172 334 Worcester Foregate Street 24.8.21
A picture can, apparently, paint 1000 words, and while that may to some extent depend on the image in question, there is enough of interest in this seemingly utilitarian view of Worcester Foregate Street station to inspire an effort. Not least, of course, the train, in this case one of West Midland Railways’ Class 172 Turbostars.
The British Rail Class 172 was built by Bombardier Transportation's Derby Litchurch Lane Works for use on inner-suburban passenger services. The class is currently operated solely by West Midlands Railway, the non-gangwayed 172/0s and 172/1s having been taken over from London Overground and Chiltern Railways respectively during a fraught period of exchanges that saw Tyseley’s allocation of 150s consigned to Northern, and its 153s spread to the four winds. None of this impacted upon the 172/2s and 172/3s, which have been passing through Birmingham’s Moor Street and Snow Hill since their introduction to service in 2011. West Midlands Trains operate a total of 39 two-car and three-car units, 27 of which had been ordered by predecessor London Midland, who originally planned for them to enter service by the end of 2010 on services to and from Birmingham Snow Hill, replacing Class 150s. From 1st September 2011, the units started operating on the Snow Hill Lines with some weekend work between Birmingham and Hereford. The Class 172 sets are lighter than other Turbostars due to use of the Bombardier FLEXX-ECO bogies - a development of the B5000 bogies used on the Class 220 Voyager, rather than the previous 'Series 3' bogies. Another difference is that they have half-height, as opposed to the more standard full height, airdams. They also differ from earlier Turbostars in having mechanical transmission rather than hydraulic, as a result of which gear changes can be distinctly heard as the trains accelerate and decelerate.
The 172 is working as 1V28, the 13.50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford, and is running into Platform 2. The station layout is unusual in that travelling east the two platforms serve different routes, rather than different directions. Platform 1 can only be accessed by trains via Worcester Shrub Hill (including trains to and from London Paddington and via Cheltenham Spa towards the southwest), while Platform 2 can only be accessed from the east by trains running directly to and from Droitwich Spa, avoiding Shrub Hill. This means that Great Western Railway services can only stop at Platform 1, as all these trains stop at Shrub Hill. The station, although a fraction of the size, actually sees more traffic than Shrub Hill, but is nothing like as photogenic. The curved platforms don’t help the photographer, and as the station is built on a viaduct, space for expansion is restricted. Despite its small size, the remains of two signal boxes can be seen, one spanning the tracks and the second now the station cafe.
The station opened on 17th May 1860. It was originally part of the Hereford and Worcester Railway, which was incorporated into the West Midland Railway, before being absorbed by the Great Western Railway. Foregate Street has rejoiced in its unusual layout since 1973, being essentially two single-track lines side by side rather than the ordinary double-track layout that it appears to be. The two single lines run from Henwick, on the other side of the River Severn, through Foregate Street, to the site of the former Rainbow Hill Junction to the east of the station, which used to provide a crossover between the two tracks. At this point the lines diverge with that on the north side heading towards Tunnel Junction and Droitwich Spa, while the southern track leads to Worcester Shrub Hill. Rainbow Hill Junction was removed when the signalling in the area was remodelled in 1973. The station was upgraded in 2014, which included a refurbished subway, two new entrances with automatic doors, relocation of the lift at the second entrance to be enclosed in the station building, and conversion of one of the railway arches into a bike shelter. The bridge was also strengthened and repainted
The green heights in the background are part of the Rainbow Hill district of Worcester, under which the lines towards Droitwich pass through the appropriately-named Rainbow Hill Tunnel, a modest bore of some 120 meters. Rainbow Hill, an electoral Ward within the constituency of Worcester, boasts an impressive Masonic Centre, but is sadly better known further afield for a particularly grisly triple murder in the 1970s.
172 334 Worcester Foregate Street 24.8.21
A picture can, apparently, paint 1000 words, and while that may to some extent depend on the image in question, there is enough of interest in this seemingly utilitarian view of Worcester Foregate Street station to inspire an effort. Not least, of course, the train, in this case one of West Midland Railways’ Class 172 Turbostars.
The British Rail Class 172 was built by Bombardier Transportation's Derby Litchurch Lane Works for use on inner-suburban passenger services. The class is currently operated solely by West Midlands Railway, the non-gangwayed 172/0s and 172/1s having been taken over from London Overground and Chiltern Railways respectively during a fraught period of exchanges that saw Tyseley’s allocation of 150s consigned to Northern, and its 153s spread to the four winds. None of this impacted upon the 172/2s and 172/3s, which have been passing through Birmingham’s Moor Street and Snow Hill since their introduction to service in 2011. West Midlands Trains operate a total of 39 two-car and three-car units, 27 of which had been ordered by predecessor London Midland, who originally planned for them to enter service by the end of 2010 on services to and from Birmingham Snow Hill, replacing Class 150s. From 1st September 2011, the units started operating on the Snow Hill Lines with some weekend work between Birmingham and Hereford. The Class 172 sets are lighter than other Turbostars due to use of the Bombardier FLEXX-ECO bogies - a development of the B5000 bogies used on the Class 220 Voyager, rather than the previous 'Series 3' bogies. Another difference is that they have half-height, as opposed to the more standard full height, airdams. They also differ from earlier Turbostars in having mechanical transmission rather than hydraulic, as a result of which gear changes can be distinctly heard as the trains accelerate and decelerate.
The 172 is working as 1V28, the 13.50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford, and is running into Platform 2. The station layout is unusual in that travelling east the two platforms serve different routes, rather than different directions. Platform 1 can only be accessed by trains via Worcester Shrub Hill (including trains to and from London Paddington and via Cheltenham Spa towards the southwest), while Platform 2 can only be accessed from the east by trains running directly to and from Droitwich Spa, avoiding Shrub Hill. This means that Great Western Railway services can only stop at Platform 1, as all these trains stop at Shrub Hill. The station, although a fraction of the size, actually sees more traffic than Shrub Hill, but is nothing like as photogenic. The curved platforms don’t help the photographer, and as the station is built on a viaduct, space for expansion is restricted. Despite its small size, the remains of two signal boxes can be seen, one spanning the tracks and the second now the station cafe.
The station opened on 17th May 1860. It was originally part of the Hereford and Worcester Railway, which was incorporated into the West Midland Railway, before being absorbed by the Great Western Railway. Foregate Street has rejoiced in its unusual layout since 1973, being essentially two single-track lines side by side rather than the ordinary double-track layout that it appears to be. The two single lines run from Henwick, on the other side of the River Severn, through Foregate Street, to the site of the former Rainbow Hill Junction to the east of the station, which used to provide a crossover between the two tracks. At this point the lines diverge with that on the north side heading towards Tunnel Junction and Droitwich Spa, while the southern track leads to Worcester Shrub Hill. Rainbow Hill Junction was removed when the signalling in the area was remodelled in 1973. The station was upgraded in 2014, which included a refurbished subway, two new entrances with automatic doors, relocation of the lift at the second entrance to be enclosed in the station building, and conversion of one of the railway arches into a bike shelter. The bridge was also strengthened and repainted
The green heights in the background are part of the Rainbow Hill district of Worcester, under which the lines towards Droitwich pass through the appropriately-named Rainbow Hill Tunnel, a modest bore of some 120 meters. Rainbow Hill, an electoral Ward within the constituency of Worcester, boasts an impressive Masonic Centre, but is sadly better known further afield for a particularly grisly triple murder in the 1970s.