Site History (Archive of first three years)

This page contains an archive of the history for the first three years that photobydjnorton.com was online.  For the current History page, click here.

To jump directly to any page mentioned above, please use the sitemap

30/1/2005	Showed photo's to a colleague - idea for project formed
21/2/2005	Initial web page shown to friends and colleagues
14/3/2005	Purchased photobydjnorton.com
30/6/2005	Letter appeared in the Birmingham Evening Mail
30/7/2005	Inner Ring Road pages completed
20/8/2005	New Street Station page added
16/10/2005	Site history added to enable updates to be tracked by site visitors
29/10/2005	Added Hill St to City Centre, Ringway Centre to Inner Ring Road South and another Suffolk St picture to Inner Ring Road West
5/11/2005	Seperated City Centre into two sections - inside and outside the Inner Ring Road.  Relocated the Broad St and Horsefair pictures to the outside ring road page.  Also added several pop-up pictures of modern locations - Moor St Station, Worcester St, Station St, Queens College, Council House and Queens Drive
8/11/2005	Added Peter Walker's article on the Inner Ring Road linked from the Birmingham page.  Also added some navigation buttons
10/11/2005	Made a start on the Trams and Buses pages - City Centre pictures posted
13/11/2005	Added Trams North of City Centre page
17/11/2005	Added cracking John Bright St from Horsefair picture to Inner Ring Road West page
20/11/2005	Updated notes re tram photos following feedback from site visitors.  Also added pop-ups containing detailed notes
26/11/2005	Added Trams Stratford Road page
3/12/2005	Added Trams Bristol Road page
5/12/2005	Added Trams Pershore Road page
7/12/2005	Added notes for Pershore Road trams
11/12/2005	Added some modern views of some of the Pershore Road tram pictures.  Also improved usability of the site a little.  Updated note re. Nr Hall of Memory photo on Inner Ring Road North page
24/12/2005	Encouraged people to go and photograph the old G & S Brough factory while they still have the chance - link added to Birmingham page
30/12/2005	Re-organised the ring road!  I was never happy that I didn't stretch it out as far as Lancaster Circus but a lack of suitable photo's made it difficult.  Having found some more, the ring road is now complete. The old Inner Ring Road East page has been re-titled Inner Ring Road Central.  A new Inner Ring Road East page features all new photo's.  Also added an extra photo to Inner Ring Road North. Finally, a modern view of the tram near the Central Fire Station has been added to the Trams City Centre page.
8/1/2006	Made a long overdue start on the Railways section with pages for Birmingham and Local Stations.  A mammoth task lies ahead...
21/1/2006	Added two pages of pictures of the Halesowen Railway
22/1/2006	Corrected text re. Hunnington Viaduct and added a pop-up showing detail of the structure
28/1/2006	Updated New Street Station notes following visitor feedback
31/1/2006	Made an announcement regarding future updates
4/2/2006	Added some pictures and notes regarding the demolition of the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama.  This is a link from a new page on current Birmingham developments, accessed from the Birmingham page
5/2/2006	Added modern views for the first three pictures on the Trams Pershore Road page
11/2/2006	Added a page about the relocation of the Birmingham Register Office, accessed from the Birmingham Developments page.  Also, added a link to the Halesowen Line page to a web page containing a Railway Clearing House junction layout diagram from 1903
16/2/2006	Added a page of pictures of the Cromford & High Peak Railway to the Railways section
25/2/2006	A distressing update to the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama page, accessible from the Birmingham Developments page
28/2/2006	Final update to the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama page.  Now contains the sorry tale of 15 Lower Severn Street
11/3/2006	Added a page for the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway.  Also added a modern view for the Pershore St tram photo on the Trams City Centre page
5/4/2006	I know I said the Inner Ring Road section was complete back in December, but now it really is!  Work on the book has revealed a few more photo's and given me the opportunity to visit the sites.  Added Easy Row to IRR West, two views from under the railway bridge on Great Charles St to IRR North and views of Lancaster Place and Corporation St to IRR East
6/4/2006	Added modern views to all but two of the Trams Bristol Road pictures
7/4/2006	Added more modern views of tram pictures - all four on Trams Stratford Road, three Breedon Hill shots on Trams Pershore Road, four shots on Trams North of City Centre and a shot of Deritend on Trams City Centre
8/4/2006	Added three new pictures to the City Centre Outside Ring Road page - St Luke's Road, Snow Hill / Constitution Hill and Legge St / Aston St. For the rail fans, I've finally got around to producing the long-promised Ffestiniog page!  It's in the Railways section
15/4/2006	Brief page of pictures of the Severn Railway Bridge added to the Railways section
16/5/2006	A long overdue update - sorry, but the book really is taking up (nearly) all my spare time!  While having a meal with my brother back in January, he asked me, "What do you think of the slides?".  I didn't know we had any slides!  In fact, there are over 400. Made a start on the Birmingham In Colour page, accessed from the Birmingham page.  Putting slide scans on the web is a lot more involved than black and white prints (as I have described on the About page) so please bear with me.  There's more to come...
23/5/2006	Minor updates and corrections only.  Added picture of the slide collection to About page.
31/5/2006	A couple of minor updates to the City Centre Outside Ring Road page.  Also added a new page about the redevelopment of the Rotunda, accessed from the Birmingham Developments page
17/6/2006	Time for another announcement re. site updates - this time a positive one! Added a couple more Birmingham in Colour pictures.  Also, started a Buses and Trams in Colour page accessed from the Trams and Buses section
18/6/2006	Made a start on the colour pictures of Birmingham and local stations accessed from the Railways page
22/6/2006	Added two fantastic colour pictures of the interior of New Street Station accessed from the Birmingham and Local Stations in Colour page.  Included three pop-ups to show some more detail
24/6/2006	Added three pictures of Lifford accessed from the Birmingham and Local Stations in Colour page
30/6/2006	Added another picture to the Rotunda page, accessed from Birmingham Developments
9/7/2006	Some more colour slides added.  Views of Moor Green Lane added to Birmingham in Colour.  A nice shot of a pair of Wilts & Dorset buses added to Buses and Trams in Colour.  Finally, Marston Green and Northfield stations added to Birmingham and Local Stations in Colour
15/7/2006	Two more colour pictures added - Site of Brighton Road Station and Camp Hill accessed from the Birmingham and Local Stations in Colour page
22/7/2006	Completed the Buses and Trams in Colour page.  Added a bus picture from Ledbury railway station, two superb photo's of Cardiff trolleybuses and three shots of Blackpool trams from 1956.  Also added a modern view of Haunch Lane terminus
26/7/2006	Seeing how the site has grown, and given that it will continue to grow, I decided it was high time that I added a Sitemap page.  It will provide a quick and easy way to jump to any page in the site
29/7/2006	A major update to the Halesowen Railway section.  Added three new pages - some extra pictures not originally discovered, a page of colour slides and my experiences and pictures from a trip to Dowery Dell.  Also, added a very important shot to the page now referred to as Halesowen Railway - Virtual Trip
6/8/2006	Completed Birmingham and Local Stations A-K in Colour.  Added another shot of Camp Hill, two of Hazelwell, two of Kings Heath and three of Kings Norton
12/8/2006	Three more pictures added to the Birmingham in Colour page - Dogpool, Peshore Road and Holly Bank Road.
26/8/2006	Four more pictures added to the Halesowen Railway in Colour page
29/8/2006	Added a page about the Liverpool Overhead Railway to the Railways section
31/8/2006	Added three recently discovered pictures to the Cromford and High Peak Railway page.  These were in a book of contact prints that I had thought were just duplicates of the larger prints until I re-examined them and found some real gems!
11/9/2006	Enhanced some captions on the LOR & C&HPR pages following visitor feedback. Added four more pictures to the Birmingham in Colour page
23/9/2006	Added the final four colour slides to the Halesowen Railway in Colour page.  The Halesowen Railway section of the site is now complete
7/10/2006	Yes, I know I said the Halesowen Railway section was complete but...  Changed the colour slide of the viaduct to a more colour accurate one.  Also, added a pop-up to show the remaining railway bridge at Frankley.  These changes affect the Halesowen Railway in Colour page. Added four pictures of the site of Moseley Station accessed from the Birmingham and Local Stations in Colour page.  Included a pop-up to show Kings Heath Ballast Sidings
9/10/2006	Added a page about my forthcoming book.  Links can be found on the Birmingham and Trams and Buses pages
21/10/2006	Split the Birmingham In Colour section into two pages - one for the 1950's and one for the 1960's.  The 1950's page is complete.  Added four shots of Cotteridge to the 1960's page
22/10/2006	Added pictures of the site of Rotton Park Road Station, Selly Oak and Smethwick accessed from the Birmingham and Local Stations in Colour page
4/11/2006	A bit of a binge on Birmingham Developments!  Added a new picture of the Rotunda and two new pages covering the refurbishment of the Civic Centre tower blocks and a redevelopment affecting Unity House, Bromsgrove St
5/11/2006	Added five superb pictures of Stechford accessed from the Birmingham and Local Stations in Colour page.   That section of the site is now complete
6/11/2006	Added a pop up to show the quality of the latest slide scans.  It shows Stechford No.1 Box and is accessed from the Local Stations N-Z in Colour page
11/11/2006	Added four pictures of Rubery to the Birmingham In Colour 1960's page.  Birmingham In Colour is now complete
26/11/2006	Added a page of colour slides of the Clee Hill incline cable-operated railway.  This will be the last of the slides for a while as I will be concentrating on the black and white prints for the next few months
10/12/2006	Another addition to Birmingham Developments with a page discussing the future of the Nat West Tower on Colmore Row.  Also, updated the text on the Railways page to capture the work of the last year and my plans for the future.  Finally, updated a couple of captions on the Cromford and High Peak Railway page.
16/12/2006	Added a page about 'Big Bertha' and the Lickey Incline accessed from the Railways page.  This will be the last update before the New Year as I have a big DIY project to keep me busy over Christmas!  So, Season's Greetings to you all.
10/1/2007	Firstly, Happy New Year and sincere apologies for the lack of updates.  My DIY kitchen refit is occupying all my spare time at the moment.  I'll try to add some new material before January disappears. Minor update to reflect the fact that my book is now in the shops.  I was interviewed by the Birmingham Post on January 8 so look out for a feature in a forthcoming Saturday edition.  I shall be appearing on Carl Chinn's show on Sunday 14 Jan at around 2:15pm so please listen in if you're interested. Added a link to Matt Craig's Birmingham based father and son superhero graphic novella to the Rotunda page,  Enjoy!
28/1/2007	Added a page called Dad's Days Out to the Railways section.  This will allow his railway excursions of the 1940's, 50's and 60's to be re-lived through the photo's he took.  The first trip takes in Trent, Loughborough, Leicester and Nuneaton
29/1/2007	Just some minor additions to yesterday's new page following some feedback (thanks Andy & Geoff)
25/2/2007	Added a page of photo's of New Street Station from 1948 and 1949.  These are to be found in a new section off the Railways page called New Street Station at Work. Added a note about the availability of my book to the In My Father's Footsteps page. Updated a couple of captions following visitor feedback, one on the Ffestiniog page and one on the 'Big Bertha' page
26/2/2007	A further update to the In My Father's Footsteps page following receipt of fresh information from the new publishers
24/3/2007	Completed the New Street Station at Work section with the addition of a page of pictures taken between 1950 and 1964
31/3/2007	Updated the caption for 10800 on the New Street Station at Work 1950-1964 page - thanks to those who got in touch. Added a splendid map of the Cromford and High Peak Railway to the C&HPR page.  My mother happened to mention that there was a bag of my father's books in the same cupboard that she'd kept the photo's in.  This map was found tucked inside a book!
22/4/2007	Made a l-o-n-g overdue start on the Other Places page.  A recent visit to Ledbury provided me with the ideal opportunity to sort out some pictures and take some modern views.  Other Places is accessed from the home page.  For rail fans hoping to see some additions in the Railways section, note that the Ledbury pictures include a nice shot of the station as well as some remnants of the old GWR branch line to Gloucester
12/5/2007	Mostly B'ham Developments updates - a new Rotunda picture, completion of the Civic Centre Refurbishment page and a new page, Old Brum Burns, about fires at three of the city's listed buildings.  Also made some minor caption changes, introduced a couple more pop-up pictures and tried to make some of the site features more noticeable
28/5/2007	Another announcement, and a positive one to boot.  The first result of the points discussed in the announcement is the addition of a new page of Cromford & High Peak Railway photo's accessible from the Railways page.  It turns out that my father went on a High Peak Tour in September 1961 and these newly discovered pictures capture the day beautifully
2/6/2007	Added a page about the New Street Station centenary event that was held in June 1954, accessible from the Railways page
23/6/2007	How many times have I 'finished' the Halesowen Railway section!?  Well, new pictures and a recent couple of visits to Frankley have seen some reworking to the Virtual Trip and Enthusiast Pictures pages.  I'm very pleased to have been able to add pictures of Old Hill and Halesowen stations at last. I promise I'll move on to completely new stuff soon...
30/6/2007	Made a start on a completely new section that I'm sure will be of interest to many - Birmingham Rail Sites.  Accessed from the Railways page, the initial pictures are of Monument Lane and Central Goods
7/7/2007	Most of this weekend's updates are as a result of visitor feedback.  I'd like to thank Will for providing some splendid modern views of the Cromford & High Peak Railway which you'll find spread over both of my C&HPR pages.  I'd also like to thank Stuart for providing three pictures for use on the Liverpool Overhead Railway page.  There are quite a few caption updates scattered around with acknowledgement given at the point where feedback has been used. Updated the Photo Opportunity page in the Birmingham Developments section.  If you didn't take your pictures in the 18 months since I pointed out that Brum was about to lose another old building, you're now too late…
21/7/2007	A couple of additions to the Birmingham Rail Sites page - Bordesley Junction and Selly Oak Boxes and Signals. Could I ask a favour?  If you've bought my book from Amazon, could you please review it so that people not familiar with this site can make an informed decision about buying it.  Thanks
28/7/2007	I hadn't planned an update today but found another shot of the two signal boxes at Selly Oak that compliments those posted last week very nicely.  You can find it on the Selly Oak Boxes and Signals page.  Made a couple of minor caption updates following visitor feedback too. I received a comment about the upside-down site history compared with other sites.  Sorry, but it's too much work to switch it round.  If you haven't already worked it out, there is no need to scroll down - just click on the Last Updated link at the top of the page and you'll find yourself down here!
5/8/2007	It's a real pleasure to be able to add a new page of early 1960's Birmingham city centre photo's to the site.  Practically every single D J Norton picture of this area is already on the site so I'm very grateful to Bill Stace for allowing me to display his late father's photo's here.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.  You can find them via the Birmingham page
13/8/2007	No updates, just a note to say that I'll be signing copies of my book in the Bullring branch of Borders on Friday 17 August between 12pm and 2pm.  Please pop along and say hello if you have the time
20/8/2007	Added a page of pictures related to the Cadbury Works Railway at Bournville accessed from the Birmingham Rail Sites page
1/9/2007	A week off work gave me the chance to visit the site of the Clee Hill Incline and I have finally been able to add some modern views to the Clee Hill Incline page.  I highly recommend visiting Clee Hill if you have an interest in industrial railways!
9/9/2007	I'm very pleased to say that I have now added more photo's by the late Leonard Stace.  The original page has had some modifications with a few new pictures while a completely new page shows the redevelopment of the Bull Ring area in the early 1960's - incredible scenes!  Both pages are accessed from the Birmingham page. I'm taking a break from the site for the rest of September - back with some new railway pictures in October
6/10/2007	Time for another Dad's Day Out - this time all the way up to Sheffield (still Midland territory, of course).  Stop offs at Ambergate, Clay Cross and Chesterfield
13/10/2007	A bit of a mixed bag today...  A new page of Worcester pictures has been added to Other Places.  Only three, but all interesting shots.  Also added a couple of colour slides to the Severn Railway Bridge page accessed from the Railways section.  Speaking of slides, added another new page to the Railways section called My Favourite Slide.  A superb view of the Euston Arch in 1955!
4/11/2007	Added a page of truly marvellous photo's of Bournville Shed dating from 1948, through to demoltion in 1961 and beyond.  Accessed from Birmingham Rail Sites
18/11/2007	Mostly a tidy up with a few caption corrections and enhancements (thanks to Dave M and David H).  Also, attended to a few broken links - please get in touch if you find any of these on the site! Two new pictures have been added.  On the Worcester page I've included a view of the rail bridge from which my father took his splendid view of the city.  In addition, I've found another picture of the interior of Bournville Shed that I had to include on that page - it's a stunner!
2/12/2007	The discovery of a few more pictures of Ledbury coupled with a trip to the town in October have allowed me to expand the Ledbury page with six more past and present views
23/12/2007	Sorry it's been a bit quiet lately - you know what it's like when Christmas comes!  I hope to find some time over the holidays to add some new material. Added a new page showing interior shots of several Birmingham signal boxes accessed from the Birmingham Rail Sites page. Seasons Greetings!
27/12/2007	Just a few minor updates following visitor feedback - thanks to Robert, Nigel, Charles and Dave. Those with an interest in my father's railway photo's will no doubt be interested to hear that some of his work has recently been published in 'Midland Record' and 'LMS Journal'.  Here are the details
31/12/2007	With a self imposed deadline of 'end of year' to meet, finally made a start on the Midland Area Stations section, accessed from the Railways page.  Only three stations so far but it's something to build on. Happy New Year!
11/1/2008	Added some rare shots of a couple of Worcestershire goods stations, Droitwich Road and Dunhampstead, to the recently added Midland Area Stations page. Updated some captions on the New Street Station at Work 1950-1964 and Ledbury pages - thanks to Kenneth and Chris respectively
27/1/2008	Sorry that updates are a bit sparse at the moment but I have a lot going on!  In the fullness of time, these activities will be beneficial to this site and to spreading the name of D J Norton as an important photographer of his day so please bear with me for a while... Added a page on Alvechurch Station to the Midland Area Stations page.  Also, updated a couple of captions with thanks to Will and Simon for getting in touch.  I also have to thank Simon for providing a detailed analysis of the picture of the interior of Bordesley Junction Box on the Signal Box Interiors page
3/2/2008	Started new History page here

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