Harborne Station

London North Western Railway:

Midland Railway:

Stratford Midland Junction Railway

The Shakespeare Route

Harborne Station

Harborne Station was the terminus of the Harborne Railway and opened to passengers on 10th August 1874. Harborne Station had a single platform which unlike the other stations on the line was positioned on the left of a New Street to Harborne train. In addition to the station there were sidings primarily for coal traffic, fixed crane, weigh bridge and a goods shed. Whilst Monument Lane was the nearest shed, the majority of services were serviced by locomotives from Aston and Walsall sheds, the latter reflecting in part that a few services from Harborne to New Street ran on to Walsall. A second platform was said to have been constructed in 1901 alongside the run-round loop, but was rarely if ever used and was removed by 1911 to be replaced by carriage sidings. Until 1947 the station was able to boast of an engine turntable which was replaced by a sand wharf built on its site. The station closed to passenger traffic on 26th November 1934 and to goods traffic in 1963. For more information on Harborne station please see Steven Robertson's article on the Harborne Railway in LMS Journal No 3 published by Wild Swan.

Subsequent to the above, my query as to whether a second platform existed I received the following response from Reg Instone of the LNWR Society. Reg writes 'I can state that there quite definitely were two platforms before 1911, although the installation of the second one in 1901 is a myth. They existed before 1886 and may well have been original from 1874.

The evidence is as follows (in chronological order):
1886 O.S. 25" map - clearly shown
LNWR plan 61275 dated 10 February 1900 - this is for the abolition of the Signal Box and replacement by a ground frame (not carried out) but shows both platforms as existing
1901 O.S. 25" map - clearly shown (see LMS Journal No 3 page 54).
LNWR 2-chain survey, undated but mentions corrs. of 1902 - clearly shown.
PTC minute 9810 of Feb 1908, Harborne, "... removing the up platform and laying down an additional siding ..."
LNWR plan 10994 dated 20th August.1908 for new footbridge - clearly shown second platform "(disused)" (Birmingham Local studies Department, Railway Plan 32/7)
PW Committee minutes 39105/6 of Aug 1908 - Harborne, contracts let
PW Committee minute 39222 of Nov 1908 Harborne, "alterations at passenger station are almost complete" (regret I do not presently have a precise completion date for this work)
LNWR Private Siding diagram 873 dated 1.1910 - clearly shown (RAIL410/991) - may not be totally up-to-date?

Referring to the map caption on page 54 of LMS Journal No 3, Frank Ernest Westwood was one of two porters at Harborne from 31st January 1910 until after 1911 (RAIL410/1704 page 221), so should have remembered the second platform if it was removed in 1911. Possibly his lack of memory suggests that it was disused by the time he arrived, or was it actually removed in 1908? He was born 14th May 1890 and entered LNWR Service on 11th September 1905 so it was not his first post, but was still only 19 when he came there.

Steven Robertson wrote a postscript in LMS Journal No 7 to his article where he revealed his discovery of a minute of the LMS' Traffic Committee dated June 1947. The turntable was to be sent to Llandovery where the installation will be dealt with as an LMS/GWR Joint line matter. The minute showed the £1024 costs of removal was offset to a great extent by the payment of £921 meaning its removal only cost the LMS £73 in total. In 1908 a footbridge was constructed which provided both a "through" route as well as access to the station for the newly constructed development of Harborne Estates the footpath still being in use today but ending in Frensham Way near the site of the old turntable.