When: Thursday 14th February from 12.00 noon - 1.00pm
Where: At the published co-ordinates out side cafe seating
There will be chocolates!
It's hard to imagine looking at beautiful Moor Street station today that not to long ago it was just a dilapidated example of a former age in Birmingham.
Now after being restored to its former glory, this grade listed station has won the well- deserved accolade of the “Marylebone of the Midlands”.
Nestled behind the city’s main shopping streets, this old world-style station sits comfortably against the backdrop of the new that is the iconic, futuristic-looking Selfridges’ Bullring store.
But when you delve into Moor Street’s chequered past it soon becomes clear the original station, initially created to help to ease the burden on Snow Hill, was lucky to survive.
Initially built in 1909 – although it was not until 1914 that its temporary buildings were replaced with permanent fixtures – it would fall victim to the controversial culling of the British rail network under the Beeching Axe in 1967.
And it would be 11 years before trains would return (1978).
Yet by the mid-80s work got underway to create a new Moor Street Station which would once again see the old station abandoned – the last train to use its old terminus was the steam special Clun Castle in September 1987.
Thankfully, the old station was not demolished and, although it fell into disrepair, historians say being forgotten about was key to its survival.
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It wasn’t until 2002 that an £11 million transformation of the old Moor Street into a 1930'3 Great Western Station began and united it with the new station. Passenger trains returned to its original tracks in December 2010 and Moor Street is now the city’s second busiest station.
Birmingham historian Steve Cullen said: “It’s interesting how Birmingham stations have risen and fallen in prominence over the years. As a child in the 1960s, Moor Street was seen very much as the poor relation to New Street and Snow Hill.
“The 21st century redevelopment of the Bull Ring has opened up the station to view once more.
“It is perhaps fitting that there’s a direct service from Moor Street into London Marylebone as there are parallels between the two stations – they are both now significant terminal stations whilst retaining a period charm so lacking in some of our other busy stations today.”