European Railroad Discussion > Need Birmingham suggestions

I'm thinking of attending the Warley Model RR show in Birmingham in late November.  Right now, it looks like the best air fares are available if I stay a day or two after the show.

It's late November, so I assume the weather will be dreadful.  Any suggestions for local activities (rail or non rail) nearby?

Thanks.

I spent a day in Birmingham railfanning at the end of November last year, weather was cold and crisp. I went to Water Orton in the NE suburbs, caught a bus but don't remember the number. It's a busy place with plenty of passenger and freight action. You can also ride the streetcar to Wolverhampton or ride one of Chiltern's loco hauled trains on the Marylebone route. The Severn Valley Railway is a stone's throw away at Kidderminster, need to check what days they're running.

Ha ha, the weather could be awful, but a fair chance also that you could have some lovely autumn light if the sky is blue....it could happen!

If you're restricted to public transport you could try Bescot station for freight or Leamington Spa for freight and passenger action. Water Orton is good for freight as has already been mentioned. There's Tamworth or Rugby also on the electrified west coast main line.

If you rented a car there are some more rural places on the busy west coast main line you could get to quite easily.

The Severn Valley heritage line is great for steam/diesel and is south west of Birmingham at Kidderminster, about 45 mins from Birmingham by train.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/17 14:59 by exhaustED.

Check opening times carefully at that time of year!

Vaguely transport related:
http://www.transport-museum.com/
http://www.wythall.org.uk/ (Jason from Rapido was there recently scanning one of their buses)
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/

Non transport
http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/ryton (just east of Coventry)
http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/plant-centre-and-gardens (not far from Cosford)
Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare!) is easily reached by train from Moor Street station in Birmingham.
Hereford can be reached from Birmngham - nice small city with https://www.herefordcathedral.org/mappa-mundi
https://www.bclm.co.uk/

There might be something on in the evening
https://www.thsh.co.uk/
More generally what's on in Birmingham http://livebrum.co.uk/2017/11/25 - just select a date from the calendar on the left.

This http://www.thenec.co.uk/whats-on/motorcycle-live/ is on at the NEC at the same time as Warley.

Lastly - it's only 90 minutes by train from Birmingham to London (could be longer depending on the route you take). You can buy your air ticket from home TO Birmingham and HOME from London and they'll just charge half of each round trip fare. Much the same can be said about Manchester. Liverpool doesn't have transatlantic flights but it's not difficult to get from Liverpool to Manchester Airport. The problem with buying "open jaw" tickets is that the web isn't always a good way to buy them so you might need to call the airline. If you do choose the open jaw option the possibilities are endless. London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow all have transatlantic flights. You don't even have to restrict yourself to UK airports - fly into the UK and take Eurostar under the channel is and fly home from France, Belgium or any other country you want to name.

You do need to bear in mind that it will be getting dark around 4pm that time of year so quite apart from any weather (which can vary from cold/dreary/rain to nearly(!) warm/bright sunshine) worries you need to factor that into any sightseeing that depends on daylight!

Are the semaphore signals at Worcester Shrub Hill still in service? That is an easy ride from Birmingham and well worth the visit. Also able to stand under the platform shelters if weather is bad.

Jim

tq-07fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are the semaphore signals at Worcester Shrub Hill
> still in service? That is an easy ride from
> Birmingham and well worth the visit. Also able to
> stand under the platform shelters if weather is
> bad.
>
> Jim


Yep, Droitwich and Worcester Shrub Hill are still outposts of semaphore signalling.