Trivia: Downsized stations that are shells of their former selves?

[Rescars]

Birmingham Snow Hill may have risen phoenix-like from the ashes, but it still has quite a long way to go to recapture its former splendour.

 

[SimplyLlama]

From the late 1800s to 1965, Skipton had 6 platforms for the Ilkley services, but was reduced to 4 from 1965 and 2 from 1970 until 1993 and put back up to 4 again after that.

 

[Rescars]

There must be quite a significant number of stations, once important junctions, which have shrunk considerably following the closure of branches and secondary routes. Honeybourne is a case in point. It once had five platforms, was closed completely and has since been reopened in reduced form.

 

[daodao]

Merthyr Tydfil - formerly a sizeable station with services (by several different railway companies) in multiple directions (N/S/E/W) - now a single platform relocated slightly south of the original site with services just on the historic Taff Vale line to Cardiff.

Whitchurch (Glamorgan) - formerly a sizeable 2 platform station with a booking office and goods yard - now an unstaffed single platform halt.

There must be quite a significant number of stations, once important junctions, which have shrunk considerably following the closure of branches and secondary routes. Honeybourne is a case in point. It once had five platforms, was closed completely and has since been reopened in reduced form.

Leominster on the North & West (Marches) line was once a substantial staffed station with multiple platforms and was a junction for branch line services east to Bromyard/Worcester and west to Kington/New Radnor with further connections available at Titley Junction.

 

[d9009alycidon]

Rutherglen had 12 platform faces, 5 on the main line, 3 terminal bays and two each on the other two sides of the triangle, now just two faces on one side of the triangle.

 

[thejuggler]

Bradford Forster Square has got to be one of the bigger downsized stations?

It's probably in competition for that award with Bradford Exchange!

 

[WAO]

Rochdale, Halifax, the L&Y in general.

WAO

 

[Skie]

There’s a huge number of former 4 platform stations cut down to 2 on Merseyrail.

Seaforth & Litherland was once the terminus of the Overhead railway, complete with a roof over each platform, but is now a basic island on a windswept embankment. Every other station between it and Exchange was also 4 platforms.

 

[Welly]

There must be quite a significant number of stations, once important junctions, which have shrunk considerably following the closure of branches and secondary routes. Honeybourne is a case in point. It once had five platforms, was closed completely and has since been reopened in reduced form.

Spalding for example - used to have 7 platforms (I think) now only 2 through platforms.

 

[D6130]

Whitchurch (Salop)

 

[Bob Price]

Cardiff Queen Street. Once had tea rooms, shops, waiting rooms and is now a shed. I feature it in here at the start.

 

[consettman]

Tynemouth's a picturesque station and bustling on market days, but in railway usage reduced to the two through Metro platforms - there used to be an additional seven passenger bays in all in BR days, now filled in. Same number of lost platforms as Manors - but without the misery of the location.
If you want extreme examples of shadow-of-their-former-selves stations, consider some of the Union stations in the US. Cincinnati for example - a huge and glorious art deco pile, still just about functioning as a station with a single every-other-day service and a passenger throughput of a couple of hundred a week.

 

[Pnerick81]

Preston used to be 15 platforms . Half the size it used to be . The fishergate car park used to all be railway . With the east lancs lines going under the vicars bridge

 

[daveo]

Another vote for Morecambe

 

[najaB]

I think Blackburn also falls into this category. Used to have 7(?) platforms and an overall roof, now it has 4 and only limited cover.

 

[duffield]

March used to have 7 platforms, services to most points of the compass and was an important junction/interchange for longer distance journeys. At least some station buildings have been retained, unlike the bus shelter at Chinley.

Hellifield is another example which previously was an important junction station with some terminating services, but no longer has that function (but has retained its heritage station buildings)

Heysham (Port) is now another basic terminus à la Blackpool South - which historically featured multiple platforms, local electric trains to Morecambe & Lancaster and until the 1970s, Inter-City trains to Euston & Birmingham. Not to mention the Belfast Boat Express to/from Manchester Vic.

Hellifield is still a junction station (although arguably not an "important" one!), given that there are both freight (e.g. Carlisle Colas to Chrik Colas) and passenger (Rochdale to Ribblehead) services through Hellifield to/from Clitheroe, in addition to the S&C and Bentham line services.

 

[Revilo]

Highbridge in Somerset used to be a large junction between the GWR and Somerset and Dorset lines, with I think five platforms, and is now just a simple two platform affair.

Templecombe also in Somerset was a junction too, was closed and reopened as a one platform station.

 

[trainswitheddy]

Tamworth isn't smaller I don't think but certainly used to be a lot more architecturally interesting.

 

[D6130]

Yeovil Junction - Now only two platforms instead of four.

Portsmouth & Southsea -now only four platforms instead of seven.

 

[greyman42]

I would not call Newcastle a shell of its former self but it looked quite different when it still had its West/North facing bay platforms.

 

[robert thomas]

Pontypool Road is unrecognisable from the station as it was in the 1960s. Morfa Mawddach is also much diminished. Fishguard Harbour also.

 

[55018ballymoss]

Carnforth used to have 6 platforms in its heyday, now down to 2 and no longer has WCML stopping traffic.

Oh I did not realise it was six. I thought there were two on the WCML, two (maybe thred) on the curve round towards the Barrow and Settle lines?

For me, I always thought Hellifield would fit this category.
Originally two extremely long main line platforms and two bays, one north, and one south. Now just using enough space for 4x 23m trains on the main platforms (and not under the impressive main roof either!)
Though there is always the argument that Hellifield could never sustain the original station as it was only built as an interchange, the village population being negligible when the original station was built.

 

[WAO]

A bit beyond Zone 6, but Auckland NZ, a candidate.

Welcome to Heritage New Zealand

Welcome to Heritage New Zealand

www.heritage.org.nz

WAO

 

[Tomos y Tanc]

Merthyr Tydfil, once four platforms with an overall roof and served by seven different railway companies.

The station buildings have been replaced by a shopping centre and it now has a single platform next to a Tesco car park.

 

[Rescars]

This may be stretching the parameters of the OP, but way back Curzon Street lost its initial grandeur when New Street opened and it eventually became goods only. HS2 should bring about a significant change of fortune!

 

[steamybrian]

Felixstowe Town once had 4 platforms and now a shortened one platform

 

[Brush 4]

St Ives, Looe, Exmouth, Windermere, maybe others. All moved back to allow redevelopment of the station site. Windermere train shed survives in retail use, while the trains look on from out in the rain.

 

[12C]

Oh I did not realise it was six. I thought there were two on the WCML, two (maybe thred) on the curve round towards the Barrow and Settle lines?

As well as the 4 main line through platforms there also used to be 2 bay platforms, one for trains to Hellifield and one for Morecambe. Long gone now of course!

 

[daodao]

Merthyr Tydfil, once four platforms with an overall roof and served by seven different railway companies.

The station buildings have been replaced by a shopping centre and it now has a single platform next to a Tesco car park.

See also post 34 of this thread.

Windermere train shed survives in retail use, while the trains look on from out in the rain.

It is at least a superior supermarket.

 

[YorksLad12]

I'm sure we've had this topic recently...

Anyway: Kings Cross? Used to be numbered 1-15, I think; now 0-10, so it's lost four on the suburban side (plus York Road, if you wanted to count that). So it's the suburban side that's the "shell"