Bordesley Station

GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Bordesley station was opened in 1855 on the GWR Birmingham to Oxford line between Snow Hill and Acocks Green as Small Heath and Tyseley were not opened until some time later. Bordesley station was unusual because it was built entirely on a viaduct. Initially the station was a conventional two platform station with a large goods shed and sidings. As part of the extensive upgrade to the route in to Birmingham, which saw the construction of Moor Street to handle local passenger services, Bordesley station was upgraded to a two-island platform facility, with one island handling local passenger services to and from Moor Street and the other handling traffic to and from Snow Hill.

The station provided significant cattle facilities adjacent to and on Duddeston Viaduct, the long abandoned aborted link to the London & Birmingham Railway's Curzon Street station. Between Small Heath and Bordesley was a significant goods yard facility. Whilst in the 1930s eleven or twelve staff were employed at the station the loss of traffic in the 1960s saw the station downgraded to provide a minimal level of passenger services mainly concentrated on providing football fans access to Birmingham City's St Andrews football ground.

Simon Richards wrote, 'I've read your pages on Bordesley station with interest. The first time I remember using the station was in 1968 as an 8 year old. It was just before the current layout. This what I believe - The entrance wasn't the current one it was to left (if facing towards Small Heath}. You went in and turned right to get to the stairs. In front of you was a ticket office - which even then had been closed. Soon after the entrance was bricked up. At the bottom of the stairs you can see where the way to the ticket office was.'

Extract from Great Western Magazine Vol. 51. No.11, November 1939

Partial Reconstruction of Bordesley Viaduct – Effective Use of Pre-cast Reinforced Concrete Slabs by H. S. B. Whitley.

Bordesley Viaduct is situated on the London side of Snow Hill tunnel and station and carries the railway over a low-lying part of Birmingham, which has for many years been well covered with factories and house property. The report of the Commissioners on the Railway into Birmingham was presented in 1848, and this being ratified by an Act extending the broad gauge from Oxford to Birmingham, the line was opened in 1852. It is not certain that Brunel designed the Bordesley Viaduct, but whoever was responsible evolved a design which is probably unique, although it has been found that under present-day conditions parts of the structure have weakened and renewal work is now being undertaken. The structure is 2,900 feet in length, with a maximum height of 70 feet where it passes over the River Rea.

As originally designed it carried two lines of track, but owing to the great increase in traffic to Birmingham and the North, it became necessary to widen the structure to carry four running lines and one goods loop. The viaduct is built entirely of brickwork and has 60 main arches of an average span of 37 feet with a rise of 18 feet 6 inches. Instead of the voids between them being entirely filled with excavated material, five subsidiary segmental arches were constructed springing from small pier-walls, each having circular openings 18 inches in diameter to enable inspections to be made. These inspections are a very trying ordeal, especially for a tall or broad man. The person carrying out the inspection has to be pushed at one end and pulled at the other, and the work is made more difficult and unpleasant by the interior being wet with slime. More-over, the space between the piers is only 4 foot.

It was these subsidiary arches that began to show weakness, and it was decided to replace them with pre-cast reinforced concrete slabs. The method being adopted is as follows:- Occupation of both up and down main lines is obtained from midnight Saturday until the work is completed on Monday, usually about 6 a.m., and during this period the traffic is worked over the relief lines. To ascertain if the preliminary programme prepared could be carried out within the times laid down, and also to check the estimated cost, Arch No.29 was taken in hand and it was found that no alterations were required. On average 135 men, divided into three shifts are employed during the occupation, and they are provided with two 6-ton steam cranes and the necessary number of trucks to hold temporarily the filling removed, some of which has to be put back after the work of renewing the subsidiary arches has been completed.

As soon as the filling has been removed, together with brickwork in the arches, the tops of the piers are levelled and the reinforcement concrete slabs set in position. As the dimensions vary, however, each type of slab has to be numbered so that each will give the correct bearing. The slabs used were made in the Company’s Taunton concrete depot and had loops cast in them to facilitate handling. Having completed the laying of the slabs, the filling is reinstated, together with the ballast and permanent way. Fifty arches are being dealt with as described, and the work on forty-five has been completed; activities were suspended during the summer months, but will proceed at a later date.

Robert Ferris

Select an image below to view the larger version with accompanying text:

Ref: gwrbg1330 MA King View of the entrance to the second Bordesley passenger station which was located beneath the Coventry Road bridge with steps leading to the platforms above

Ref: gwrbg1093 RM Casserley Looking along High Street this view shows Bordesley Green station's roadside entrance and booking hall on the left with platforms above

Ref: gwrbg82 Lens of Sutton Looking towards Moor Street with the down and up relief island platforms on the left and the main down and up island platforms on the right

Ref: gwrbg82a Lens of Sutton Close up showing the relief down and up platforms and the two island passenger buildings with the steps to the road at the far end of the platforms

Ref: gwrbg82b Lens of Sutton Close up looking towards Birmingham showing the end of the station and the bridge girders than spanned Coventry Road

Ref: gwrbg82c Lens of Sutton Close up showing the down and up main platforms and the two buildings accommodating the passenger facilities

Ref: gwrbg1086 RM Casserley Looking towards Tyseley along the down main island platform with Adderley Street bridge girders in the near distance

Ref: gwrbg1086a RM Casserley Close up showing the main up and down platforms with the odd extension that accommodated the stairs to Coventry Road

Ref: gwrbg1086b RM Casserley Close up showing the relief down platforms with the staggered odd extension that accommodated the stairs to Coventry Road

Ref: gwrbg670 PB Whitehouse Looking towards Moor St with the spur to the unfinished Duddeston Viaduct to connect to the LNWR's Curzon St station on the left

Ref: gwrbg670a PB Whitehouse Close up showing the signal box that controlled the crossovers and junction with the sidings to the west of Bordesley station

Ref: gwrbg670b PB Whitehouse Close up of Bordesley station's cattle dock with two cattle vans and three open seven-plank wagons in evidence

Ref: gwrbg671 PB Whitehouse View along Duddeston Viaduct showing the main structure was intact except for the absence of steel girders bridging the streets below

Ref: gwrbg1329 Millbrook House Ltd View of the 355 yards long Duddeston Viaduct originally built to connect the GWR's B&OJR line to the LNWR's Curzon Street station

Ref: gwrbg1327 C Gilbert Looking North towards Snow Hill station from the end of the island platform serving the up and down main lines on 26th July 1929

Ref: gwrbg1328 C Gilbert Looking South towards Leamington with the bridge carrying the Midland Railways' Washwood Heath to Camp Hill line in the distance

Ref: gwrbg1333 R Pixton View of Bordesley Goods Yard looking south towards Small Heath station and showing Small Heath Road bridge crossing the GWR line in the distance

Ref: gwrbg1333a R Pixton Close up showing the arrival sidings on the left of Bordesley yard with a mix of full open top wagons and vans in evidence

Ref: gwrbg1333b R Pixton Close up showing the six main running lines to Moor Street station and the throat of the Caledonia yard which is being shunted by a BR 0-6-0 diesel

Ref: gwrbg1333c R Pixton Close up showing a British Railways Class 08 Diesel at work with a GWR shunters truck attached in front and with two shunters in attendance

Ref: gwrbg1336 G Adams View of Bordesley Curve with both of the two road connecting line carrying traffic whilst on the ex-MR line a freight traverses the ex-GWR line to Snow Hill

Ref: gwrbg1087 RS Carpenter An unidentified ex-GWR 4-6-0 Hall class locomotive is seen on up express parcels service as it passes through the station

Ref: gwrbg1087a RS Carpenter Close up showing an ex-GWR 0-6-0PT Pannier tank marshalling a long coal train as it prepares to set back to Bordesley sidings

Ref: gwrbg1094a G Adams Ex-GWR 0-6-0PT No 3673, a class 51xx locomotive, is seen at the head of a freight passing under the former Midland line to Camp Hill

Ref: gwrbg1331 Rail Archive Stephenson An unidentified ex-GWR 2-6-2T 'Prairie' locomotive is seen running bunker first on the up relief road with a Class B local passenger service

Ref: gwrbg1332 M Mensing Ex-LMS 4-6-0 Class 5 No 44816 is seen from Bordesley station traversing the MR's Camp Hill to Saltley with a freight for Washwood yard on 20th July 1961

Ref: gwrbg1655 GWR Magazine Removal of subsidiary brick arches from the supporting piers during the partial reconstruction of Bordesley Viaduct in 1939

Ref: gwrbg1656 GWR Magazine A six ton steam crane removes the old brickwork from the subsidiary arches during the partial reconstruction of Bordesley Viaduct in 1939

Ref: bordesley_map Ordance Survey View of Bordesley Station prior to the First World War showing the original station layout complete with goods shed

Ref: goods_yard_map_part1 Ordance Survey View of Bordesley Goods Yard to the West of Jenkins Street bridge showing the extensive sidings and Bordesley Junction Signal Box

Ref: goods_yard_map_part2 Ordance Survey View of Bordesley Goods Yard to the East of Jenkins Street bridge showing the extensive sidings and Small Heath North Signal Box