LMS Route: Birmingham New Street to Harborne

Hagley Road Station: lnwrhr65

Looking from the goods yard towards Hagley Road bridge and Harborne on a cold and damp Winter's day. Whilst the station's initial architecture reflects the style adopted by the independent Harborne Railway Company later additions and platform furniture including station signs appear more likely to be LNWR. This might reflect the canniness of the HRC Directors in utilising their relationship with the LNWR, the latter being contracted to operate the line, in buying mass produced items at competitive prices. The agreement was that the LNWR would receive fifty percent of receipts for operating the line. Whilst initially the railway struggled, to the extent a receiver was called in 1879 and operated the line until 1900, the expansion of the area with housing estates being built together with an expansion of businesses meant that for a number of years Harborne became the most profitable line in Birmingham. This compelled the LNWR to offer to buy the company three times over a number of years being refused by canny shareholders. It was only because of government legislation which compelled some 123 railway companies to be grouped into four companies in 1923 did the two join together under the auspices of the LMS.

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