Glory at last for George the cat and Stourbridge station in 'World Cup'
The wait is finally over for a Black Country railway station as it became the nation's favourite station.
Stourbridge Junction became the third station to win the World Cup of Stations competition, fighting off three formidable opponents in a public vote.
The station, which was voted the top station for rail enthusiasts, was in the final for the second year in a row, having lost by one percent in the public vote to Glasgow Queen Street in 2020.
It was taking on Aviemore, the most popular adventure station, Glasgow Central, popular for shops, and St Ives in Cornwall, voted the most popular for lovers of the seaside, in the 2021 final.
Fans and friends of George, the station cat, took to Twitter throughout the day to vote for Stourbridge Junction, which led to the station having 71 percent of the vote early on, but with Glasgow Central closing up throughout the day.
Station manager Simone Carter said it has been humbling for the station to be involved in the final again and said it would be the final year of the station taking part, due to the impending retirement of George.
She said: "We have found it very humbling to be involved in this competition again, in what will be our last year as George is set to retire with his dad.
"It's a lovely accolade to be in the final again and it's a great selection of stations to have in the mix in the final and it's phenomenal that a small station like ours has made it through and put Stourbridge on the map.
"The vast majority of the popularity has been down to the station cats and all the good work he has done to draw people into voting for us and liking the Twitter account."
Having become the third station after Huddersfield and Glasgow Queen Street to win the World Cup of Stations, Ms Carter said the win was acknowledgement for the work done by everyone at the station.
She said: "The win is a cause for opening the Treatos for George and is absolutely phenomenal, not just for the staff at the station who worked throughout the pandemic, but for the whole community.
"This includes the shuttle which runs down to Stourbridge Town as the staff for that are a part of this.
"The whole experience has been a great advertisement for the station and for the community as a whole."
