2019

SP0787 : Stacks, HS2 Curzon Street station site, Eastside, Birmingham

taken 5 years ago, near to Birmingham, England

Stacks, HS2 Curzon Street station site, Eastside, Birmingham
Stacks, HS2 Curzon Street station site, Eastside, Birmingham
This looks like the groundworks phase of construction. The two buildings in the centre occupy Masshouse Plaza on the other side of Park Street. To their left is the Clayton Hotel by Albert Street. The view, west-northwest, is through a gate on New Canal Street, which remains open to traffic. The gate can be seen half-left in SP0786 : HS2 Curzon Street station site, Eastside, Birmingham.
HS2 in and around Birmingham

HS2 is the second high-speed rail line in Great Britain, between London and Birmingham and beyond. In 2019 the site of the Birmingham terminus, Curzon Street Station, has been fenced and works have begun.

The huge Curzon Street site, long-vacant, has been home to railway stations before. In the 1830s railway companies had built lines from Liverpool, Derby and Gloucester into Birmingham, each with its own terminus. Not until 1838 did the London and Birmingham Railway open Curzon Street station to receive its trains from Euston. It soon became an interchange station although disadvantaged by its distance from the heart of the town. In the 1840s new companies competed to introduce new routes, particularly north-south and northeast-southwest services via Birmingham.

"A significant proportion of Birmingham's railway network dates from this time. With this certainty came two realisations: first, that a good and convenient railway system was the key to prosperity, and second, that Birmingham deserved something far better than having its stations tucked away on the periphery. A bold plan was therefore evolved [by the newly-formed London and North Western Railway Company (L&NWR) supported by the town's Street Commissioners] to create a 'grand central station'". They and the other companies extended and connected their lines into the new station which opened in 1854 as Birmingham New Street. It was an immediate success as services were diverted to it; Curzon Street closed to regular passenger trains within a month but its goods yard developed massively in subsequent years.

to be continued

Further reading: Richard Foster. Birmingham New Street, the story of a great station including Curzon Street (4 volumes). 1: Background and Beginnings, the years up to 1860. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications, 1990. ISBN 0 906867 78 9


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Robin Stott and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Lowlands City, Town centre Railways Construction, Development Place: Birmingham Area: Eastside Postcode District: B5 other tags: Construction Site HS2 Groundworks Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
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Grid Square
SP0787, 944 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Robin Stott   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 24 August, 2019   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 25 August, 2019
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 0769 8703 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:28.8685N 1:53.2918W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 0776 8700
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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