Tag: Birmingham New Street

January 3rd – The journey home was much better than expected, too; when I made a dash for it, there was a gap in the rain and I made it to the train just in time, similarly at Birmingham New Street, where the city glistened beautifully in the wet. Taking advantage of a following wind, I shot home from Walsall between showers until I emerged from the takeaway, and got drenched in the last mile home.

Considering the horrendous weather in other parts of the country we escaped lightly, and so did I. Can’t help thinking I’ll pay for that later… 

January 28th – Birmingham New Street Station is undergoing huge alterations at the moment, and is overrun buy people involved in the reconstruction. Sometimes, they almost seem to match in number the passengers; they emerge from hatches and previously unnoticed doorways, often surveying, taking measurements or gazing at ceilings. There’s clearly a lot of thought going on.

I keep noticing these tiny target symbols in odd locations about the station. About 20mm square, they have a precision cross-hair on them and a unique number , and they’re printed on reflective material. They’re vital to operations here, but I suspect few ever notice them.

They’re measurement datums. A theodolite – either placed in position by an engineer, or permanently sited in an out of the way spot – will focus on this target, and accurate geometrical measurements can be made, indicating if the target, or the wall it’s attached to, has moved, or to precisely locate some other measurement. Automatic systems will do this across multiple visible datums repeatedly, unattended, and alert engineers if there’s any change.

I suspect this is part of an automatic monitoring system as it’s above normal working, and therefore, crowd height, just to the left of the telephone kiosk roof.

Civil engineering is getting more and more sophisticated.

May 30th – That false sense of security. Today, I headed to Telford in light, summer clothes. It was a lovely, sunny morning and the riding was good, but late into the afternoon, the skies darkened. Although the BBC internet forecast didn’t predict rain, it looked like we we in for a storm.

I cycled to the station at my normal time – and it started to rain as the train pulled out. When I arrived at New Street, the rain storm was torrential. Water issued up from platform drains and the overheads crackled ominously. I was going to get drowned. I started to root in the saddlebag to check for aqua pacs for my electronic gadgets…

February 27th – Out early to Telford again today – hopefully for the last time in a while. Standing on platform 4c (sort of like New Street’s version of Harry Potter’s platform 9 and three quarters, only less feasible) I looked across the dismal concrete and steel architecture and noticed the steel horse. Life size, jet black and approaching 25 years old, this is part of one of the better public artworks I’ve ever seen. I think there are twelve metallic equine silhouettes in total, at various locations between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, all in animated poses as if racing the train. They are regarded with surprising affection by travellers, and after two and a half decades, they still make me smile.

May 24th – This is the evening commute film from the same trip. Changing trains at New Street, Birmingham, this time for a Walsall bound train, at about 5pm. The crowds, the dreadful lifts, the bustle – not a single part of this interchange will improve with the revamp of New Street, which is primarily about providing a ‘retail opportunity’. Note that the bike is being pushed and not ridden throughout.

The soundtract is from Mainframe, unofficially called ‘I make my way back home’, officially just ‘Track 4’. Check them out at http://mainframe-music.info/– a great blast of eighties synth-goodness, mostly made on an Apple II computer in 1983.

May 24th – Change trains at Birmingham New Street at 8:55am for a 9:05 departure to Telford. This is the reality of using trains with a bike. Bear in mind that for all the millions spent, nothing seen in this film will change with the revamp of the station. The unreliable lifts, the dingy, menacing subway, the cramped, overcrowded platforms. The revamp will just give a ‘retail opportunity’ for big business. 

I love travelling by bike and train, but this tries my patience. Life shouldn’t be this hard. Part 2 to follow.

The soundtrack is Artie Shaw’s ‘Special Delivery Stomp’, the music that plays in your head whenever you’re late for anything…