Early History
Moor Street was built by the Great Western Railway to relieve traffic on its two-track tunnel under central Birmingham to Birmingham Snow Hill. It was a terminus for trains from Leamington Spa, and in particular those via Stratford-upon-Avon (then a main line). It was opened with temporary buildings in July 1909, and permanent buildings were completed in 1914. The station and goods yard were on Moor Street, on the western side of the entrance to Snow Hill tunnel, but the through tracks to Snow Hill were not provided with platforms.
Sunday trains at Moor Street began for the first time when Snow Hill was reopened in the mid-1980s. Before then, Sunday trains ran through the tunnel to Snow Hill station instead (pre 1967/8). With the Snow Hill tunnel closure in 1968, these trains were diverted into New Street.
The incomplete Duddeston Viaduct visible from Moor Street turning towards Birmingham Curzon Street is the original intended route of the line. A product of inter-company rivalry, the viaduct was never used, and the GWR was forced to build the route through to Snow Hill in the 1850s.
Read more about this topic: Birmingham Moor Street Railway Station
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