LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton

LMS Route: Birmingham New Street to Lichfield

LMS Route: Birmingham New Street to Soho and Perry Barr

Curzon Street Goods Station: lnwrcs2142

First interior view of the top floor of the infirmary stable block at the back of Top Yard some 30 years after the last horse left. Because of its size, Curzon Street became the base for the LNWR's district horse superintendent together with a full-time veterinary surgeon. The task of carting the huge volumes of goods required the LNWR to invest in considerable resources in personnel, horses, equipment and accommodation. Richard Foster records that before the First World War, 600 horses were stabled at Curzon Street and that these fell into three groups: cartage horses operating from Curzon Street to distribute and collect goods; parcel horses based at New Street station; and the horses temporarily based at Curzon Street for breaking-in, training or treatment - the latter facility being made available for all LNWR owned horses in the district. As mechanised road transport grew this figure halved to about 300 by 1933 and by 1945 the figure had further declined to about 70 horses kept for cartage work. Horses were finally withdrawn from this work in the mid-1950s. The majority of the stables were sited along the east side of the Top Yard. In addition, there was small stable blocks located in the yard of the old Grand Junction Railway passenger station.

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