, Snow Hill Queensway, is about 40 yards to the east of old Snow Hill. For many years there was a carpark on what is now the Tram Lawn and the three office blocks.
 
devonjim said:
Wasn't the old Snow Hill opposite to the old Bull St.
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Yes Jim, it was. Steelhouse Lane, Bull Street, Colmore Road and Snow Hill formed a cross roads with traffic lights. Bull Street now has a bend in it to take it onto Colmore Circus. There is a pedestrian footpath following the old route of the road which comes out onto Colmore Row.
 
Hi Folks, my father, a South Wales Coal Miner who came to Birmingham in the forties to seek his fortune (he'd heard the streets were paved with gold) and my mother, a born and bred Brummie daughter of a Hockley Jeweller, didn't always see eye to eye on our choice of annual summer holiday destination, but as my father was bank-rolling the jolly he always had the casting vote - Brean Down, here we come, again!

Undoubtedly for me the high point was the journey by train from Snow Hill to Weston-Super-Mare, Locking Road. In the early days (1950) the train was usually hauled by a castle or a hall - not a King, it wasn't posh enough, in latter years by a Western Class Diesel (Western Monarch, Western Huntsman and the like).

Always 2nd class - seats facing each other across the table - flask of tea and plentiful supply of ham sandwiches.

Ah! Happy days.

Peg.

PS My apologies in advance if Brean Down is where you achieve your Nirvana.

Brean caravan.jpg
 
Radiorails said:
The 'King' class locos were , of course used for the more prestigious trains to South Devon of course. :D
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One of my great disappointments (train spotting-wise) that I never got to see a King in the flesh - my spotting days started c1962 and I think they had pretty well gone from service by that time.

Peg.
 
The Kings ran from Paddington to Bristol and Devon or from Paddington to Wolverhampton. I don't think they were allowed anywhere else. Kings could be seen at Snow Hill regularly on the London trains right up to the end of steam and I am told that for six months after the diesels took over, Wolverhampton used to steam a few Kings every day in case they were needed to replace a diesel.

I think I have mentioned before that one day I saw two Kings double heading the up Cambrian Coast Express. Some people have told me that was impossible but if Wolverhampton had a King which needed to be repositioned to Old Oak Common, how else would they move it?
 
They were, in GWR days, classed as a double red locomotive and did have restrictions to which lines they could run on. As they were principally designed for the crack expresses of the time they found plenty of work on the main lines.
In a Birmingham context I mention that they did not run on the North Warwickshire line (Moor Street to Stratford upon Avon) whereas they could be seen on the London route and as mentioned earlier the line to the north west. They did not go north of Shrewsbury however.
 
In September 1930 number 6029 , then named King Edward VIII, travelled to Manchester for the centenary celebrations of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, and was serviced at Ashcroft shed on the former L &YR. This was the furthest north ever reached by a 'King'.

Eddie
 
Eddie, presumably in 1930 she was virtually a new engine being the last to be built, maybe that is why she was chosen. She was then known as King Stephen being renamed in 1936. The furthest to travel was probably King George V 6000, the first to be built, which visited the Baltimore & Ohio celebrations in late 1927 and returned with a bell on her front - very uncommon this side of the Atlantic.
 
Old Coyote: Absolutely true. She was just number 6029 at that point. I remember that King Stephen was the original name, before the K.E VIII bit.....just forgot for the posting !

As a G.W. R enthusiast I have amassed a huge amount of books, and history, over the years, so am usually able to find some historical fact.

I was intending to give technical reasons for the limited routes available for the 'King' class loco's, but the axle loading/Bridge Stress Committee information is too detailed.

Best just to say that the 'Kings' were too heavy for certain other routes !

Eddie
 
Thanks for your comments Eddie. Not only were the Kings very heavy they were far too powerful for use on lesser lines.
One good thing living in the South Devon was being able to hear and see Kings and other GWR locos on Dainton Bank and heading into the tunnel. My wife and children used to picnic in a field above the tunnel mouth (not sure whether we should have been there but no one moved us on, but those were the days a greater freedom) - great views and sounds from approaching trains and the signal box bells. Pre diesel days the bankers used to drop off there. There were also runaway sidings but we never did see a runaway.
Now back to Birmingham. Has any one posted details about Hatton Bank I wonder?
I also think that maybe a Mod might wish to move these 'King' posts to a GWR railway thread, however, King Class locos were very much a part of Snow Hill and its train services.
 
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Vivienne14 said:
St John Ambulance staff waiting at Snow Hill station for returning wounded soldiers in 1916. Was wondering if the Hotel also became a place for dealing with the wounded? Never seen anything written about it but it would have been very convenient. Viv.

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Here is a nice photograph from the same day, and showing the same personnel.

(Courtesy of Derek Harrison Collection)

Eddie
 

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Looks highly organised Eddie. And it must have been a very welcome surprise for the men arriving in Snow Hill. Viv.
 
norfolk brummie said:
Here is a nice photograph from the same day, and showing the same personnel.

(Courtesy of Derek Harrison Collection)

Eddie
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I have every respect for the late Derek Harrison (after all he did quote me in one of his books) but he did put a photo of New Street in one of his books on Snow Hill)
 
Vivienne14 said:
Looks odd to me. There's no slope/hill. Whichever side it is, there's no slope on the engraving. Viv.
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Viv, The reason that I asked which side it was was because of the lack of a slope. However I did guess Snow Hill as I detected a slight down slope on the right hand side. Thanks Eddie for confirming Snow Hill side for us. David
 
Vivienne14 said:
Looks highly organised Eddie. And it must have been a very welcome surprise for the men arriving in Snow Hill. Viv.
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Viv: Somewhere, I have a photograph, also taken the same day, of an ambulance, and crew. The ambulance is waiting in the main concourse. I will try and dig it out.

As you say, well organised, and sadly, no doubt expecting a few serious injuries.

Eddie
 
Here is the promised photograph of the row of ambulance's in the Snow Hill Station Main Concourse,

Together with the nurses, they are awaiting the troop hospital arrivals. It appears that the leading carriage may be for coffins.

Eddie
 

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