Hall Green Station

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Less than a mile from Spring Road Platform was the first main station on the North Warwickshire Line. Hall Green Station was opened on 9th December 1908 and had extensive passenger and goods facilities. A covered foot bridge linked the two platforms and on the down side also provided access onto the adjacent road. The main platform building was located on the Birmingham (up) side, with a smaller waiting room and toilets on the other side. The main building was 106 foot long and housed respectively from south to north; the station master's office, parcels office and cloakroom, booking office, booking hall, general waiting room, ladies waiting room with a ladies toilet and the gentlemen’s toilets. Access to the offices and waiting rooms was from the platform side only. Both buildings were red brick and their roofs were integral with the platform canopy.

Although there was no goods shed, a lock up and 3 ton crane were provided in the goods yard behind the Birmingham platform. In 1929 facilities were provided for general goods traffic, coal traffic, unloading horse boxes and prize cattle vans and a free cartage service was provided to Hall Green village. By 1956 the goods yard boasted facilities for unloading horse boxes, furniture vans, carriages, motor cars and other machinery. Ten years later, several of the sidings were removed, with all removed by 19th April 1969 and the area was subsequently converted into the station car park.

From the start a Signal Box was located close to the end of the down platform and in addition being a Block box this controlled access to the good yard and private sidings. In the 1930s the normal weekday/Saturday opening times were from 5:30am to 1:00am. The box was a Great Western Type 7d Signal Box, brick built with a hipped roof and internal staircase. It had 29 levers. Adjacent to the Signal box was a trailing point to a private siding belonging to E Farmer. By 1929 this siding belonged to Builders and General Traders (EJ. Smith & Co.), Metals Ltd and also served British & Saar Steel Co Ltd. This siding was removed 30th May 1965. A second private siding is recorded as belonging to William E Farrer Ltd and Standard Pavements Co Ltd, which according to Paul Townsend, whose father was between 1968 and 1981, was located next to the premises at the end of a short road called Welby Road.

In the 1930s the goods traffic to and from Hall Green was heavy enough to require a dedicated daily shunting and trip engine. This engine left Tyseley shed at 3:15pm every weekday to work an empty Parcels vans train to Shirley arriving at 3:30pm. Here it picked up a Goods Brake Van and proceeded back to Hall Green where it was required to carry out shunting duties. At 6:55pm it left Hall Green with a loaded 'J' headcode 'Through Freight' train for Tyseley arriving at 7:02pm. After performing a local duty at Tyseley, the engine and Brake Van travelled to Bordesley to haul the 9:00pm ‘run as required 'J' headcode 'Through Freight' train back to Hall Green arriving at 9:12pm. After the engine had returned to shed, the brake van was forwarded to Shirley on the 10:25am morning goods service.

Robert Ferris

The table below was extracted from VicMitchell's and Keith Smith's book 'Stratford upon Avon to Birmingham Moor Street' published by Middleton Press, ISBN 1 904474 77 2.

Description	1913	1923	1933
Passenger tickets issued	50,079	57,744	55,872
Season tickets issued	1,382	2,956	13,899
Parcels forwarded	20,420	49,533	24,292
General goods forwarded (tons)	400	338	813
Coal and coke received (tons)	355	396	1,199
Other minerals received (tons)	13,427	13,200	1,907
General goods received (tons)	4,237	4,285	7,214
Trucks of livestock handled	10	4	1

Much of the information on this and other pages of Warwickshire Railways is derived from articles or books listed in our 'bibliography'.

Ref: gwrhg1358 Birmingham Central Library Construction of the North Warwickshire Railway near Hall Green with a horse drawn wagon in the foreground

Ref: gwrhg464 Postcard Looking towards Stratford upon Avon as a Rail Car passes under Stratford Road bridge entering the station

Ref: gwrhg464a Postcard Close up of the GWR Rail Car entering Hall Green shortly after the North Warwickshire Railway line opened

Ref: gwrhg46b Postcard Close up of the up platform where the main passenger facilities - booking office and waiting rooms were located

Ref: gwrhg1113 RS Carpenter Looking north with the goods yard and a row of wagons in the distance at the end of the up platform on the left

Ref: gwrhg1113a RS Carpenter Close up of the up platform, the goods lock up shed and the permanent way workers' mess hut and store

Ref: gwrhg1113b RS Carpenter Close up of the signal box at the end of the down platform and the lamps blacken out as wartime precautions

Ref: gwrhg1114 RS Carpenter Looking towards Stratford upon Avon from the Birmingham end of the up platform which is on the right

Ref: gwrhg1114a RS Carpenter Close up showing the down platform waiting room and footbridge which connected passengers to both platforms

Ref: gwrhg1114b RS Carpenter Close up showing Hall Green station's main building, housing the booking offices and waiting rooms

Ref: gwrhg2931 Postcard A 1908 view of the station at the time of its opening with some of the staff standing on the up platform

Ref: gwrhg462 Lens of Sutton A 1960s view of the station seen from the north end of the up platform showing the replacement lampposts

Ref: gwrhg462a Lens of Sutton Close up showing Hall Green's starter signal silhouetted against the road bridge by a sighting board

Ref: gwrhg463 Lens of Sutton Looking north from the Stratford upon Avon end of the up platform with the signal box in the distance

Ref: gwrhg463a Lens of Sutton Close up of Hall Green Signal Box which controlled the section through the station and the goods yard's sidings

Ref: gwrhg463b Lens of Sutton Close up of the down platform's passenger facilities comprising of a waiting room and Gentlemen's toilet facilities

Ref: gwrhg2926a G Adams Close up showing the end of the up platform and part of the station's goods yard and lineside structures

Ref: gwrhg2934 RS Carpenter Looking south from York Road with the goods yard on the right and the steel stockholder on the left

Ref: gwrhg1786 JF Barnes A photograph from the GWR magazine of May 1926 showing new cycles being stored on Hall Green station

Ref: gwrhg1357 Lens of Sutton View of Hall Green's station staff, including porters and signalmen, seated on the Birmingham platform whilst posing for the camera

Ref: gwrhg3001 Anon Hall Green Signal Box in the late 1960s little changed since the Signal Box was opened on 9th December 1907

Ref: gwrhg3881 Goodman Collection Ten Velocette KTT Mk3 motorcycles destined for the Isle of Man TT race are being loaded on to a carriage wagon

Locomotives seen at or near Hall Green station

Ref: gwrhg3895 G Adams GWR 0-4-2T 517 class No 574 providing the motive power behind a Rail Motor Car service about to depart Hall Green Up platform

Ref: gwrhg2929 G Adams Ex-GWR 2-6-2T 'Large Prairie' No 3101 is seen on an up local passenger service to Birmingham on 8th June 1957

Ref: gwrhg2926 G Adams Ex-GWR 2-6-2T 'Large Prairie' No 3101 now leaves Hall Green with the up services to Birmingham on 8th June 1957

Ref: gwrhg2930 xxx Ex-GWR 4-6-0 No 6971 'Athelhampton Hall' passes through Hall Green on a down express on 16th May 1964

Ref: gwrhg2324 C Gorton Ex-GWR 56xx class 0-6-2T No 5605 leaves Hall Green Goods Yard with a local goods on Friday 9th April 1965

Ref: gwrhg2927 Stations UK An ex-GWR Diesel Railcar enters the station on a down local service to Stratford upon Avon in 1959

Ref: gwrhg3002 M Mensing Ex-GWR 0-6-0PT 8750 class Pannier No 9753 being rerailed by the Tyseley Breakdown gang in 1962

Ordnance Survey Maps and a Signal Diagram of Hall Green station

Ref: gwrhg2932 Ordnance Survey A 1914 revised OS map revised in 1913-4 published in 1919 showing Hall Green station and goods yard

Ref: gwrhg2925 Ordnance Survey A 1916 Ordnance Survey map of Hall Green showing the station, goods yard and 'contractors' sidings

Ref: gwrhg2933 Ordnance Survey A 1938 Ordnance Survey map showing the 'contractors sidings' are still evident at Hall Green station

Ref: gwrhg2928 Ordnance Survey A larger scale 1937 Ordnance Survey map showing Hall Green station and its extensive goods yard

Ref: sign-diag-hall-green Signalling Record Society A low resolution version of the Signalling Diagram for Hall Green Signal Box produced courtesy of the SRS