LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton

LMS Route: Nuneaton to Leamington

Coventry Station

Use the links below to access the following sections:

• Coventry Station on the London and Birmingham Railway Line (Article)
• The 1838 and 1840 London & Birmingham Railway stations
• Coventry station from 1860 to circa 1903
• Aerial photographs
• External views of the station
• Internal views of Coventry Station
• Coventry Station's Parcel Dock
• Platform One
• Bomb damage to the station and the carriage sidings
• The Leamington branch line and the southern approaches
• Platform Two
• Coventry Goods Yard
• The Nuneaton branch line and the northern approaches
• Demolition and rebuilding of Coventry station
• The new station
• Members of Staff
• Maps of Coventry station, goods shed and yard

Coventry Station on the London and Birmingham Railway Line by Peter S Richards

This article first appeared in the LNWR Society Journal Volume 7 Edition No 1 June 2012. Our thanks to the LNWR Society for allowing its reproduction.

This article concerns just station: one of the first to be built on the main railway line between London and Birmingham, and its influence.¹ Coventry's early Victorian industries were in small factories, which were little more than workshops, and these used relatively small quantities of raw materials. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Coventry became one of the three main UK centres of watch and clock manufacture and ranked alongside Prescot, near Liverpool and Clerkenwell in London. The first bicycle was made in the 1860s. When the railway was being planned between London and Birmingham, Coventry men showed little interest in it. They had their own flourishing canal; between 1829 and 1838 it paid an annual dividend of 44%. (2) Coventry was also served by the Coventry and Ashby Canal, which paid a modest dividend. It was a branch from the Oxford Canal but it must have been adequate although the city continued to depend heavily on road transport until the opening of the L&BR. Before the coming of the L&BR, it was claimed Coventry had a good coach service. The industrial development of Coventry has depended far more on roads.

London & Birmingham Railway

By passing to the south west of the City the line was not only shorter but construction had been easier because of the lower level of the Fletch Hampstead Valley of the Canley Brook to Tile Hill, where only a short tunnel was needed. If the line had been built nearer the centre of the city it would have involved considerable expense in compensating the owners of land and property. The railway company certainly provided Coventry with excellent facilities, but the city was slow to benefit from the railway. The London & Birmingham Railway Company opened the line between Rugby and Birmingham on 9th April 1838; Coventry was opened as a principal station on that section of the line. It soon proved its worth. In May 1839, a special train brought the Corps of Riflemen from Birmingham to Coventry to deal with disturbances which took place at Chartist Meetings. The whole line between London and Birmingham was held up by the problems of excavating the Kilsby Tunnel and through running did not start until 17th September 1838.

The First Station

The old station lay in sandstone cutting deep enough on the eastern approaches to support the Mile Lane Bridge. This bridge had been designed by Robert Stephenson as part of the original works, as an elliptical flying arch springing directly from the rock without need for abutments (brickwork or masonry forming the side of a bridge, taking the thrust of the arch). In tooled stone, probably taken from the cutting, it has irregular radial voussoirs (wedge shaped stones or brickwork forming the edge of an arch) and courses below a roll cornice (projecting horizontal moulding along the top of a wall or over an arch) and parapet. There are two similar bridges at each end of Beechwood Tunnel, just less than four miles west of Coventry. The opening of Coventry station was attended with much ceremony; crowds of spectators packed the bridges in the area to see the first train arriving from Birmingham just after 10.00 a.m. The original station at Coventry was a very inconvenient one. It was situated immediately on the road to Kenilworth. The L&BR passed early Victorian Coventry on the south west. As originally built, it lay outside the city boundary and passed over the Freeman's Piece, which was until then, agricultural land. Coventry was to wait thirty years, until 1871, for a direct road to the station which was a commendably wide one, lined with detached villas. Because the main line passed south of the city, through peculiarities of land ownership and freeman's open rights, it was hemmed in, so that when the buildings of the town reached the station, it was late and from the opposite direction. Although this station was a miserable one, it did have a waiting room with a female attendant.

The station buildings were at road level on the overbridge; in order to reach the trains passengers had to descend a long dog leg flight of steps, made worse by the fact that there were no raised platforms as such. The Osborne engraving shows a short platform for the Up side, the one reached by the flights of steps mentioned. The Down side was reached by a stairway from the road south of the overbridge. There was no protection from the elements – a principal station at that! Robert Stephenson had used it as his headquarters for the Birmingham and Rugby section. Despite this, the directors made the same grievous mistake as they had at Rugby by providing a station totally inadequate for the obvious needs of such a centre of population. It was, however, only for a short while. The local paper described this day as one of ‘great commercial and national importance’. One local manufacturer pointed out that ribbons and silks alike could now easily reach London and five leading London wholesale houses continued to maintain a ‘Coventry ribbon department’, which kept the industry with a small but regular trade till about 1890. This was despite the signing of the Cobden Treaty with France in 1860, which removed all duties on imported French ribbons and silks. (3)

Second Station

In 1840 a new station was built and opened to the general public in order to facilitate the business, which was increasing, (along with the growing luggage theft!) and in 1845 with more trains to service, the water tank had to be enlarged. It appears that extra sidings were built as the Company's minutes indicate that an existing footbridge needed to be replaced by a new longer one. The new 1840 station was built just to the east of the original, largely on the present site. The approach was still from the original booking office but the steps were replaced with a long ramp, which lead down to the platforms. Among the many later improvements made in the new station were the doubling in the number of platforms, and the junctions for the Leamington and Nuneaton branches were realigned. A large parcels depot was built at the London end. It is described as a ‘light and airy construction which greets passengers arriving at Coventry, who find it in pleasant harmony with the architecture of the new City’. In 1841 the L&BR signed a contract for the erection of twenty-six cottages at Coventry station. As accommodation was scarce the L&BR needed to build these blocks of houses and were able to because the station was originally outside the town. (4) These cottages, beside the line, were only knocked down in 1971 to make space for an extension of the goods station.

Meanwhile alterations and additions to the original carriage sheds had been approved. The station was altered considerably about 1850 and again about 1860. A new, more commodious and more accessible booking hall was built when the alterations were being made. This, however, was to soon prove inadequate and remain so for many years. The poet Tennyson even wrote of Coventry:

Lines to Coventry
I waited for the train at Coventry
I hung with grooms and porters on the bridge,
To watch the three tall spires.

The train for which Tennyson waited must have been an LNWR one as no other company's passenger trains were ever allowed to run regularly to Coventry. The LNWR's almost total stranglehold on the city is perhaps one reason why it has never been considered an important railway centre, except perhaps by those who know the area. There were only two other lines: one to Nuneaton and the other to Leamington, compared with many more at Rugby.

A further round of alterations was made in 1904 and that station remained until it was completely rebuilt with glass and concrete and re-opened on 1st March 1962. The 1904 replacement station was enlarged several times before electrification, including an extension for which the LMS received powers in 1935. Although only slightly damaged in the blitz which destroyed large areas of Coventry, it was too old, too dirty and too cramped for electrification. Coventry is not as well situated as many places in relation to the rail network of the country. Much of the traffic from London to the north bypassed the city station once the Trent Valley Line was opened. In the late 1940s there was an average of 5,500 passengers daily per week, conveyed by an average of 188 trains. The Town Planning authorities claimed that Coventry City station was inadequate and that redevelopment should be undertaken as a high priority with greater facilities including additional lines and platforms. Over the years since the L&BR was opened in 1838, there had been successive enlargements to the first and second stations, both which were soon proven inadequate. Excavations for a third station started in 1938 but these were halted by the Second World War. The report of the Town Planning authorities provided an impetus for this work to be taken up again. (5)

The result was that in 1962, when the new station was opened, it was what was acclaimed as one of Britain's best post-war stations and was twice the size of the old one. It was deliberately designed to be in keeping with the reconstruction of the war damaged city and was ready for the opening of the new cathedral. The station is an expression of unadorned simplicity, yet had none of the starkness of many of its contemporaries, principally due to the extensive and imaginative use of glass within the concrete frame. The lofty uncluttered concourse has a striking wooden ceiling under a slab roof which extends over the forecourt, articulating with the matching bus shelter underneath. The design is completely integrated, flowing up a broad staircase on to an open mezzanine overlooking the concourse, across the foot and luggage bridges, and down to the platform beneath their generous awnings. Over 40 years on, the station retains a freshness and presence long since lost by many 1960s buildings in Coventry and elsewhere. What is more for the passenger, it is easy to use.

The Population

The reasons for the temporary decline between 1861 and 1881 are not clear. It is true that in the 1870s the age at marriage for the whole population started to grow, after a decline in the previous years. This, of course, had its influence on the birth rate, although migration must account for some of this growth. Although the railway played its part in the overall increase in population, by migration, between 1831 and 1891, the main reason was probably improved health and living conditions, along with the demand for labour from the expanding industries, especially bicycles. (6) Coventry had long been a centre for the manufacture of watches and clocks. However, during the eighteenth century this did not become a power driven industry and the nineteenth century it declined in the face of foreign competition; many of the skilled workers left, some to take up work on the railway. By providing Birmingham International Station with multiple tracks there was at last a turn-back point for many local services on the heavily congested Birmingham-Coventry-Rugby main line, elsewhere restricted to double tracks. (7)

Conclusion No manufacturing area of the West Midlands suffered a more severe decline in rail traffic than Coventry. When the freight terminal was closed to public traffic in November 1982 specialised consignments went to the Wednesbury Steel Terminal. In May 1872 Inter-city passenger services were significantly changed for the first time since electrification; there was a weekday half hourly service, all calling at Coventry. Local services have increased recently. Today the commuters to Birmingham are served well with eight trains between 8am and 9am, as well as many others during the day.

References

(1) This paper is an update of Chapter eight in the author's thesis: Some geographical aspects of the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway and its influence on the towns along its route. Unpublished MA thesis, University of London 1957.
(2) Simmons, Jack (1986), The Railway in Town and Country 1830 – 1914 p. 154
(3) Woodward, Sir Llewellyn, (1962), The Age of Reform 1815 – 1870, pp. 179 – 180
(4) Minutes of the Coaching and Police Committee of the London and Birmingham Railway Co: Entry dated June 24th. 1840; Minutes of the Ways and Works Committee of the L&B Railway Co. Entry dated December 12th. 1845 Minutes of the Ways and Works Committee of the L&B Railway Co. Entry dated 1st February 1846
(5) Coventry: the Development Plan (1951) p. 66
(6) Habbakuk, H J (1971), Population growth and economic development since 1780 is a lucid account of this complex subject
(7) Richards, Peter S (2011). Birmingham International Station. Industrial Heritage Volume 35 No. 2 pp 223-24

Additional Sources

Biddle, Gordon, 1990. The Railway Surveyors.
Biddle, Gordon, Ed. 2003 Britain's historic Railway Buildings: An Oxford Gazetteer of Structures and Sites.
Christiansen, Rex, 2nd Edition 1983 A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 7 The West Midlands
Cook, R A 1990, Coventry – A survey of a Transport Centre. Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society Volume XXX Part 1 No 144 pp 15 - 31

Acknowledgment

The original Minute Books of the L&BR are preserved in the PRO at Kew. My thanks to the staff at Kew.

Peter S Richards

Accident at Coventry on 4th October 1868

A derailment at Coventry caused by a temporary repair to pointwork not being replaced in a timely manner and proving inadequate for a larger engine. This document was published on 15th October 1868 by Board of Trade. It was written by Capt. H. W. Tyler.

"In compliance with the instructions contained in your minute of the 7th instant, I have now the honour to report for the information of the Board of Trade, the result of my enquiry into the circumstances which attended the accident that occurred on the 4th instant, near the Coventry station on the London and North-Western Railway. The Leamington branch leaves the London and Birmingham section of the above railway 100 yards to the south of the Coventry station, and then curves sharply to the westward. There is a double line of rails for a quarter of a mile only, and on the south of the branch there are an engine shed, certain sidings, and an engine turntable."

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The following is an extract from one of Reg Kimber's scrapbooks compiled over 50 years.

Reconstruction of Coventry Railway Station 1938

£100,000 Scheme Commenced to Include Island Platform on Cheylesmore Side

From the Midland Daily Telegraph January 15th 1938

The work of reconstructing Coventry Railway Station has commenced. It involves the building of an island platform on the down, or Cheylesmore side. The cost will be about £100,000 and the work will take about twelve months to complete. This forms part of a larger scheme which the LMS. Company hopes to be able to carry out in the future. Huts to serve as offices for the clerk of works' and the foremen have already been erected outside the station, and the bookstall on the up platform has been moved a few yards nearer London. The bookstall has been re-built and equipped with electric light. Taking this platform first - the present offices used by the stationmaster (Mr E. Barnett) and his clerks will have a couple of rooms added to them, and this whole block will form the new general and women's waiting rooms, which will include first-class accommodation for the first time. Then, in the place vacated by the bookstall, an electric lift for luggage and traffic will be built to replace the present hydraulic lift.

HANDLING OF COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC

The latter part of the station's amenities, with the kitchen and dining room, will be transformed into the stationmaster's and his clerk's offices. The telegraph office will remain as it is. The cloak-room is to be thrown into the parcels office, to provide more room for dealing with parcels traffic, and the dining room is to be transformed into the new cloakroom. The office of the passenger agent, Mr. W. H. Kirt, will remain as it is. An important improvement, making for easier handling of commercial traffic, will be the provision of a straight run from the parcels office on to the platform. This will be effected by knocking down part of the wall by the present cloakroom. The public counter of the parcels office will be twice as long.

Finally, all the clocks - those in the. clerks' offices as well as the timepieces on the platforms, will all be synchronised, and, moreover, there will be another on the outside of the building facing the road. On the down side, the platform that is to be made into an island will be half as long again, and will extend up to the Warwick Road bridge. It will easily accommodate 15 big coaches.

The following is courtesy of Tring & District Local History & Museum Society

The following is an article which appeared in The Coventry Herald, 23rd March 1838, 'A train consisting of five carriages, arrived at the Coventry Station about half-past two o'clock on Monday last, on a trip from Birmingham to Rugby. This is the first time that the entire line so far has been traversed . . . . We understand that the London and Birmingham Railway Company have given notice to Messrs. Chaplin and Co., (who are to convey passengers by coaches and carriages between Denbigh Hall and Rugby) to have their horses and carriages in readiness on the 9th April; but that it is more probable that the day of opening will be Easter Monday, the 16th of April.'

The Standard, wrote on 18th September 1838:

'The most beautiful town, or rather city, on the whole line is, however, Coventry. The spires of St. Michael's church, 300 feet high, of the Holy Trinity, and of the Grey Friars, are the great ornament of the neighbourhood, and are seen to great advantage from the road. There is a splendid station here, whole staircases of stone, and every accommodation for the landing and departure of travellers. Taking this line of road as a whole, it is one of the most stupendous undertakings of modern times, and will ultimately lead to results of which it is difficult to foretell the extent.'

Initially, Coventry was regarded as the most important intermediate station on the line. Situated a short distance to the south of the City, the earliest record of a train reaching Coventry Station appears in the Coventry Standard on 26th February 1838. 'We understand that a steamer, with four travelling carriages, arrived at the Coventry Station of the London and Birmingham railway yesterday from Birmingham, about twelve o'clock, and immediately returned. Some of the Directors and their friends occupied the carriages.'

Judging from the surviving images, Coventry’s first railway station was probably not dissimilar to those at Watford and at Tring. Each was built above a cutting and adjacent to a road bridge, their passengers descending flights of stairs to the track, for platforms were not at first provided. Eliezer Edwards recalls arriving at Coventry Station late one night in 1839: 'I arrived at Coventry station at midnight. A solitary porter with a lantern was in attendance. There was no lamp about the place. The guard clambered to the roof of the carriage in which I had travelled, and the porter brought a long board, having raised edges, down which my luggage came sliding to the ground. The train passed on, and I made inquiry for some vehicle to convey me to ‘The Craven Arms,’ half a mile away. None were in attendance, nor was there any one who would carry my ‘traps.’ I had about a hundred-weight of patterns, besides my portmanteau. I ‘might leave my patterns in his room,’ the porter said, and I ‘had better carry my things myself.’ There was no help for it, so, shouldering the portmanteau, I carried it up a narrow brick stair to the roadway. The Station then consisted of the small house by the side of the bridge which crosses the railway, and the only means of entrance or exit to the line was by this steep stair, which was about three feet wide. The booking office was on the level of the road, by the side of the bridge, where Tennyson ‘Hung with grooms and porters,’ while he ‘Waited for the train at Coventry.’ Carrying a heavy portmanteau half a mile on a hot night, when you are tired, is not a pleasant job. When I arrived, hot and thirsty, at the inn, I looked upon the night porter as my best friend, when, after a little parley, he was able to get me a little something, ‘out of a bottle o‘ my own, you know, sir,’ with which I endeavoured, successfully, to repair the waste of tissue.' Recollections of Birmingham, Eliezer Edwards (1877).

The original station soon proved too small for the number of passengers that the Railway attracted, added to which the narrow staircases down to the track proved to be obstacles to moving luggage while the absence of platforms led to difficulty in boarding/descending from trains. In 1840, the Station was enlarged, the original station building becoming the stationmaster’s house. The Bucks Herald wrote on 7th September 1839: 'The Coventry station, the next in succession, is considered to be the best on the line for passengers and goods; but, not possessing sufficient accommodation, the company are going to erect a new one on a much more extensive and commodious plan. The front elevation, as shown in ground plan, will extend about 200 feet. Here, as at Watford, the tickets are collected from the passengers by the down trains.'

Two platforms were built standing back from the main line and about 100 yards further east, and ramps were provided up to street level. Two loop lines diverged from the main line, one to each platform, where they arrived under canopies, an arrangement that left the main line free for passing traffic. Francis Wishaw left his usual detailed description of the new Station in 'The Railways of Great Britain and Ireland (1842)' referring to the platform canopies as sheds, which suggests that the platform lines at this time might have been fully enclosed.

'The new Coventry station, which is one of the principal intermediate stopping-places, is situate on the right side of the way going from London, at a distance of about one hundred yards from the bridge which carries the Warwick turnpike-road over the railway. The original station was very inconveniently located, being at a considerable elevation above the railway, causing thereby much additional labour in carrying the passengers’ luggage up and down a long flight of steps, besides the annoyance in bad weather to passengers, who had to pass from the booking-office to the railway without any protection from the elements. The new station is, in all respects, free from such annoyance, and appears to be altogether well arranged. The level of the passenger-platforms is 2 feet above the rails, whereby stepping up to the carriages is altogether avoided. There are two sheds, each 226 feet 6 inches in length and 19 feet 6 inches in clear width; that on the left from London being for the down trains, and that on the right for the up trains. Through each shed a single way is laid from the main double way, which passes between the sheds. This arrangement admits of free passage on the main way during the stoppage of the trains at this station. Abutting on the inner side of each shed is a range of buildings, 92 feet 6 inches in length and 22 feet 8 inches in depth, containing a parcels-office, booking-office, general waiting-room, and ladies’ waiting-room, with convenient water-closets and urinals. In front of this building is a paved platform 10 feet wide and 2 feet above the rails. The glass-doors, nine in number, in front of the station-buildings, remind us of some of the Belgian railway stations; and the same plan has been adopted in the Edmonton station of the Northern and Eastern Railway. In the rear of each shed is a covered way for common road-carriages, with a platform 6 feet wide next to the building. Apart from the buildings are two water-columns with engine-races 20 feet 6 inches in length, as also carriage-docks, with turning platforms conveniently arranged.

The whole station is enclosed with stone walls, and is approached from Coventry by gates at about seventy yards from the station-building. The establishment, in August 1839, at the Coventry station consisted of the superintendent and two clerks, two ticket-collectors, one inspector, one policeman, ten porters, two switchmen, one gas-man, and one pumping-engine man. There are usually kept at this station two first-class and two second-class carriages. There is a 6-horse pumping-engine on the west side. In the building containing this engine are also rooms for the police and porters. The well is about 30 feet deep, and 4 feet in diameter; and the water-tank is 20 feet 9 inches long, 14 feet 9 inches wide, and 4 feet deep. There is also a locomotive engine-house to hold one engine and tender, with folding-gates at the entrance; within there are a smith’s forge, anvil, and bench. On the siding at the entrance is a 12-feet turn-table. The urinals are enclosed with close boarding, and covered over with a shallow rain-water tank 8 inches in depth, a pipe from which conducts the water to the trough for the purpose of cleansing it. In front of this enclosure the name of the station is painted in conspicuous letters. The rates and tolls are painted on a large board at this station . . . .'

As the Company’s business strategy was aimed initially at the passenger trade, it is, perhaps, unsurprising that facilities for handling goods at the Station were initially poor or non-existent. The Coventry Herald wrote on 28th August 1840: 'We stated last week, that the Directors of the London and Birmingham Railway, had given instructions for the necessary erections of sheds at Coventry, for the reception and deposit of goods to be transferred direct to and from this City per Railway. This week we are enabled to add, that a contract has been entered into for building the new Station for the Carrying Trade, to be completed in three months. This arrangement will be highly acceptable to our Tradespeople and Manufacturers, who have been greatly unconvinced, and subjected to charges much more excessive than those of other principal manufacturing towns, for the want of such accommodation.'

However, it was not for some years that a proper goods depot was established. As detailed in 'A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 8. ‘The City of Coventry: Communications’. Goods routed to and from Coventry were, for some years after 1838, sent via Birmingham, but by 1863 there was a goods station west of Warwick Road Bridge. What industry there was developed to the north of the City, away from the railway, but its connections with vehicle and cycle manufacturing did not at any rate result in a large volume of railway goods traffic. In addition to the main line, two further lines later entered Coventry Station. The Coventry to Leamington railway, which entered from the east, was opened in 1844, initially linking the City with Milverton, but in 1851 the line was extended into Leamington Spa. In September 1850, a line was opened to Nuneaton, which entered the Station from its western end, and over which the Midland railway had freight running rights. Plans are currently in place to upgrade both the Leamington (including electrification) and Nuneaton lines. In 1914, the Coventry Loop or Avoiding Line around the north-east of the City (linking the Nuneaton and Rugby lines) was opened for freight traffic to avoid Coventry Station and serve the City’s industrial areas - it was closed 1982.

The Coventry Herald reported on 13th December 1844, 'On Monday last, this line, connecting Coventry, Kenilworth, Leamington, and Warwick, by means of the London & Birmingham Railway, with the Metropolis, was opened. The line is about nine miles long, and 10 from town, being within four hours’ journey of the Metropolis. It has been constructed under the superintendence of Mr. Robert Stephenson, is what is technically termed a single line, has cost £170,000, and has taken eighteen months to complete. On Monday week, the Directors of the London and Birmingham made an experimental trip over it, accompanied by Major-General Pasley, the Government Inspector of railways, starting by the six o'clock a.m.. train from London, and after examining the most important points upon the line, reached Leamington at twelve, and partook of a cold collation. They returned by special train to town, General Pasley expressing himself highly satisfied with the works and general engineering. One of the main advantages of this extension will be the facilities it will confer on the inhabitants of the southern districts of Warwickshire for the economical supply of coals. The line is of a singular construction, being a continued series of ascents and descents, forming an undulating surface from terminus to terminus.

Kenilworth, the only station between Coventry and Leamington, is five miles from the former, and three and three quarters from the latter, is situated on the outskirts of the town. The Leamington station is elegantly constructed in the Roman Doric style, and is situated in the main road between Leamington and Warwick, in the parish of Milverton, near to Emscote. A continued series of cuttings and embankments occur throughout the distance. The branch diverges, by a sharp curve, out of the main line at Coventry, and preserves an undulating course to Leamington, a perpetual impetus being kept up between the ascents and descents. One of the principal works is that of the Milburn viaduct, prettily situated in the middle of a valley, and composed of seventeen arches of red brick, faced with stone. Then following a timber bridge of fifty feet span, uniting the roads of Leek Wooton, Hill Wooton, and Stoneleigh, with Guy’s Cliffe so named after the celebrated Earl of Warwick. The Avon viaduct, a beautiful structure, is composed of nine arches of sixty feet span, in the neighbourhood of the Hon. B. G. Percy. The Leamington station is somewhat inconveniently placed at a distance of one mile from both Leamington and Warwick, and the fact of its being only a single line is probably attributable to the high price of land in this neighbourhood, which in some instances had to be purchased at £700 and £800 per acre.'

Scope for further enlarging passenger-handling facilities at Coventry was constrained by road bridges on either side of the Station (Stoney Road to the south, Warwick Road to the north) and its location in a cutting; together, these restricted it to two main lines and prevented the platforms from being extended to any great extent. Nevertheless, some changes were made. The Station acquired 'probably during the late 1840s' an engine shed, water column, turntable, and a footbridge to connect its two platforms, with further alterations being made at various times thereafter. In this form the Station lasted until 1960, then to be demolished and replaced two years later by an entirely new four-platform structure (surprisingly now Grade-II listed) at the time of electrification.

Ref: lnwrcov553 Illustrated London News View of the 1838 station building sited on Warwick Road as a Bury locomotive heads a train to Birmingham

Ref: broom2 G Broom GRA Looking towards Birmingham with the 1838 L&BR engine shed on the left and the original station on the right

Ref: lnwrcov559 Illustrated London News A Birmingham to London train hauled by a Bury 2-2-0 locomotive arrives at Coventry's orginal L&B station

Ref: lnwrcov2761 Anon Engraving showing part of the second station's parcels bridge with the city's famous 3 spires in the background

Ref: lnwrcov609 HW Robinson The 1838 original L&B station building which remained in use as accommodation for station staff until 1959

Ref: lnwrcov1563 HW Robinson Another view of the 1838 station with the private driveway to the platforms and parcels buildings on the left

Ref: lnwrcov3770a RCTS MM00229C Close up of the rear of the original 1838 station building which was used to accommodate station staff

Ref: lnwrcov2766 HW Robinson View of the London and Birmingham Railway cottages which stood above the railway off Warwick Road

Ref: lnwrcov4353 L&GRP A row of seven London & Birmingham workmen's 'cottages' standing above Warwick Road bridge in 1950s

Ref: lnwrcov4352 L&GRP One of the London & Birmingham Railway's Property Numberplate, seen in the late 1950s

Ref: lnwrcov578 Illustrated London News A drawing of an early period L&BR train to London hauled by a Bury 2-2-0 approaching the outskirts of Coventry

Ref: lnwrcov2344 Anon View of the original bridge which carried Earlsdon Lane over the London and Birmingham Railway in 1837

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Coventry station from 1860 to circa 1903

Ref: lnwrcov620 Coventry Library Looking north, view of the second Coventry station built in 1840 showing the use of platforms with canopies

Ref: lnwrcov620a Coventry Library Close up showing the London end of the up platform, the water column, ash pit and the original and new signals

Ref: lnwrcov620b Coventry Library Close up of Coventry's down platform and canopy whilst a locomotive is seen underneath taking on water

Ref: lnwrcov620c Coventry Library Close up of the north end of the up platform and the base of the passenger foot bridge for the down platform

Ref: lnwrcov620d Coventry Library Close up of the main portion of the station's second up platform and a multitude of advertsing posters

Ref: lnwrcov645 Coventry Library View of a LNWR 2-2-2 Bloomer at the up platform and a LNWR 0-6-0 DX goods passing through the station

Ref: lnwrcov645b Coventry Library Close up of the LNWR Brake Coach with its guards ducket and lamp on top and an early form of emergency cord

Ref: lnwrcov645c Coventry Library Close up of of an early L&B four-wheels coach still fitted with luggage retaining supports fitted to the roof

Ref: lnwrcov1282 English Heritage Looking to Birmingham from Stoney Road bridge with the down platform on the left and the up platform on the right

Ref: lnwrcov1282f English Heritage Close up of the original L & B water column now modified for its new position at the south end of the up platform

Ref: lnwrcov1282c English Heritage Close up showing the track at the north end of the station including the turnouts to the L & B shed and the up platform

Ref: lnwrcov1282d English Heritage Close up showing the parcels siding including the wagon turntable installed on the right hand siding

Ref: lnwrcov1282a English Heritage Close up of a gas lamppost and the ducting used to protect the rodding to the signal and points

Ref: lnwrcov1282b English Heritage Close up showing the new waiting room and just how short the down platform was for much of the 19th century

Ref: lnwrcov289 Coventry Library Looking towards Birmingham as a LNWR 0-6-0 Cauliflower heads a passenger train into the up platform

Ref: lnwrcov289a Coventry Library Close up of the up platform after the 1890 building modifications but prior to the 1901-04 alterations

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Aerial photographs

Photographed in 1920

Ref: lnwrcov554 Coventry Library Aerial view of the station and goods yard showing Spence Park footbridge and Quinton Road overbridge

Ref: lnwrcov554a Coventry Library Close up showing the original 1838 station building, the 1901 rebuilt passenger station, the parcels depot

Ref: lnwrcov554b Coventry Library Close up view of No 1 Goods shed, cattle pens and the sidings running parallel to the main line

Ref: lnwrcov554c Coventry Library Close up showing the LNWR and MR Goods shed, No 2 Goods shed and the main offices

Ref: lnwrcov554d Coventry Library Close up showing the 25 ton electrically operated gantry, 5 ton hand-operated crane and stores area

Ref: lnwrcov554e Coventry Library View of Coventry No 3 Signal box, Spencer Park foot bridge and the approach lines to No 1 Goods shed

Ref: lnwrcov554g Coventry Library Close up of the L&BR railway cottages that occupied a corner of adjacent to King Henry VIII school

Ref: lnwrcov4128 Britain from Above Another 1920 aerial view of Coventry Goods Yard showing the long siding on the left which led to the coal wharfs

Ref: lnwrcov4129 Britain from Above An aerial view of the branch to Nuneaton showing a goods train leaving the yard as it crosses Albany Road

Ref: lnwrcov4127 Britain from Above A 1927 aerial view of the down sidings used to accommodate wagons arriving or departing from Coventry Goods yard

Ref: lnwrcov4127a Britain from Above Close up showing the down sidings with a mixture of both loaded and empty wagons as well as four carriages

Ref: lnwrcov554f Coventry Library Close up of the LNWR engine shed which lay between the junction to Leamington and Quinton Road

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External views of the station

Ref: lnwrcov1284 Coventry Library The joint LNWR and MR Goods shed prior to the construction of the offices and other LNWR goods buildings

Ref: lnwrcov646 Postcard View of Coventry Station's main entrance looking from Eaton Road with a tram standing at the terminus

Ref: lnwrcov603 Postcard Another view looking from Eaton Road towards Coventry station showing an open top tram at the terminus

Ref: lnwrcov594 Postcard Looking along the private road towards Warwick Road with the 1838 station and the parcel office on the left

Ref: lnwrcov618 Coventry Library View of the 'Royal Warwickshire' Regimental Band ready to march forward in to the city centre in 1916

Ref: lnwrcov676 AW Flowers View of Coventry station's main entrance still in LMS livery with the canopy devoid of glazing on 10th April 1953

Ref: lnwrcov614 BR OPC Looking past the taxi rank and the main entrance of Coventry station towards the 1838 original station

Ref: lnwrcov593 AW Flowers Coventry station's main entrance to the up platform in its new British Railway livery on 11th May 1954

Ref: lnwrcov619 BR OPC View of the cul-del-sac adjacent to Coventry station's main entrance as seen on 11th November 1954

Ref: lnwrcov570 AW Flowers View of Coventry stations' Refreshment Room and the Parcels Office as seen on 10th April 1953

Ref: lnwrcov566 AW Flowers Coventry station's parcels office and depot viewed from the main entrance as seen on 11th November 1954

Ref: lnwrcov616 BR OPC Exterior view of Covenmtry station's parcels shed located by the up platform on 11th November 1954

Ref: lnwrcov2779 Postcard A general view looking from the Warwick Road entrance of Coventry station prior to the 1901-4 rebuilding

Ref: lnwrcov2779a Postcard Close up showing the parcels office and the entrance to the parcel depot prior to the new 1901-4 rebuilding

Ref: lnwrcov192a Coventry Evening Telegraph Close up of the parking area immediately behind the parcels platform and the temporary booking hall

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Internal views of the Station

The Booking Office

Ref: lnwrcov574 BR OPC Part view of the booking hall showing display cabinets, fares to local stations and map of 1950s Coventry

Ref: lnwrcov575 BR OPC Another part view of the booking hall and the various display cabinets and boards promoting local companies

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The Parcel Dock

Ref: lnwrcov1574 R Preston Hendry View of Coventry No 2 signal cabin with the parcels depot on the right and 15mph sign and the water column

Ref: lnwrcov1574a R Preston Hendry Close up showing the non-standard signal cabin erected in the 1860s and the water crane and fire devil

Ref: lnwrcov4354 M Mensing A view of Coventry No 2 Signal Cabin, the only cabin provided by Saxby & Farmer in 1874 to survive to 1960s

Ref: lnwrcov4374 M Mensing Coventry No 2 Signal Cabin, often called the 'Bell Box' worked the connections at the west end of the station

Ref: lnwrcov622a HW Robinson Close up of the end of the parcel dock next to Coventry No 2 signal cabin with the parcel platform on the right

Ref: lnwrcov622 HW Robinson Looking to Birmingham with the parcel sidings and depot on the right and the ex-L&B engine shed on the left

Ref: lnwrcov4376 HF Wheeler Ex-LMS 4-6-0 5MT No 44833 awaits to depart Coventry with a service bound for New Street on 5th October 1957

Ref: lnwrcov610 HW Robinson Looking towards the parcels bay from the down platform with a 57 ft Brake Van standing in the parcel dock

Ref: lnwrcov610a HW Robinson Close up of Coventry station's parcel dock and platform buildings with two Vent vans standing at the platform

Ref: lnwrcov611 HW Robinson View looking directly towards the Parcels depot illustrating its evolution and the different types of construction used

Ref: lnwrcov599 BR OPC Looking towards the parcel depot's offices built at the Birmingham end of Coventry's up platform

Ref: lnwrcov599a BR OPC Close up of a section of the parcels platform showing the range of goods being moved by passenger services

Ref: lnwrcov600 BR OPC Another view of the parcels platform showing in the centre the now filled in recess of the former wagon turntable

Ref: lnwrcov600a BR OPC Close up showing further examples of parcels traffic which were dispatched from the station by passenger train

Ref: lnwrcov623 J Hyde View looking towards Rugby from the parcel bay siding with Coventry No 2 Signal box immediately to the right

Ref: lnwrcov2779 Postcard A general view looking from the Warwick Road entrance of Coventry station prior to the 1901-4 rebuilding

Ref: lnwrcov2779a Postcard Close up showing the parcels office and the entrance to the parcel depot prior to the new 1901-4 rebuilding

Ref: lnwrcov566 AW Flowers Coventry station's parcels office and depot viewed from the main entrance as seen on 11th November 1954

Ref: lnwrcov616 AW Flowers Exterior view of Covenmtry station's parcels shed located by the up platform on 11th November 1954

Ref: lnwrcov564 R Preston Hendry View inside the parcels depot with the office ahead and the platform on the right on 11th November 1954

Ref: lnwrcov549 Railway Gazette A Clerestory LNWR Parcels Van being loaded with a range of bicycles for dispatching via an express service

Ref: lnwrcov548 Railway Gazette Internal view of the LNWR Clerestory Parcels Van now fully loaded with bicycles of all shapes and sizes

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Platform One

Ref: lnwrcov2778 J Alsop An Edwardian view of Coventry station's up platform shortly after the 1901-4 building work had been completed

Ref: lnwrcov584 LGRP The remains of the 1850s passenger footbridge on the left and its 1901-4 replacement on the right

Ref: lnwrcov598 BR OPC Looking towards the north end of platform one's passenger concourse with the main entrance being on the right

Ref: lnwrcov602 BR OPC View of the northern end of the up platform after British Railways corporate signage has been erected

Ref: lnwrcov608 BR OPC View showing the two main entrances to the station's up platform and with the booking office door in between

Ref: lnwrcov607 BR OPC Another view of Coventry station's concourse on the up platform with the Refreshment Room to the right of the exit

Ref: lnwrcov606 BR OPC A later view of Coventry station's concourse on the up platform with the Refreshment Room to the right of the exit

Ref: lnwrcov562 BR OPC Looking towards Birmingham along the up platform concourse with Warwick Road bridge in the distance

Ref: lnwrcov560 HW Robinson Looking towards the north end of Coventry station's up platform as viewed from beneath Stoney Road bridge

Ref: lnwrcov560a HW Robinson Close up of the up platform concourse and the luggage bridge with the passenger footbridge just visible behind

Ref: lnwrcov625 BR Looking towards the station's main entrance on the up platform with the refreshment room on the extreme right

Ref: lnwrcov2771 BR OPC Another view of the passenger concourse on platform 1 adjacent to the entrance to the booking hall in 1954

Ref: lnwrcov625a BR Close up showing the entrance and the main concourse area in front of the refeshment room on the right

Ref: lnwrcov589 BR OPC Looking towards the Rugby end of the up platform and the steps to the footbridge to the down platform

Ref: lnwrcov576 BR OPC A later view of the Rugby end of the up platform and the steps to the footbridge to the down platform

Ref: lnwrcov589a BR OPC Close up of the clocks and fingerboards which indicated the time of the departure of trains from the up platform

Ref: lnwrcov589b BR OPC Close up of the adverts on the footbridge steps including Triumph Motor Cycles on the risers of the steps

Ref: lnwrcov613 BR OPC The end of the concourse showing one of the methods used to by the post office in transporting mail by train

Ref: lnwrcov613a BR OPC Close up of one of the column showing the names in chalk of the different towns and cities where the mail bags will go

Ref: lnwrcov552 BR OPC View of the London end of the up platform's concourse partly occupied by the kiosk of Wymans the newsagents

Ref: lnwrcov581 G Coltas Coventry station's up platform seen from the rear of a Diesel Multiple Unit on a Nuneaton to Leamington service

Ref: lnwrcov242a J Hyde Close up showing the abutment of Stoney Road bridge and the building at the Rugby end of the up platform

Ref: lnwrcov556 Coventry Evening Telegraph View of the damage sustained to the Rugby end of the up platform including bomb craters to the running line

Ref: lnwrcov1569 Postcard Looking towards Birmingham as Permanent Way staf concentrate upon repairing damage to the running lines

Ref: lnwrcov586 HW Robinson Looking north from the Rugby end of the up platform with only the columns on the right remaining after the bombing

Ref: lnwrcov585 HW Robinson Looking north to the station with the temporary offices of the Coventry Evening Telegraph on the right

Ref: lnwrcov585a HW Robinson Close up showing the opposite side of the up starter signals located at the end of the up platform

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Bomb damage to the station and the carriage sidings

Ref: lnwrcov556 Coventry Evening Telegraph View of the damage sustained to the Rugby end of the up platform including bomb craters to the running line

Ref: lnwrcov1569 Postcard Looking towards Birmingham as Permanent Way staf concentrate upon repairing damage to the running lines

Ref: lnwrcov2765 Coventry Evening Telegraph View of the wreckage of the local passenger service from Leamington and, in the distance, the damaged shed

Ref: lnwrcov2643 Coventry Evening Telegraph Looking towards Kenilworth with the carriage sidings in the centre and wrecked workmen huts on the right

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The Leamington branch line and the southern approaches

Ref: lnwrcov582 HW Robinson View of the junction with the Leamington branch on the left protected by Coventry No 1 signal cabin

Ref: lnwrcov583 HW Robinson Looking to Rugby with the junction to the Leamington branch on the right and the shed visible in between

Ref: lnwrcov557 HW Robinson View from Stoney Road bridge looking to Rugby with the Leamington branch bearing off to the right

Ref: lnwrcov4362 HF Wheeler Coventry No 1 Signal Cabin located in the 'V' of the Leamington branch junction to aid good sighting

Ref: lnwrcov4365 HF Wheeler A second view of Coventry No 1 Signal Cabin showing with the empty stock working still held at signals

Ref: lnwrcov563 HW Robinson Looking towards Rugby with Coventry No 1 Signal box in the vee between the main line and the branch to Leamington

Ref: lnwrcov4366 HW Sadler A 1950s view of the eastern approach to Coventry station with the line to Leamington leading off to the right

Ref: lnwrcov582a HW Robinson Close up showing the vacuum operated turntable and the buffer stops lying just a few feet short of the main line

Ref: lnwrcov595b Anon Close up of Coventry No 1 signal cabin which was the second to built at the southern end of the station

Ref: lnwrcov1581 HW Robinson Kenilworth junction with the up branch line now realigned and the down line and coach sidings still to be laid

Ref: lnwrcov595 Anon Coventry No 1 Signal box with the new Power Signal Box being constructed behind on the site of the old turntable

Ref: lnwrcov595a Anon Close up showing Coventry's new Power Box being built on the site of the turntable on 20th September 1961

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Platform Two

Ref: lnwrcov597 BR OPC The Rugby end of the down platform below Stoney Road bridge showing the late 19th century station structure

Ref: lnwrcov577 BR OPC Later view of the Rugby end of the down platform with only the new British Railway station sign as evidence of change

Ref: lnwrcov587 BR OPC View of the long retaining wall covered in posters that ran from the parcels bridge to Stoney Road bridge

Ref: lnwrcov588 BR OPC The down platform showing the passenger footbridge and the Wymans the newsagent's booth underneath

Ref: lnwrcov588a BR OPC Close up showing the down platform's train indicator boards and the rear emergency exit doors

Ref: lnwrcov219a J Hyde Looking from platform one across to platform two in the direction of Rugby showing the steps to the footbridge

Ref: lnwrcov591 BR View of war time damage to Coventry station's passenger facilities at the Birmingham end of the down platform

Ref: lnwrcov590 BR One of the new DMUs stands on the down platform as one of the last Push-Pull trains departs the up platform

Ref: lnwrcov551 HW Robinson View of the 'incline machine' used to handle large crowds of passengers arriving back from their holiday excursions

Ref: lnwrcov596 LGRP View of the L&BR shed with the 'incline machine' on the left and the parcel depot on the right

Ref: lnwrcov580 BR OPC View of the L&BR water column taken from the end of the down platform and the incline machine

Ref: lnwrcov626 HW Robinson View of the gated exit from the incline maching located on Warwick Road next to the bridge

Ref: lnwrcov615 BR OPC Three significant remnants of the 1838 L & B Railway, the station, the engine shed and the water column

Ref: lnwrcov579 J Hyde Another view of the L&BR Bury water column and fire devil located at the Birmingham end of the down platform

Ref: lnwrcov2638 R Sharratt An unidentified Fowler 2-6-4T locomotive tops up its tanks on a Rugby to Birmingham train in 1957

Ref: lnwrcov596a BR Close up showing the London and Birmingham Railway pump house that was sited at the rear of the engine shed

Ref: lnwrcov604 HW Robinson The L&B locomotive shed on the left, Coventry No 2 Signal box in the centre and the parcel bay on the right

Ref: lnwrcov4084 HJ Stretton-Ward Looking to Coventry No 1 Signal Cabin from the rear of a DMU exiting off the Leamington branch in 1957

Ref: lnwrcov4081 HJ Stretton-Ward Looking towards London from the rear of a Diesel Multiple Unit service as it departs platform 2 to Nuneaton

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Coventry Goods Yard

Ref: lnwrcov4512 B Gough Part of Coventry Station's goods yard looking towards the City Centre with Warwick Road on the right

Ref: lnwrcov4512a B Gough Close up of Coventry goods yard with its single siding leading to the two bay cattle dock on the right

Ref: lnwrcov3728 H Taunt Coventry Goods yard looking towards the entrance off Warwick Road with the MR shed on the left circa 1890

Ref: lnwrcov3728a H Taunt Close up showing part of the Warwick Road end of the goods yard with the MR shed in the background

Ref: lnwrcov3728b H Taunt Close up showing the cattle docks, a Van and two cattle trucks one of which is open top having no roof

Ref: lnwrcov3731 Coventry Herald View of seven Hillman cars being transported to Coventry Goods yard by horse drawn trailers from the works

Ref: lnwrcov3732 Coventry Herald Another view showing the seven Hillman Minx cars with the LNWR sheds in the background

Ref: lnwrcov3732a Coventry Herald Close up showing Coventry Goods Yard looking in the direction of the LNWR Sheds and Warwick Road

Ref: lnwrcov3733 Coventry Herald Workmen from Daimler and Lanchester Cars attach a poster to the smokebox of the ex-LNWR locomotive

Ref: lnwrcov3734 Coventry Herald Ex-LNWR 4-6-0 'Experiment Class' No 5472 'Richard Moon' at the head of long train of long-wheelbase vans

Ref: lnwrcov3735 Coventry Herald Another view of the exhibition train of motor vans with posters being fixed on both sides of each van

Ref: lnwrcov558 Railway Gazette Horse-drawn vehicles bringing a delivery of bicycles to Warwick Road goods yard for dispatching to all over the UK

Ref: lnwrcov1576 Railway Gazette Another view of bicycles being delivered to Warwick Goods yard where they will be loaded in to wagons

Ref: lnwrcov1575 Railway Gazette A rake of open wagons being loaded with crates of Triumph cycles inside Coventry No 2 goods shed

Ref: lnwrcov2762 Coventry Evening Telegraph Inside the Coventry Goods Shed used to tranship road vehicles, in this instance a Hillman Minx, in 1948

Ref: lnwrcov2642 A Smith A publicity photograph showing the Triumph built 'AA' motorcycle sidecar being loaded into covered wagons

Ref: lnwrcov2642a A Smith Close up of the Triumph built 'AA' motorcycle sidecar combinations being loaded into covered wagons

Ref: lnwrcov2641 A Smith Ex-MR 2F 0-6-0 No 3571 heads a train of Triumph motorcycle sidecars out of Coventry's goods yard

Ref: lnwrcov2641a A Smith Close up showing the sidings and timber single storey shed with the former MR's section of Coventry's goods yard

Ref: lnwrcov4125 RJ Essery Ex-LNWR 0-6-0 18-inch Goods 'Cauliflower' No 2303, still in lined-out LNWR livery, heads a Motor Show Special

Ref: lnwrcov2799a C Thomas Close up showing the Midland Railway's sign between the two chimneys advertising their Parcels and Goods Office

Ref: lnwrcov569 Coventry Evening Telegraph Coventry's No 1 goods shed located in Warwick Road good next to the Birmingham to Coventry mainline

Ref: lnwrcov569a Coventry Evening Telegraph Close up of the transhipment area of Coventry No 1 goods shed and the wide variety of goods traffic carried

Ref: lnwrcov222a Anon Another close up of Coventry No 1 Goods shed and two of the wagon turntables situated on the two outside sidings

Ref: lnwrcov229a Anon Close up showing one side of Coventry No 1 Goods shed and its midway access point and one of the loading bays

Ref: lnwrcov3772 RCTS RE00051C Colour photograph providing an excellent understanding of the colours to be seen on railway structures and stock

Ref: lnwrcov3771a RCTS RE00050C Close up showing the Warwick Road bridge end of the goods yard with the stable blocks to the right

Ref: lnwrar3742 A Weir Ex-LMS 4MT 2-6-4T No 42265 is seen marshalling empty coaching stock in Coventry goods yard in early 1960s

Ref: lnwrcov568 BR OPC A grounded coach body used by staff in the goods yard and carriage sidings for storage and mess facilities

Ref: lnwrcov601 BR OPC A very early LNWR Guards Passenger Brake Coach now being used by the Carriage and Wagon Department

Ref: lnwrcov624 BR OPC A variety of timber-framed huts and an old carriage used as mess and storage facilities in Warwick Road goods yard

Ref: lnwrcov592 BR OPC View of the inside of the mess hut showing the range of equipment including fireplace, boiler and wash basins

Ref: lnwrcov4202 Archive Miners Coventry Goods Yard looking from Spencer Park across the Junction of the Nuneaton to Coventry branch in June 1919

Ref: lnwrcov4202a Archive Miners Close up of the wagons in the yard including a GW and a GE wagon behind the Chas Nelson & Co Ltd Van

Ref: lnwrcov4202b Archive Miners Close up of the yard showing in the distance on the left a row of LNWR wagons a LBSCR wagon to the right

Ref: lnwrcov4202c Archive Miners A schematic helping to identify the mix of PO wagons seen in Coventry's Goods Yard in June 1919

Ref: lnwrcov193 Coventry Library The cattle dock installed with the opening of the new Abattoir with Coventry No 4 Signal box in the distance

Ref: lnwrcov193a Coventry Library Close up of the Cattle Dock and offices showing the ramps and fencing used to guide the livestock

Ref: lnwrar3741 J Flounders Coventry Goods Yard looking from Spencer Park foot bridge towards Winifred Avenue and the Nuneaton branch

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The Nuneaton branch line and the northern approaches

Ref: lnwrcov617 R Barby View of the junction with the Nuneaton branch showing Coventry No 3 Signal box and Warwick goods yard

Ref: lnwrcov617a R Barby Close up of an ex-LMS 4-6-0 Stanier 'Black 5' at the head of a Nuneaton bound mixed freight train

Ref: lnwrcov638a BR OPC Close up with Coventry No 4 signal box in the distance, the sidings on the left and the branch lines on the right

Ref: lnwrcov617b R Barby Close up showing some of the Signal and Telegraph department staff undertaking some of the advanced work

Ref: lnwrcov571a LNWR Society Close up of Coventry No 3 Signal box with the footbridge to Spencer Road Park immediately behind in 1919

Ref: lnwrcov617 Anon Ex-LMS 2-8-0 8F No 48753 is seen coming off Nuneaton branch with a southbound coal train circa 1960

Ref: lnwrcov229b Anon Close up showing Warwick Goods yard offices and the miscellaneous huts used for storage and mess facilities

Ref: lnwrcov243a G Coltas Close up of a driver's view approaching the station before passing under Warwick Road bridge

Ref: lnwrcov222b Anon Close up of the realigned tracks to Platform Four and the short siding installed to accommodate the PW gang

Ref: lnwrcov4377 HF Wheeler Ex-LMS 4-6-0 5MT No 45345 passes Coventry No 3 Signal Cabin with an excursion service from Blackpool

Ref: lnwrcov4379 HF Wheeler BR built 2-6-0 2MT No 46445 on a train of vans approaches the up home signals of No 2 Signal Cabin

Ref: lnwrcov4380 HF Wheeler BR built 4-6-0 5MT No 44716 is heading a Birmingham train consisting of ex-Southern Railway stock

Ref: lnwrcov224a BR OPC Close up showing the end of of the island platform looking towards Birmingham as a PW gang realign the tracks

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The demolition and rebuilding of Coventry station

Ref: lnwrcov4256 CET The ground floor restaurant and the first floor administration offices are being demolished in 1959

Ref: lnwrcov630 HW Robinson Looking across to the remnants of the up platform and the parcel office the only structure still standing

Ref: lnwrcov630a HW Robinson Close up view of the parcel depot and the remains of the 1860s station's luggage lift now used as for storage

Ref: lnwrcov630b HW Robinson Close up showing the now demolished booking hall with parcel traffic being kept under cover

Ref: lnwrcov627 Anon View of the excavation of platform 4 as passengers prepare to depart on a down express to New Street

Ref: lnwrcov627a Anon Close up of the construction work associated with the new platform 4 showing the rear of the original down platform

Ref: lnwrcov627b Anon Close up of the temporary footbridge made of scaffolding which crossed the lines between the platforms

Ref: lnwrcov1570 R Preston Hendry Looking towards Rugby along the up platform during the construction of the new station and Stoney Road bridge

Ref: lnwrcov644 Coventry Evening Telegraph View of the up platform and its surviving platform structures located at the Rugby end of Coventry station

Ref: lnwrcov2775 D Stubbs An early view of the demolition of Coventry station seen from Warwick Road bridge looking south to Rugby

Ref: lnwrcov635 J Hyde Coventry No 1 signal cabin and the track being realigned at the junction of the Kenilworth branch

Ref: lnwrcov1581a HW Robinson Close up showing several ex-LMS 2MT 2-6-0 tender locomotives being stored ready for scrapping

Ref: lnwrcov2776 B Brooksbank View showing the majority of Coventry station's buildings are now demolished with the exception of the footbridge

Ref: lnwrcov2776a B Brooksbank Close up of the water column by Coventry No 2 Signal Box was still in use right up to the last stages of rebuilding

Ref: lnwrcov251a Anon Close up of the footbridge and the contractor's site huts occupying the Birmingham end of platform one

Ref: lnwrcov631 BR OPC The station during rebuilding with the island platforms yet to receive the final level of hardcore and tarmac finish

Ref: lnwrcov632 BR OPC View of Coventry station's new trackwork to platforms 3 and 4 showing the phased process required during construction

Ref: lnwrcov2770 BR OPC Looking north along the site of the new platforms, 2 and 3, with parts of the old station still evident on the right

Ref: lnwrcov2770a BR OPC Close up of the southern end of the passenger facilities on platform 4 and the retaining wall behind

Ref: lnwrcov2770b BR OPC A three car DMU stands at Coventry's up platform which still retains some of the original structure

Ref: lnwrcov640 BR OPC View of the rebuilding of the station as a gang of labourers completing the backfilling of the island platform

Ref: lnwrcov639 BR OPC View of the island platform structure being built and the changed vista looking through to Spencer Park footbridge

Ref: lnwrcov633 BR OPC Panoramic view of the rebuilding of the station taken from Stoney Road looking in the direction of Birmingham

Ref: lnwrcov4077 HJ Stretton-Ward Looking along Platform 1 with the island platform having a steel structure erected for the waiting rooms

Ref: lnwrcov1580 R Preston Hendry Looking towards the partly built passenger bridge which connects all four platforms to the booking hall concourse

Ref: lnwrcov628 BR OPC Looking north towards Birmingham with the new four platform layout now well advanced by 1961		Ref: lnwrcov629 BR OPC The central island platform forming platforms 2 and 3 is well advanced in this view looking towards Rugby		Ref: lnwrcov636 HW Robinson A four-car DMU stands at the new up platform with the new concourse structure in the background		Ref: lnwrcov638 BR OPC Coventry No 3 replacement signal box located in the vee of the junction with the Nuneaton branch		Ref: lnwrcov638b BR OPC Close up of the replacement British Railways standard designed Coventry No 3 signal box

Ref: lnwrcov1577 Coventry Library View of the building of the parcels depot and its three platforms and with the old station in the background

Ref: lnwrcov1572 R Preston Hendry Coventry station's temporary booking office and passenger facilities used during the rebuilding of the station

Ref: lnwrcov3769 RCTS RE00046C A later view of British Railways Non-ganwayed Motor Parcel Van M55998 standing at Platform One

Ref: lnwrcov3770 RCTS MM00229C A two-car Metro-Cammell DMU arrives with the 15:05 Nuneaton to Leamington service on 4th August 1961

Ref: lnwrcov4121 Coventry Evening Telegraph The Duke of Edinburgh, Mr Donald Campbell and Stationmaster Mr RW Salt outside the station

Ref: lnwrcov4086 HJ Stretton-Ward The Signal Diagram to Coventry No 1 Signal Cabin showing the relevant levers for points and signals

Ref: lnwrcov4080 HJ Stretton Ward The Signal Diagram to Coventry No 2 Signal Cabin showing the relevant levers for points and signals

Ad-hoc transfer of parcels between platforms during the demolition and rebuilding of the station

Ref: lnwrcov1573 R Preston Hendry Ex-LMS Ivatt 2-6-2T No 40104 at the head of a single parcels van being used to transport luggage and parcels

Ref: lnwrcov2774 M Mensing BR Diesel Hydraulic 0-4-0 D 2911 is seen about to shunt a wagon of parcels from Platform 4 to Platform 1

Ref: lnwrcov632a BR OPC Close up of a single diesel railcar and van transferring luggage and parcels between the Platforms One and Four

Ref: lnwrcov642 Anon View of ex-LMS 3MT 2-6-2T No 40152 as it stands with a 57 ft brake van on the truncated down through road

Ref: lnwrcov643 Anon View of ex-LMS 2P 0-4-4T No 41900 is seen running wrong road with a parcels train having just left the new depot

Ref: lnwrcov3771 RCTS RE00050C British Railways Motor Parcel Van M55998 approaches Platform One with two 4-wheel vans in tow circa 1961

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The new station

Ref: lnwrcov634 BR OPC The station building now complete with the exception of the multi-storey car park to be built on the left

Ref: lnwrcov2784 B Brooksbank Looking east along platform one towards Rugby six months after the station had opened on 1st March 1962

Ref: lnwrcov2773 Birmingham Post & Mail A Park Royal DMU is standing at Coventry station's No 3 platform with a Nuneaton service

Ref: lnwrcov1579 BR OPC View of the new station concourse looking towards Eaton Road on the day before the offical opening

Ref: lnwrcov2785 B Brooksbank An elevated view of Coventry station's new booking hall and passenger concourse six months after opening

Ref: lnwrcov4205 Anon The front elevation of the rebuilt station facing the bus stops thought to be in the late 1980s

Ref: lnwrcov4203 Anon Looking across the pedestrian bridge towards platform four with platform two and three in the near distance

Ref: lnwrcov4204 Anon Looking along the main concourse towards the automatic gates leading to the four platforms

Ref: lnwrcov641 J Hyde Aerial view of Coventry station looking towards Birmingham with the branch to Leamington on the left

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Members of Staff

Ref: lnwrcov2799 C Thomas Mr John James King, Chief Cartage Foreman, with the Midland Railway shed and offices in the background

Ref: lnwrcov2800 C Thomas A photograph of Coventry Goods Station's staff on the 60th Birthday of HH Cheshire with JJ King to his right

Ref: lnwrcov2800a C Thomas Close up showing John James King and five other colleagues, together showing three different hatbands

Ref: lnwrcov2798 C Thomas Mr John James King and a fellow worker standing in front of one of the many horses stabled at Coventry station

Ref: lnwrcov4196 Coventry Graphic A photograph dated 31st August 1912 of Coventry's L&NWR and MR Goods & Cartage Foreman Staff

Ref: lnwrcov4196 Coventry Graphic A photograph from the Coventry Graphic on the retirement of Mr Joseph Crofts, a goods guard with the L&NWR