I have to confess that on my travels I have yet to come across a more disappointing station - especially considering the history of the railways at Dudley Port I'd have thought they could have come up with a building more appropriate than a 'Portakabin': the original station booking office was a large two-storey 'house-type' structure. One of the interesting points here is that Dudley Port was in fact two stations serving two railway companies at the same site. The 'top' station (remaining today and seen above) originally formed part of the Stour Valley Line of the Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway (later LNWR) and the 'bottom' station forming part of the South Staffordshire Railway (later LNWR). The 'top', or high level, station opened in 1852 with the 'bottom', or low level, station opening in 1850 and closing in 1964.

Above-left we see the inspirational booking office to Dudley Port station - a rather shabby portakabin which, for anyone who has seen the structures originally at the site, is somewhat of an insult! Above-right is the platform subway which now forms the entrance to the 'top' station from the car park. The portakabin shown previously is to the right of the shot. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything much to say about this station - I didn't feel inspired enough to go to platform level on my initial visit as the station consists of an island platform with a bus shelter on it: nothing else!

Above-left, on my second visit to the site, we are on the sole island platform at Dudley Port station looking towards Birmingham. Above-right we are on the Birmingham side of the platform looking down to the car park, a view that would have previously been obscured by the station booking office and waiting rooms that fronted onto what was then a bay platform.