December 14th – Having arrived at work, I discovered I was needed in Telford, so nothing for it, I headed for the train. At New Street, there were delays and confusion and the usual busy, frenetic chaos.
I stood at the end of the platform, wandering what I was doing there. Every signal light I could see was red.
Some days wear you out before you start.
November 9th – Passing through New Street on a drizzly, cold November evening, I caught the lights and signals of New Street mingling with the city skyline, centre stage the brilliant Brutalist gem, Alpha Tower.
One of the joys of winter is seeing this view, the signals, the reassurance of light, warmth, machinery safely in control and life above going on as normal.
Birmingham is glorious in it’s beauty sometimes.
November 30th – New Street again, but early morning feelings rather than late night ones. Seven in the morning, steady rain, not yet clear of the night before.
Something about the light, machinery, wet urban surfaces, overhead wires and signals spoke quietly of urban strength, reassurance, safety, control. Alpha Tower in the distance stood as a fixing to location.
My feelings towards this place are ambivalent these days. But this morning, on the darkest and most miserable of days, something beautiful happened and it took my breath away.
It’s what Birmingham does, and I suspect has always done.
November 19th – At the other end of a crowded journey, the barren beauty of Walsall Station at night from Platform 1. Vaguely brutal 70s red brick architecture, vanishing points, extreme perspective, lights, hard surfaces and a little rain.
It’s that late night feelings thing again.
You can keep your Grand Central new New Street. I’d rather have this, any day of the week.
October 28th – Last commute by train for a while hopefully, and the morning wasn’t the wet one predicted – in fact, it was warm, and although damp from the previous night’s rain, it was a pleasant ride.
I stood and looked for my train, and noted a northbound one in the opposite direction. The trains haven’t been too bad of late and I remain fascinated by the exaggerated perspective and complexity of the lines, overhead wires and general machinery of the rail system.
Today wasn’t the worst weather, but it made me think about just how resilient these systems are – the engineering shouldn’t be underestimated.
March 22nd – Minutes later, in the same ethereal half light, waiting at the Arboretum junction for a green light. I spend a lot of time waiting here, as the induction loop isn’t great at picking up bicycles.
Still, it gives me time to appreciate the victorian gatehouse clocktower at the Arboretum…
January 22nd – I passed through New Street mid-afternoon. The whole place was grey. It’s still chaos, and has been clearly designed with anything but the passengers in mind.
I stood waiting for a late train. Ever signal I could see was red. Sometimes, commuting feels like this.
To quote Dexy’s, tell me when my red light turns green.
January 16th – A day in Droitwich for a change. Cold, hard and clear, I set out before sunrise, and returned as night fell.
I like Droitwich, particularly the railway station, which has a very sleepy, rural feel to it, despite being quite busy – I think part of the charm lies in the old-style mechanical signals that are still in use here.
The town itself is pleasant, and in places quite hilly with makes for interesting cycling.
It was a hard day’s work and I was glad to finish and that it was Friday, but not a bad end to the week, all in all.
December 22nd – A day at work in Darlaston, then nipping into Brum on an errand. New Street Station is mad at this time of year, and the lousy revamp is crippling passenger flows. Stood at the end of the platform for blessed space waiting for the train to be made available, I took a couple of shots. I love the differing lights here, the colours, surfaces, angles and textures.
I guess most folk would dismiss it as ugly, but I think it’s curiously beautiful.
June 24th – Another day, another wet ride home. The Arboretum Junction in Walsall is a dreadful design. A perfectly serviceable island has been replaced by a hugely complex traffic light controlled crossway. I often end up here, waiting 10 minutes at a time for the lights in my lane to turn green. I loathe this fiddly, overcomplicated piece of urban design with a passion.
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