Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (formerly Birmingham station) was a railway station in central Birmingham, England. Initially used as a major early passenger terminus before being eclipsed by newer facilities and converted into a goods depot, it was a continuously active railway facility up until 1966.
The station was jointly built and operated by the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) and the Grand Junction Railway (GJR), being the meeting point between the two railways, as well as the terminus for the first intercity line to be built into London. As such, it served as a joint terminus for the scheduled passenger trains of both companies to major destinations such as London, Manchester and Liverpool, between 1838 and 1854. It was formally opened on 24 June 1838, and received its first train from London on 17 September of that year. Being incapable of permitting through trains, it quickly proved to be inadequate even after expansion efforts to accommodate longer trains. Thus, during the 1840s, the newly-created Midland Railway opted to build a larger and more suitable station, Birmingham New Street, half a mile away from the earlier station that would take over most of its passenger traffic in 1854.
During the 1850s, Curzon Street station found a new role handling freight traffic; conversion work was undertaken between 1860 and 1965 to turn it into a dedicated goods station. In addition, limited passenger traffic, such as special excursion trains, called at that station up until its closure to passengers in 1893. It was heavily used for railway freight into the British Rail era, only being closed to rail-based goods traffic in 1966. Many original features were demolished at this time, such as the platforms and trainshed, but the principal entrance building survived and was given Grade I listed status. While much of the site continued to be used for road-based parcel traffic, the principal building was used as office space for various purposes, including the occasional art event. During the 2010s, it was announced that the site and the principal building would be reused and integrated into the new Birmingham Curzon Street railway station, and host the high speed services on High Speed 2.
History
Background
The construction of the station, which was originally known simply as Birmingham station, is closely associated with the creation of the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR), the first intercity line to be built into London and the largest project to have ever been undertaken in Britain at the time. At Birmingham, the L&BR connected with the Grand Junction Railway (GJR), which was constructed at the same time; it had been intended for the two railways to meet end on as to facilitate the running of through services; however, on account of the opposition of influential land owners, the GJR's desired alignment was blocked, necessitating the creation of two adjacent termini stations, one for each company, at Curzon Street.
The L&BR's station was built on the south side of the site, featuring a pair of platforms in parallel (one for arrivals and the other for departures), along with four carriage sidings next to the tracks leading to the two outer platforms; six lines in total served the station. A sizable train shed that was supported by a pair of wrought iron truss spans covered both the platforms and the six tracks, covering an area of 217 feet (66 metres) long and 113 feet (34 metres) wide. To the rear of the departure platform, a lengthy building accommodating booking offices, waiting rooms and a parcels office was present. Furthermore, it also featured a grand three-storey Principal Building complete with four massive Ionic columns that intentionally matched the Doric Euston Arch present at the London terminus.
The GJR's station was located on the northern side of the site in a triangular area of land. It featured parallel departure and arrivals platforms, which had to be staggered in order to fit into the available land. The GJR also built their own independent entrance building and booking office (now demolished) which were located behind the departure platform. Separate yards for passengers and their horse-drawn carriages were present between the station and Curzon Street. The GJR's facilities were mainly designed by Joseph Franklin.
Various additional railway facilities were also constructed nearby on land to the south and east of the station; these included carriage sheds for the L&BR, a sixteen-sided engine house, and freight handling areas for the transhipment of goods between the L&BR and the neighbouring Birmingham Canal. A dedicated L&BR freight depot was also established to the north of the station.
