LMS Route: Birmingham New Street to Tamworth

Wilnecote Station: mrw1284

View of Wilnecote station's timber waiting shelter which was close to the pedestrian path which sloped down from the main road (seen behind the building). It was the only accommodation provided on the platform for northbound trains to Tamworth, Burton and Derby. The shelter was unheated and open to the elements, the steeply sloping roof and shallow plan strongly suggest that it was provided with a bench seat along the back wall (where it was not tall enough to stand up). It also served as the support for the up platform's fire buckets. Whilst being primitive in terms of passenger comfort, closer inspection reveals a surprising degree of ornament in its detail. The opening in the front is framed with an arched moulding flanked by two gothic windows with decorative glazing bars. The top of the front wall is finished with a coved moulding surmounting a deep panel of typical decorative platform canopy valencing, fixed directly to the wall – really quite extraordinary in view of the building's basic nature. Perhaps the directors wanted to give the commuters waiting for their Birmingham train something more than a rude wooden hut to look at? A large poster board was fitted to the right hand side of the doorway and windows, provided with a gaslight above to illuminate the timetables on the board. The 1884 Ordnance survey suggests that this building was already in situ at the time. Photograph taken on 21st March 1967.

Toby Clempson

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