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Snow Hill Station

 
paul stacey said:
The victorian gentleman's relief, based on the French, Paris , pissoir's, from a time when councils concentrated, on public works, for the betterment of society. They were not obsessed with, gender, leveling up, and diversity .!!
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Thank you Paul, I did not realize that is where the “slang” name came from!
 
mikejee said:
Then round metal plates high on the wall look like the sort they add to buildings to stop the walls collapsing outwards Would they have been adde dlater or installed initially?
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Usually the metal plates are tied together with a steel rod. If/when the walls buckle as Mike suggests, heat the rod which expands then they tighten the nuts. When the rod cools it contracts and pulls the wall in.
 
Richard Dye said:
Usually the metal plates are tied together with a steel rod. If/when the walls buckle as Mike suggests, heat the rod which expands then they tighten the nuts. When the rod cools it contracts and pulls the wall in.
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...or just continue tightening the end nuts as the wall buckling reduces. I cannot imagine workers trying to insert a heated rod through the constuction! Ouch!
 
I was wondering when they were put in, and also where the other end is. Presumably inside one of the structures below the track. There are further arches the other side of the tunnel under the track where one might expect it to be

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mikejee said:
I was wondering when they were put in, and also where the other end is. Presumably inside one of the structures below the track. There are further arches the other side of the tunnel under the track where one might expect it to be

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I was originally planning to photograph both sides (Livery St / Constitution Hill) of the siding walls, and also underneath the arches (cue the song.....). However - lack of time, vile weather and the fact that the arches down by the Lionel St end contained some VERY undesirable-looking characters made me decide to revisit at about 06.00 on a Sunday morning when I (hopefully) can have the place to myself. This is one of the downsides of walking around with the best part of three grands worth of cameras, lenses and flashguns around your neck - you have to be careful of what is going on around you. I had the same issue when I photographed the Birmingham Brewery the second time - by the end I was "attracting attention" so to speak.....
 
Mark Tooze said:
I was originally planning to photograph both sides (Livery St / Constitution Hill) of the siding walls, and also underneath the arches (cue the song.....). However - lack of time, vile weather and the fact that the arches down by the Lionel St end contained some VERY undesirable-looking characters made me decide to revisit at about 06.00 on a Sunday morning when I (hopefully) can have the place to myself. This is one of the downsides of walking around with the best part of three grands worth of cameras, lenses and flashguns around your neck - you have to be careful of what is going on around you. I had the same issue when I photographed the Birmingham Brewery the second time - by the end I was "attracting attention" so to speak.....
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Yes, for sure you would be a target!
 
Finally got back to Snow Hill Station a week ago - parked up in the Jewelry Quarter and took the train in (what a novel idea!!!). Again the weather was not good, but I went in search of what still remained from the original station - there is quite a bit actually. The best surviving elements are the remaining bridges across Gt Charles St - these can be seen in lots of old photos and several are still "in use" today:-
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Next - may be a bit of old platform (not 100% sure on this as brickwork looks too new - I need to do a bit of research...)
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Bridge number peeking through the undergrowth:-
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Point reference number (I think) on old wooden sleeper - there are lots of wooden sleepers particularly on the top of the bridge above - presumably to save weight?
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Rear of extant GWR crest visible from Livery St:-
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Bridge wall over Water St:-
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Mark Tooze said:
Finally got back to Snow Hill Station a week ago - parked up in the Jewelry Quarter and took the train in (what a novel idea!!!). Again the weather was not good, but I went in search of what still remained from the original station - there is quite a bit actually. The best surviving elements are the remaining bridges across Gt Charles St - these can be seen in lots of old photos and several are still "in use" today:-
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Excellent photos!
Every time I look at photos from an engineering perspective, I marvel at the level of effort it took to build and maintain that over 150 years ago. Our for fathers were good, let’s hope that the next generation can measure up! I’m talking about making physical thing as in Marks photos not just things dancing around on screens or as some used to say pencil pushers! Sorry…
 
mikeflan said:
Oh yes...those were the days alright........paying all that money to get onto the platform at Snow Hill....a whole penny for a platform ticket but worth it !!!! but it was always clean compared to New Street....and it hurts me to say that as I was an LMR spotter really......but Oh such happy memories.......as an LMR spotter it meant a trip to Tamworth at a grand price of...One Shilling and Fourpence Ha'penny to sit in the field there and get soaked....then a telling off from my mom when I returned looking like a coal miner...........she just had no sense of trainspotter dedication.
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As an eight year old I went to Tamwoth on a raining windswept Saturday and saw Princess Margaret Rose thundering up to the north
 
And finally - underneath what is left of the Gt Charles St bridges (each end span has been "removed", but the middle spans are still there - see post #1244 for the view from t'other side) - some of this looks VERY rusty but, as a tribute to the original engineers, still support trains quite happily:-
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Final word here again goes to Mr P.Pigeon, esq. who had escaped from the (by now torrential) rain:-
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As a contrast - this is what the station (including the bridge supports) looked like from photos I took in the late 70's - early 80's - a free copy of "Biggles goes into Spaghetti Junction and was never ever seen again" to anyone who can marry them up (hint - there are 2 sets of bridge supports!):-
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Note the "239" painted on the right wall - a similar one ("236" I think) still exists under this piece of wood:-
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Carrying on:-
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These are the second set of bridge supports further north:-
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And in the modern view - painted blue on the left:-
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Carrying on:-
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I was very glad to be able to spot on Snow Hill; it wasn't always possible, because I once bought a platform ticket but was refused entry at the barrier because I was an unaccompanied child! However I still have some photos I took on the occasions when I did manage to spot there. It was the closest I ever got to a King.

Later on when I was training at a firm in Windsor House, Temple Row from 1966-1972, I was able to look out over the forlorn sight of the deteriorating network of lines to the north of Snow Hill station. Depressing!

Whisper it quietly, though, my best spotting memories were of the "other place", the ever grubby and busy New Street. There, I've said it!
 
TerryD147 said:
I was very glad to be able to spot on Snow Hill; it wasn't always possible, because I once bought a platform ticket but was refused entry at the barrier because I was an unaccompanied child! However I still have some photos I took on the occasions when I did manage to spot there. It was the closest I ever got to a King.

Later on when I was training at a firm in Windsor House, Temple Row from 1966-1972, I was able to look out over the forlorn sight of the deteriorating network of lines to the north of Snow Hill station. Depressing!

Whisper it quietly, though, my best spotting memories were of the "other place", the ever grubby and busy New Street. There, I've said it!
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Hi Terry - would love to see your photos please!!! Either station!!
 
TerryD147 said:
I was very glad to be able to spot on Snow Hill; it wasn't always possible, because I once bought a platform ticket but was refused entry at the barrier because I was an unaccompanied child! However I still have some photos I took on the occasions when I did manage to spot there. It was the closest I ever got to a King.

Later on when I was training at a firm in Windsor House, Temple Row from 1966-1972, I was able to look out over the forlorn sight of the deteriorating network of lines to the north of Snow Hill station. Depressing!

Whisper it quietly, though, my best spotting memories were of the "other place", the ever grubby and busy New Street. There, I've said it!
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Shame on you :)!
I did experience being denied entry once after I bought the ticket. I think it was up to the collector/agent. They must have been having a bad day!
 
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