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Tamworth is a split-level railway station which serves the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. It is located where the Cross Country Route passes over the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line, in the United Kingdom, although there is no longer a rail link between the two lines. ==History== The original station was opened in 1839 by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway on its original route from Derby to Hampton-in-Arden meeting the London and Birmingham Railway for London In 1847 the London and North Western Railway built its Trent Valley Line passing beneath the original line with a new joint station, though they weren't referred to as "High Level" and "Low Level" till 1924. Since it was expected that only local trains would call, the platforms were on loops, with the running lines left clear for expresses. At that time there was a north to west curve linking the, by then, Midland with the LNWR line. Since it was the crossing of two major lines - one Bristol to Newcastle, the other Euston to Aberdeen - it was important for the Royal Mail transferring upwards of 2000 bags every night. A north to east curve was also built very early on by the Trent Valley Railway and the Birmingham & Derby Junction railway, and track was laid on it, but it is not known whether it was ever used. It was certainly lifted by the turn of the century. The track left the Trent Vally line and climbed on an embankment until it crossed the River Anker via a bridge, then entered a cutting until reaching the Midland line. The bridge, known locally as the Spider Bridge, was demolished sometime during the late 1960s by the Royal Engineers, and the cutting was filled in shortly afterwards, so there is little to see nowadays except for the vegetation-covered embankment leading to the bridge. Prior to the introduction of diesel engines, Tamworth Railway Station was particularly well known to 'train spotting' enthusiasts as the closest station to Birmingham at which the larger and faster steam engines could be seen on the London to the North West Coast Line. The south-east corner, where the lines crossed, was at that time a vacant field, and used to be filled with spotters who would bring refreshments and spend the whole day there. A housing estate now occupies that spot. There was a large water tower and pumping station at the east end of the low level, pumping water from the River Anker below. The original station was demolished in 1961 and the rebuilt station opened in 1962 and at the same time the Trent Valley Line was electrified, requiring the High level line and platforms to be raised by two feet.〔Pixton, B., (2005) ''Birmingham-Derby: Portrait of a Famous Route,'' Runpast Publishing〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tamworth railway station」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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