A family wedding near Worksop gave us the excuse to visit Sheffield Midland and Worksop. As I was born and brought up in Shefield I had travelled from Midland station many times, and think I can remember vaguely the old Victoria station, and certainly the Victoria Station. Midland station had undergone quite a bit of change in the 41 years since I left home and I am not sure I had been in the station in all that time. 

Since my youth the station concourse has beren opened up and is now quite impressive, and especially the water feature wall made of Sheffield steel. I had driven passed it since it was up up but not waled past it.

The taxi rank that used to be outside the main entrance has moved and the inside has changed too, though I am not sure I could have described whart it was like before.

Notice the sign to the trams. The supertram network was approved in 1991, some 30 years after my birtth. I have contented with the roadworks and confusion about where roads had gone on subsequent visits. I was interested to see the tram platforms at the Midland.

From the footbridge

The new, to me, tram platforms.

There are tunnels at both ends of the station - but then there are hills everwhere in Sheffield - reputedly seven like Rome.

I did’t get the lighting right for this photo. It is a “Welcome Home” sign for any Sheffield folk arriving back over the footbridge from the platforms. It might seem odd that it is not aimed at visitors - but the poster is in the style of the labels on bottles of the famous Hendersons Relish - which is made in Sheffield. ‘Famous’, that is, to anyone from Sheffield. It’s like Worcester sauce, but better and now available in varying sizes and with blue & white or red & white lagels - for Wednesday and United fans respectively. If you squint or zoom in you might be able to see the words “Henderson’s Relish’ at the top.  I was briefly a Wednesday supporter, though mostly an Aston Villa supporter, like my dad. My sisters have both been United season ticket holders.

 The Red Star Parcel depot used to be here at the right end of the station frontage.  From here I posted my trunk at the start of the university year and collected it again at teh end of the year. In Sheffield one of my sisters drove me to the station, in Oxford a friend and I took the college trolley through the streets to collect at the start of the year and collect again at the end. Everything that wouldn’t go in the trunk, including my bicycle, went with me on the train each term.