There are many interesting facts and quirks about the London Underground. They pop up again and again in every new London book that hits the shelves, and get churned out in pub quizzes every night of the week. They still fascinate me though, no matter how many times I hear them. Here's a very small selection of some of my favorites, with new photos taken this weekend.
The only two station names on the entire network that contain all five vowels: Mansion House and South Ealing: The only roundel on the platforms at St James's Park that show the original spelling of St James' Park:
It's been listed under its current spelling everywhere else in the station and on maps since the 50s. I love a good apostrophe debate (it's still Waterstone's as far as I'm concerned), but St James's Park does look a bit silly: Pre-roundel era signs on the District line platforms at Ealing Broadway:
Before the now-iconic London Underground roundel was introduced, most station signs used this version instead, which was generally described as being like a bulls-eye. The famous design used today was introduced as a way of ensuring consistency across the network, while also helping to establish London Underground as a brand. The original design was later adapted by Edward Johnston, who also designed the sans-serif Johnson typeface that is synonymous with the tube.
The longest escalator on the network, at Angel station. Around 60 metres in length, it takes roughly 1:32 to ride it. I wanted to include the shortest one too, but engineering work over the weekend on the Central line kiboshed any chances of getting a photo. It can be found at Chancery Lane, and is around 30ft long.
This past weekend I was in Quainton, near Aylesbury, for a trip to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. Not in London, I know, but its close enough to be considered Metroland, and it has ties with the London Underground that make it worthy of inclusion here.
I was there to do a talk and book signing, as part of a Steam Enthusiast weekend, but it was also chance to see another disused station that I’d read about but never actually been to (following on from the recent trip to Ongar).
The museum is located at the former Quainton Road railway station, opened in 1868 and closed for passenger services in 1963. Despite being around 44 miles from London, it briefly became part of the Metropolitan line in 1933.
Over the next 30 years, Met line services were gradually withdrawn from here and 13 other stations in the area, including several between Aylesbury and Amersham, and along branch lines to Verney Junction and Brill (originally known as the Brill Tramway), both of which branched off from the mainline at Quainton Road.
The old stations between Amersham and Aylesbury still operate today, run by Chiltern Railways on the route from Marylebone, but the stations along the two branch lines have pretty much disappeared without a trace. Quainton Road is still standing though, and has been lovingly preserved as one of the main attractions at the museum.
In addition to the old station, the museum also has a huge collection of rolling stock, old signs and artefacts.
The collection includes some Royal Mail train carriages, which the museum has tied in with a history of the Great Train Robbery. It's a bit of a tenuos link, seeing as most of that happened further down the line elsewhere in Buckinghamshire, but you can't really blame them for cashing in on the Biggs' legend.
The special weekend also included several steam engines running through the site. Take away the colour, and the photo of the engine and signal box seen here looks like it could easily have been taken 80 years ago.
Travelling by road through rural Essex, on route from Epping Tube station to the small town of Ongar, it’s incredible to think that some of the villages you pass on the way were once part of the London Underground network.
Prior to 1994, the Central line ran further than Epping, on a branch line that terminated at Ongar, via stations at North Weald and Blake Hall. The disused tracks at the beginning of the branch line can still clearly be seen today from the platforms at Epping.
But while this portion of the route is overgrown and rusty, the rest of the branch further ahead is owned and operated by the Epping Ongar Railway (EOR); an organisation first created in 2004 that has worked tirelessly to preserve the line, and to re-introduce heritage passenger services.
I was recently invited to Ongar station by EOR’s General Manager for a rare, private tour of the station and its sidings, ahead of the railway’s grand re-opening on May 25. The opening weekend of the new season coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Great Eastern Railway being formed, and will see the return of steam along the route for the first time since 1957.
The line to Ongar was opened in 1865 by the Eastern Counties Railway, which later became part of the Great Eastern Railway. After the Central line was extended to Epping as part of the post-war New Works Programme, ownership of the line from Epping to Ongar switched from British Rail to London Underground, who electrified the line as far as Epping.
The rest of the route to Ongar continued to be steam operated, although it was eventually electrified in 1957. The branch was only ever really used as a limited shuttle service however (similar to the disused branch line between Acton Town and South Acton), which explains why Tube maps from that era tend to show the Epping to Ongar stretch as separated from the rest of the line.
Low passenger numbers meant that the branch became increasingly hard to financially justify, and by 1981 the little-used Blake Hall station had closed for good. The rest of the line managed to hold on for another decade, before finally closing in 1994. It lay disused for years, until being purchased by the EOR and restored to its former glory.
For me, the visit to Ongar was chance to see a disused tube station that I’d read about many times but had never been to visit. The aim is to include it in an updated edition of the book, along with North Weald. Although trains running along the EOR still pass through Blake Hall, the platforms have been removed and the station building has since been converted to a private dwelling.
What struck me most was just how much effort has gone into making the restoration work look as authentic as possible. Thanks almost entirely to a team of passionate and skilled volunteers, the attention to detail is incredible, and when you step inside the station and onto the platforms, you genuinely feel as though you are stepping back in time.
Much of the restoration works involves painstaking research and the hunting down of original features and fittings. The restored signal box levers for instance were reclaimed after a railway enthusiast contacted the EOR to inform them that he had them sitting in his garden.
Other items have been re-used from elsewhere, and then restored to make them match how the originals at Ongar would have looked. The most impressive example of this is the signal box itself, which was inherited from Spellbrook, but has since been re-painted and restored to look as though it’s the original one from Ongar.
Other items have been sourced from elsewhere and put to good use, including track and platform edging from the disused Custom House station (covered in Do Not Alight Here: Walk 11), and a ticket booth that once sat on the platforms at Hammersmith tube station.
In addition to the station buildings and platforms, visiting the Ongar site also meant I got to explore the huge selection of rolling stock housed there, including several old carriages, wagons, and steam engines:
It was a fascinating visit, and I’m looking forward to returning once the railway is back open. Many thanks to the EOR team for arranging the tour and for showing us around!
See the Do Not Alight Here Flickr page for more photos from the visit. The stations at Ongar and North Weald will be included in the 2nd Edition of the book (release date TBC).
The Epping Ongar Railway re-opens to the public on Friday, May 25, with regular services running every weekend after that, and every day during the Olympics. Tickets can be booked here. I will also hopefully be making an appearance there for a book signing session later this summer. More details to follow soon.
Please Note: My trip to the EOR was a rare, private visit that was organised and permitted by the General Manager. Apart from when the station is open for visitors, the site is patrolled at all times by security staff and guard dogs.
All photos used courtesy of Do Not Alight Here photographer Louise Trueman.
A couple of years ago I was gutted to miss out on a rare chance to walk through the historical Thames Tunnel, during the time when the East London line was closed while work was carried out to extend it and make it part of the London Overground network. I’ve had to make do ever since with peering out of the train window when riding through the tunnel between Wapping and Rotherhithe, but it’s far too dark to see anything.
I was pleased last weekend then to go on a special walk organised by the Brunel Museum, which included the chance to go inside what remains of the Grand Entrance Hall to the tunnel. Part of the original shaft that was sunk deep into the ground; it’s from here where thousands of visitors entered the tunnel on its opening in 1843, via a grand staircase.
The top of the shaft from outside
Chamber entrance door
The chamber that remains is now nothing more than a cold and damp room, but it’s not hard to imagine how it once was, and you can easily spot the marks left on the wall where the staircase was once fitted. During the London Overground engineering work, the museum convinced the contractors to build a new concrete floor above the running tunnels, sealing them off from the shaft and therefore making a chamber that is safe for people to visit. It’s since been used as a performance space, and occasionally for special events like this.
Traces of the staircase in the Grand Entrance Hall The tunnel's legacy as the world’s first passage under a navigable river still lives on today, and it was thrilling to be standing inside part of such an influential feat of engineering. It was also quite poignant; considering the terrible conditions that the men who built the tunnel worked in. The shaft was also where six men died in a flooding accident that almost claimed the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel himself.
The visit to the chamber formed the centrepiece of the walk, but other highlights included a visit to the partial remains of the vast wooden ramps used to launch IK Brunel’s Great Eastern steam ship, plus a trip down the Thames to see many of London’s famous bridges, several of which I had no idea where indirectly related to the Brunel family.
Great Eastern launch site
The Brunel Museum is in Rotherhithe, located inside the orginal Thames Tunnel Engine House, and is well worth a visit.
The BBC 2 documentary series The Tube finished last Monday after a run of six episodes. Knowing my love of all things Underground, lots of people have been asking what I made of it, so here are my end-of-series thoughts.
Overall I thought it was great. The arrival of Monday night over the last six weeks has been like Christmas morning for the Tube geek in me, and it was amazing to see footage of people working in the tunnels, and of course the tour of the disused Down Street station in Episode 6 (featured in the book!). The characters that the filmmakers chose to follow were all spot on, capturing the same sort of first-hand stories that make books like Craig Taylor's Londoners so fascinating. The only dislikable person was the brutal ticket inspector lady, who's habit of talking to foreigners in their own accent was dubious to say the least.
Engineering work featured heavily in the series
The only major problem I had with the programme was its run time of one hour, and the decision to string it out to six episodes. It’s clear that the production team ran out of subject matter somewhere along the way, which means we saw the same subjects covered in multiple episodes. New track being laid as a race against time, platform incidents and drunk people kicking-off or missing their last train were all themes repeated in several episodes, as were many other subjects.
Bits of the same footage were also re-used many times, and there were also obvious time jumps in the narrative that meant some storylines were misleading (watch again and notice how commuter's clothing often jumped from summer to winter in a matter of minutes). I realize of course that much of this is artistic license, and that time inevitably has to shift so they can piece together a dramatic story. I just think it would have been a lot tighther and more focussed if each episode was only 30 minutes long, or if it was a three-part series only.
The series included interviews with several tube drivers
I was also quite surprised that Transport for London actually managed to get the BBC to screen what is essentially a huge advert for how great they are, no doubt well-timed for the upcoming Olympics. I personally think that TFL and the various maintenance companies do a great job keeping the Tube running, but the show was hardly balanced. During the rare occasions where disgruntled commuters were allowed to vent their frustration, this was usually followed by a member of staff pointing out how commuters don’t understand how it works.
Disused Down Street station, featured in Episode 6
None of these issues matter much to me at the end of the day though. It was a fantastic series that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I can’t wait to get the DVD. It trended on Twitter every Monday during the series run (#TheTube), proving just how popular a subject it is, although it’s hardly surprising. Let’s face it, millions of Londoners use the Tube every day. It’s a major part of our life whether we like it or not, so a programme that goes behind the scenes was always likely to strike a chord. Fingers crossed for a second series, just maybe a little shorter next time please.
Yesterday Today saw the long-awaited opening of the new concourse at King’s Cross station (after weeks promoting March 19 as the big day, weirdly the new concourse actually opened yesterday). It’s a project that’s been years in the making, but Network Rail promise it will be worth the wait, with less crowding, clearer destination boards and an all round better experience. Here are some photos from a visit earlier today.
Helping hand: directing people to the new station
The centre of attention is undoubtedly the new glass roof. It’s an impressive piece of engineering, although it does look a bit like a poor man’s version of the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court at the British Museum.
The stylish new roof at King's Cross
The retail parts are pretty much what you’d expect (similar selection to those found at St Pancras International). The new departure boards and other signage are nice and clear, although they havn't stopped the usual crowds of people standing there, gazing up at the screens to find their next train.
Destination unknown: the new departure board
The mezzanine works well, with plenty of space for food and drink outlets. The entrances from the street are also well designed, with clean lines and bright signs.
Main concourse, the new roof and mezzanine
One of the new entrances
The only thing missing perhaps, much like at other recently re-developed stations, is a bit more character and soul. Train stations and airports can be more than just somewhere to get in and out of fast. When done well, they can be places where we don’t mind spending a bit of time, with their own atmosphere and sense of excitement.
The new King’s Cross gives it a good go, but doesn’t yet quite inspire in the same way that that magnificant refurbished train shed next door at St Pancras International does. This is maybe just a bit of misplaced nostalgia on my part however; same as why I don’t yet like the new tube trains on the Victoria and Metropolitan lines (I miss the old cranky A and 1967 Stock trains).
Solitary tube entrance
One major disappointment is this single escalator down to the Underground (above). Since being re-vamped in recent years, the tube station below now has improved passenger flow (although you do have to walk what seems like miles to switch from certain lines); therefore it’s vital that the new train station above it compliments this. There is a more significant new tube entrance in another area (see below), but the single one shown above will no doubt lead to major queues.
The larger new Tube entrance
The new station is a decent effort on the whole though, and the work is actually far from finished yet anyway. The next phase will be to re-develop the front of the station, with a new ‘public space’ that will provide a more attractive entrance from Euston Road. This means the infamous green canopy will soon be disappearing. Most see it as an eyesore, but if I’m honest I think it’s got character, and I’ll be a bit sad to see it go.
Eyesore? The infamous green canopy at King's Cross
The iconic brickwork facade will also be restored to its former glory, including the clock tower, as will the train shed that sits behind it. This phase of works looks set to be complete sometime in 2013, hopefully bringing the entire station up to scratch with its neighbour.
The soon-to-be-refurbished station frontage
Things are also continuing to take shape behind the station. The area is being transformed as part of a huge project collectively known as Kings Cross Central, including new space for retail, commercial and residential use. It’s mostly being built on what was once King’s Cross station’s vast goods yard complex, with many of the original buildings and train sheds being converted for new use. I recently took a walk around parts of the project that are already open (a visitors centre, University of Arts London campus), and was impressed with how they’ve managed to blend both old and new.
Old goods yard building converted for new use
It also gave me the chance to photograph some of the more derelict train shed areas that are yet to be finished. It’s unclear if the rusting remains of the roof in these photos will be saved or demolished. Hopefully they figure in the new plans somewhere.
Old train shed roofs behind King's Cross
I’m intrigued to see what the full finished product will look like, although from this photo its clear there’s still plenty left to do before work is complete. Note the new Kings Cross station roof in the distance.
Work in progress: unfinished parts of King's Cross Central
The history of what once stood on the site is covered in the book, including the goods yard, Kings Cross York Road mainline station, two Maiden Lane stations, York Road tube station and the close-by remains of Somers Town goods yard.
All that remains of the two Maiden Lane stations
With King’s Cross, Farringdon and Blackfriars all now close to being fully finished, Crossrail tunnel boring about to commence, HS2 approved and many more projects underway, it’s great to finally see London update its ageing rail network.
The new ticket hall at Blackfriars station
Brand-new station sign at Farringdon
Progress does seem to be a bit slower on the Underground however. The Tube Upgrade Plan appears to be going well, but if anyone was expecting the world’s oldest subterranean railway to be looking shiny and new before the Olympics will be disappointed. These are just two of many station platforms, walkways and ticket halls that need serious renovation work, and it’s looking doubtful that it will be complete in the rough timescale being quoted by TFL.
Dripping water at Great Portland Street station
Dark and dingy walls at Embankment station
Only time will tell. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this fantastic time-lapse video showing how the new roof was built.
Last weekend's open day at the London Transport Museum Depot gave me the chance to see many great items for the first time (despite being a bit obsessed by all things Tube related, I'd never actually been to the Acton Depot before now). Out of all the many great items on display, the part I enjoyed most was the huge collection of old signs. Surprise, surpise, the ones that most caught my eyewere those that showed disused tube and train stations still on line maps, including several of the ones covered in the book. Here's a round of my personal favourites, plus a few extra bits.
The collection included several old Central line maps showing the now disused Epping to Ongar branch in various stages. The one above shows the entire line still in operation. It likely dates from around the time when Chigwell Lane station had its name changed to Debden (note the makeshift name badge fix).
The one below is from the early 80’s, as Blake Hall station has been blanked-out. It closed in 1981, with Ongar and North Weald following in 1994.
This next sign is from Charing Cross and the days when it was at the end of the Jubilee line. The extension to Stratford didnt happen until 1999, at which point trains no longer stopped at Charing Cross at all. The disused platforms are still there however, and the escalators down to them can even still be seen through a window in the current station. They are sometimes used for filiming by TV and film companies, and the running tunnels are also still used by LU for trains to reverse in and out of.
This sign from Willesden Green is from the late 90s, and makes people aware of the new route changes.
This Metropolitan line sign is from the days when the route included what was later split in to the Hammersmith & City line and East London line.
This next one, also from the Met line, dates from pre-1968, before Aldersgate station was re-named Barbican.
This sign is from Waterloo station, and dates from somewhere between 1994-2007, as it points passengers in the direction of the International Terminal. This referred to the section of the station known as Waterloo International, which served Eurostar trains before the operation was moved to St Pancras International in November 2007.
The Waterloo sign below is a throwback to the days of the familiar Network SouthEast branding. NSE was one of the groupings that British Rail split the railways into, in the decade before Privitisation. You can still find traces of the branding in many places today, including at Marylebone.
Onto the Picadilly line, and these phtos show Aldwych station still in operation (the station finally closed in 1994 - see previous post for photos from a recent visit). The line here also only reaches Hounslow Central, with the final push towards Heathrow coming later in various stages between the late 70s and 2008.
The next photos are from the 1990's onwards, when the East London line was re-branded as its own tube line (with an orange colour scheme), before later being re-launched as part of the London Overground network in 2010.
Shoreditch station was the only one on the line not to re-open with the others (it was replaced by a new Shoreditch High Street station instead), and the sign below shows just how under-used it was even before it shut.
Also now mostly part of the London Overground network, the photo below shows the North London Line in the days when it was operated by British Rail, and ran from Richmond to North Woolwich.
The section between Stratford and North Woolwich is now disused, but the old line will see trains pass through again soon, as the route will be included as part of Crossrail.
Silvertown station is not part of the re-development plans however, which makes the sign below all the more nostalgic. The rotting remains of the station are currently in the process of being cleared.
Lastly, one of my other favourite items was this rusty old Waterloo & City line train, complete with British Rail Network SouthEast livery from the days before it became a tube line.
It was another well-organised event by the LTM team, with hundreds of people passing through over both days. I was also pleased to see several stalls selling copies of the book, and people buying them.
See the Do Not Alight Here Flickr page for a full set of photos from the day. If you want to find out more about the history of disused stations like Aldwych, Silvertown, Waterloo International and many more, you can buy your copy of the book here.
October last year saw the sad death of my Fiancé’s Grandfather, who had been suffering from illness for many years. He was a keen collector of cameras and photography equipment, much of which we recently had a rummage through. Among the many great items was a photographer’s diary, circa 1983, which included the obligatory tube map in the inside cover. Although I’ve seen many old versions of the famous diagram before, most of the ones shown in museums, etc, tend to be from further back, with major differences to the map of today.
80's throwback: Aldwych was still shown on tube maps in 1983
On first glance this early 80’s edition looked much the same as it does now, but closer inspection revealed that it captured a time right before major changes were to come, showing just how much has changed in less than 30 years. The most obvious difference is a number of stations that are no longer there, including Aldwych on the Piccadilly line, which is included here with its own blue line, branching-off from the main route. Aldwych closed in 1994, and is covered in my book Do Not Alight Here (also see previous blog post about a recent visit to the old station). As of 1983, the line also didnt yet run to Heathrow's various terminals.
The Central line branch from Epping to Ongar is also included, although interestingly Blake Hall station isn’t there, having already closed in 1981 after reportedly being the least-used station on the entire network. The rest of the branch closed in 1994 .
Next up is the Hammersmith & City line. Except it isn’t even there at all, because it didn’t actually exist in 1983. The route is included on the map, and indeed has been in operation since 1864, but at this time was still a branch of the Metropolitan line. It wasn’t given its own name, identity and colour (salmon pink) as an individual line until 1990, with the Circle line also being extended in 2009 to run alongside the Hammersmith & City route between Edgware Road and Hammersmith.
End of the line: the Central line branch from Epping to Ongar closed in 1994
The Bakerloo line is also radically different on the map, with the entire stretch between Queen’s Park and Watford Junction being shown as a train line. Today, the Bakerloo runs up to Harrow & Wealdstone, with the rest of the stations to Watford now being served by the London Overground network.
The Jubilee line was also considerably shorter in 1983, shown on the map as running from Stanmore to Charing Cross only. The extension to Stratford came in stages, finally completed in 1999, by which point trains no longer stopped at Charing Cross at all.
The East London line is shown here without it’s orange livery, which wasn’t used until 1990, and in fact, during the 80’s the line was still largely looked upon as a branch of the Metropolitan line. The entire line switched over to become part of the London Overground network in 2010. The Waterloo & City line meanwhile is shown as a train line without its own distinctive identity, having only officially become part of the Underground network in 1994. The map is also without any trace of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which opened a few years later in 1987.
Other differences elsewhere include no Wood Lane station on the Hammersmith & City/Circle line (there had been two previous Wood Lane stations on the network, but the current one only opened in 2008). The map also still show’s two separate Shepherd’s Bush stations, with the Hammersmith & City/Circle line version only having its name changed to Shepherd’s Bush Market in 2008.
It’s a fascinating snapshot of a long-gone era of London’s ever-changing transport network, and all of this in less than three decades. Only time will tell how different the tube map will look in 2042.
For more on disused tube and train stations in London, buy my book Do Not Alight Here, out now.
The Londonist recently reported how the latest version of the tube map includes the addition of the Emirates Air Line. It’s in dotted-line-form only for now, listed as ‘under construction’, with new stations included at either end. Any new edition to the hallowed Underground map is exciting (if you like that sort of thing, which I clearly do), but the fact the new version also includes the name of a corporate sponsor is bound to cause some debate.
Emirates Air Line makes its tube map debut
Personally I don’t think it matters too much. Whether we like it or not, sponsorship is part of everyday life, and with TV shows frequently now including US-style product placement, it’s hardly a shock to see company names on the tube map. It’s also clear that projects like this need private funding, and that those same investors are going to want to see their brand name used. The London Eye has been sponsored right from the start, and the Boris bikes haven’t been challenged too much for being branded with the logo of a global bank.
I can’t help but wonder though what Harry Beck would make of this if he was still with us. His original design classic has been adapted many times since first being rolled out in the 1930s. In the last decade alone updates have included the Circle line running to Hammersmith, a new station at Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush changing to Shepherd’s Bush Market, and various new DLR and Overground lines being added. But no updates before now have included the insertion of a company name.
Updates to the District line Kensington Olympia branch
Beck was fiercely proud of his concept, and had to fight (largely unsuccessfully) to be kept in the loop as later updates were handed to other designers instead of him. He died in 1974, 14 years after the Victoria line had been added to the map by someone else. His original vision was simply to make a map that shows the easiest way from A-B, without the need for something geographically sound. The map still performs this basic task perfectly well, whether the A-B in question is a new train route or a folly like the Air Line. I just can’t shake the feeling though that the commercialization of the layout wouldn’t have gone down too well with the great man. I guess we’ll never know.
It's been a long, hard journey, but the book is finally now out and in shops. As a first-time writer, it’s been thrilling to see a book I've written on the shelves in Waterstones and other stores. I've seen my name in print in many magazines over the years, on the racks of WH Smith and shops across the world. But with a book it’s a different type of thrill. I've now officially joined the same club as Steinbeck, Hemmingway and, er, Katie Price.
My book in Waterstones, surrounded by some of my personal favourites
Press coverage has been positive so far (check the Facebook page for links to reviews), and the feedback I got from those who came to the book signing event at the London Transport Museum was overwhelmingly positive.
Me at the book signing at the London Transport Museum
The book being out has also given me the kick-up-the-arse I needed to finally knuckle down and get moving, so I'm currently in the process of pitching publishers for other book ideas. Hopefully at least one of them will find some interest and keep me busy for 2012. I don’t want to say what the ideas are yet, but two in particular are books about London, although these ones would not be walking books. One pitch is with a publisher for review at the moment, and I'm aiming to fire off another proposal this week. Fingers crossed.
