2022

SP2378 : HS2 works, Solihull district, February 2022

taken 2 years ago, near to Berkswell, Solihull, England

HS2 works, Solihull district, February 2022
HS2 works, Solihull district, February 2022
This is the remodelled junction of Park Lane with A452 seen from the latter. HS2 will pass in a cutting beyond these works. The Park Lane route to Berkswell village will be stopped up to serve just one property SP2378 : West along Park Lane. Berkswell will continue to be reached from Balsall Common via Lavender Hall Lane.
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 Roads, Road transport Railways Construction, Development Near: Berkswell A452 other tags: Roadworks HS2 Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
SP2378, 23 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Robin Stott   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 27 February, 2022   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 24 February, 2023
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 2328 7860 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:24.2951N 1:39.5538W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 2325 7859
View Direction
East-northeast (about 67 degrees)
Clickable map
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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