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Rail Around Birmingham
& the West Midlands

Rail Around Birmingham & the West Midlands

 

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Useful Railway Links

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Below are some links to sites that I consider to be among the best or most interesting in the field of the region's Railways and history. Some of the sites are not concerned with the Birmingham area but I feel that they will be of interest to Rail Around Birmingham visitors as they follow a similar theme and, although I myself am not familiar with the regions they cover, was impressed by the depth of study and their presentation (not to mention all the work I know they must have put into researching, photographing and web designing!).


Birmingham Roundabout - Birmingham history & information DJ Norton Photographs

This is a new website I am writing at present to cover all aspects of Birmingham - with a particular slant towards its industrial and transport heritage. Please take a look frequently as I've got a lot of content to add (only a handful articles on there at present) and I especially want people to contribute their comments, recollections, photographs and information to grow the site into a useful resource. If you'd be interested in writing for the site, or can contribute information etc, please drop me a line.

Mark Norton contacted me with reference to a site he was putting together to show 'some' photos taken by his late father around Birmingham during the 1950s-1960s. I went to the site and was totally blown away! Not only was Mark's father Dennis a keen photographer of Birmingham, but was a rail enthusiast too! This site is a must to visit and has some photos of railway sites for which I have never seen images: Soho Road station is worth visiting the site for alone.

 
Warwickshire Railways banner Railways in Worcestershire banner

A fascinating resource from Mike Musson covering all the stations/routes that have historically existed within the county of Warwickshire. Over 2000 old photographs from the authors collection and beyond - many of which I've never seen previously. Although still being developed, this site is definitely worth a couple of hours browsing time! Covers many stations in the area covered by Rail Around Birmingham from a purely historical perspective.

One of my favourite sites. Railways In Worcestershire covers all the past and present stations in the region with a historical interpretation of the county boundary which, of course, means taking in many of the south-westerly regions covered in Rail Around Birmingham. Very informative site from Andrew Smith of the Malvern Industrial Archaeology Circle (M.I.A.C.).

 
Branchline Britain Railway Ramblers

Branchline Britain is a growing website covering Britain's railway branchlines providing historical and contemporary details of each line covered along with photographs and other resources that will be of interest to RAB readers.

Of interest to anyone who has enjoyed this website should be the Railway Ramblers club whose aims encompass: "To discover, explore and document disused railway lines" and "To encourage interest in the walking and conservation of disused railway lines". The website contains a wealth of details about national railway walks, campaigns and events and is a must for all those with an interest in the railway history of the UK.

 
Go to Stratford upon Avon Alton Douglas banner

Things to see, news and events for those wishing to visit Stratford upon Avon. Includes an article about Stratford upon Avon (Old Town) Station too.

Website of popular Birmingham local historian and prolific author Alton Douglas. Whilst not pertaining specifically to railways, Alton's many historical Birmingham books provide a wealth of photographs, many never-before published, and information on Birmingham and its environs.

 
Locomotive Performance banner The Trams banner

An interesting site from Brian Basterfield who describes it as a "[r]ailway enthusiasts site dealing with Train Timing and Locomotive Performance during the period 1954 to 2002". It has some very interesting accounts of trips along routes within the Rail Around Birmingham region and a wealth of information.

An interesting site by Peter Courtenay covering light rail including the Midland Metro featuring an interesting page on the Metro depot at Wednesbury

 
Bike Rides Around Greater Manchester banner GCR Through Leicester banner

This may seem an odd link, however the site covers disused railways around Manchester from a cyclists perspective but there is a keen enthusiasm for the railways themselves and each disused line is covered in detail with extensive photographs of their remains.

This is a fascinating site from Nigel Tout covering "[p]hotographs along the route of the old Great Central Railway through Leicester showing its present state and the considerable remains". There are a large number of photographs from various eras accompanied by excellent supporting information. Although it is out of the area covered by RAB, I had to recommend it!

 
Dudley Mall banner Warley Model Railway Club

Useful site if you want details of current railway stations in the region: particularly useful if you are planning a visit. Full facilities and access details are given along with maps of each station layout.

This is the website of Warley Model Railway Club and is a must for any of the region's railway modelling enthusiasts. The Club has a flourishing events schedule and social calendar plus, of specific interest to RAB, there are some photographs of a scale model of Halesowen station owned by the Club.

 
Disused Stations Birmingham Forum

An extremely ambitious site from Nick Catford, who is also involved with the equally enjoyable Subterranea Britannica website, providing national coverage of all disused station sites. Whilst still in its embryonic stages, I'd strongly recommend a browse and repeated visits as the quality of presentation and information is excellent and several hundred stations have already been covered.

An interesting forum for discussion of all-things Birmingham. Many topics relating to historical issues are discussed and I'd like to invite readers of this site to pop along and raise a few railway-related topics too!

 
Flickr Photo Collection Southern Images

I've setup several photo galleries at this website that may be of interest. There are currently collections covering disused railways, preserved railways and Midland's industrial heritage. In addition, there are some great photographs from other members that are well-worth a look including some fantastic 1960s/70s shots of Snow Hill station: you can search all the photo archives and I was pleasantly surprised at the results!

Promoted as "the rapidly growing online archive of photographs and colour slides, specialising in British train and railway photos, but also many other subjects", Southern Images is well-worth a visit for those of you intent on collecting high-quality railway images. A refreshing approach to their delivery and reproduction also makes this organisation worthy of encouragement!

 
Ladywood Past & Present Birmingham website design and seo

An extensively researched website from Mac Joseph covering the Birmingham area of Ladywood from a historical perspective, including a wealth of photographs, memoirs, maps and ephemara bringing to life the past of the region.

Birmingham based website design, search engine optimisation and website hosting company.

 

Anyone recommend a good site to put here or have a site yourself?

If so, let me know.

 

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