Worcester

It took me a little time to get my bearings. There was a gap of 59 years since I last stepped out onto these platforms. The sheds were still full of steam locos on our special train trip in 1964, hauled from here by Castle Class No. 5054 Earl of Ducie. There were 7 other Castles on the shed on that day -7005, 7022, 7034, 7013, 5042, 5096 and 7025. We were heading for a shed bash in South Wales, and I remember that the engine that was meant to take us back to Crewe from Worcester, A1 Class No. 60114 WP Allen, failed. The sheds complex was certainly very substantial at that time.

The Georgian-style Shrub Hill station building dates from 1865. It has operated as a joint GWR/MR station throughout its history. The delightful Grade II listed Victorian waiting room on platform two, decorated with Maw’s tiles, has been refurbished in recent times. Shrub Hill is well-known in the railway community for hanging on to its array of semaphore signals [for now] and especially the almost unique large main aspect “banjo” signal on platform one. Café Loco, on the same platform has entrances from the booking hall as well as from the platform. There are framed prints on the walls of some recognisable railway paintings.  

Support walls for the former train shed which was dismantled in the 1930s are evident, but a lot of the original station building is currently covered with cladding while some further intensive restoration work takes place behind them and thus hidden from view. Both platforms are bi-directional and there is a small bay - platform three - at the north end. Both Shrub Hill and Foregate Street are well served by a range of services – including to Birmingham via different routes, Cheltenham Spa, Oxford, London Paddington, Hereford, Bristol and South Wales.