Do Not Alight Here

Charing Cross Disused Platforms Visit

The disused Jubilee line platforms at Charing Cross have recently been opened to the public, first for a short series of movie screenings, and now for a number of tours similar to the ones at Aldwych.

Focusing mainly on its use as a filming location (recent credits include Skyfall and Paddington) rather than providing a detailed history of the site, the tour was well organized and managed, with many different areas along the route. Highlights included the huge ventilation stack, being able to see through vents down to the busy active platforms, and the various parts seen in the James Bond film.

After complaints about over-the-top rules on camera use on the Aldwych visits, the staff this time seemed far more relaxed, with only a small part of the tour having restrictions about flash photography.

Here's a selection of images from the tour:

Signage showing Charing Cross on the Jubilee line

One of the platforms used for filming

British Rail signage

Ventilation for active platforms below

Steps at bottom of ventilation stack

Fake signage used in Skyfall

Village Underground Open House Visit

Bad planning and laziness means that every year we somehow end up missing the good bits of Open House weekend, and this year was the same. Too late for 55 Broadway, too late for the Crystal Palace Subway, too late for Abbey Mills Pumping Station. Never mind.

There are plenty of sites that require no advance booking though, and we decided on Village Underground, a.k.a. the disused Tube train carriages on top of an old viaduct in Shoreditch. I’ve always wanted to go up there, especially as some of the trains are pictured on the cover of Do Not Alight Here.

There are four old carriages; some used for event space, and others as creative design studios. One still has the driver’s cab preserved and intact, which is enough to bring out the über-Tube nerd in anybody. A special shout out goes to the old bloke who decided to sit in the driver's seat and proceed to pretend he actually was a driver, refusing to budge and allow anyone else a go.

The trains sit on a disused section of the Kingsland Viaduct, formerly used by trains terminating at the demolished Broad Street station (closed 1986). From where the old carriages are located, you can see how the viaduct continued on, with the Broadgate Complex now sitting where Broad Street once stood.

Here’s a selection of photos from the visit.

Disused Tube carriage, now used as event space.

 

A designer at work in another of the old carriages.

 

View of the disused vaiduct from driver's cab.

 

Controls and dials inside the cab.

 

Jubilee line destinations, includng Charing Cross.

 

Disused Kingsland Viaduct, heading towards the former Broad Street station.

 

Office space inside an old carriage.

We also bumped into fellow London nut and blogger Emily Pulham, who was mid-way through a packed day of Open House visits. See here for her blog.

All photos © Ben and Louise Pedroche, 2014. 

Thames Tunnel Visit

I finally managed to get inside the famed Thames Tunnel today, having just missed out on the last set of rare tours in 2008. As perhaps the most ambitious engineering project of the Victorian era, it has fascinated me for years, and I've written about it in each of my books.

I visited the converted former entrance shaft in 2012, but this time got to walk through the tunnel itself, thanks to engineering work and a weekend of tours arranged by the London Transport Museum. Ironically, the engineering work that enabled the tours also made getting there harder, but it was worth the extra trek. Tickets sold out fast (much like they do for Aldwych tours), but I managed to get some for myself and Mrs P. It also happened to be my birthday, making for quite the present.

Here's a selection of photos from the tour. For those who couldn't make it, don't forget that you can catch a glimpse of the tunnel from the platforms at Wapping and Rotherhithe Overground stations, and even ride through it on trains between the two. For those unfamiliar with the tunnel's history, see here.

 

All photos © Louise Pedroche, 2014.

An Underground book, a book on the Underground.

Copies of my new book Working the London Underground have been journeying along the Tube network all week, as part of the Books on the Underground project. The idea is simple. Find a copy of a book on the London Underground. Take it, read it. When you are done, leave it on the Tube to be discovered by someone else.  

I'm a big fan of social book lending schemes like this (there are several incredibly creative ones running across London), but this one in particular has obvious appeal for me, on account of my obsession with all things London Underground. The new book is about the history of the network, so it seemed like the perfect title with which to take part. 

These photos show the book on the Metropolitan and Central lines. I've yet to stumble across a copy of my own book during my travels, or indeed a copy of any other title that has been 'dropped' by the team that runs the project, but the thought of someone finding something that I wrote whilst travelling on my beloved London Underground itself gives me great pleasure. 

If you do see a copy I’d love to hear about it. You'll know if you find one, as each copy is marked with a special 'Books on the Underground' sticker on the front cover. Copies will be dropped until the end of the week, and hopefully the ones given out so far are already being enjoyed and passed on as they continue their journey along the world's most iconic railway.

Working the London Underground is out now. You can find out more about Books on the Underground here. 

Photos used courtesy of Books on the Underground.

Crossrail Woolwich Station Box Visit

There's still a long way to go before Crossrail is complete, but huge progress has already been made. None more so than in Woolwich, where a new station box has recently been completed ahead of schedule, and is to be handed over to Crossrail in the next few days. 

The Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) - working their way through London’s subterranean depths as we speak - will soon meet the station box via new tunnel portals at either end. The box itself will then be fitted out as Woolwich station, with the entire line set to open in 2018. 

The contractors opened the station box at Woolwich to the public earlier today, allowing guests and local residents the chance to see the construction site before the box is fitted out and a residential development built on top. The event was also being held to raise money for the Demelza House Children’s Hospice and The Berkeley Foundation, both of which are worthy causes doing great work. 

The 250-metre rectangular box structure is for now nothing much more than a cavernous open space with a row of concrete support columns running through the centre. Track and platforms will be built on either side, along with the usual escalators, fire exits, signage and walkways that make a station. 

At the easterly end of the box, circular markings show where the tunnel portals will connect with the station. The end shown below uses coloured lines to indicate where the TBMs will break through in the next few months, having arrived here from the direction of Plumstead. Beyond Plumstead the route runs to Abbey Wood in south-east London (there will also be an additional easterly branch terminating at Shenfield in Essex) . 

At the other end, seen below, the future tunnel portals have been covered with images of a train. From here the route will go under the Thames, and through the disused railway stations at North Woolwich, Silvertown and Custom House, and the refurbished Connaught Tunnel (all featured in Do Not Alight Here).

It will then reach a new station at Canary Wharf, and continue on through central London with new stations at Whitechapel, Liverpool Street, Farringdon, Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington. The line then emerges from more than 40 kilometres of new tunnel near Royal Oak, before heading towards its westerly terminus at Maidenhead in Berkshire, with an additional spur line to serve Hathrow. 

Contractors have unearthed many different historical artefacts at several Crossrail sites, and have even exhibited some of their findings to the public. The building work at Woolwich revealed three cannons, which are shown below. 

With the station box having been completed ahead of time, the TBMs are now working non-stop 24-7 in order to catch up. These huge machines use hydraulic pressure and rotary cutting shields to bore through the earth, and there will be a total of eight TBMs working at various points across London. 

It may be just a large concrete box for now, but in five years time this impressive structure will be full of commuters travelling along a brand-new railway that is expected to carry millions of people in the next decade.

Here's a timelapse video from the Crossrail site, showing how the work as Woolwich was completed:

 

Help Wanted from London Underground Workers (past and present)!

I am currently in the middle of writing my third book, which is due to be published this October by The History Press. It is called Working the London Underground, and will cover how the London Underground network was built, from the original Metropolitan Railway in 1863, all the way up to today.

The second half of the book then moves on to explore how the network is run, including the various different jobs that help keep it running. I am therefore looking for input from current and past London Underground staff; to get their stories.

It doesn’t matter what you do or did for LU - I would like to speak to drivers, ticket office staff, cleaners, engineers, construction workers, general station staff and everything in between. For former staff, I am particularly interested in people who worked in roles no longer used, such as train guards. If you can help and would be interested in contributing, I would love to hear from you.

You can get in touch in several ways, but ideally via the Comments section below. Alternatily, you can contact me via Twitter or the Do Not Alight Here Facebook page. I will follow up, and discuss via email.  

It’s important to note that the book is in no way a critical look at the network. The book is neither an expose nor a discussion piece, and will therefore not include debate about issues such as pay, strikes or safety concerns. Therefore, anyone interested in contributing should have no fear that they will be asked anything negative or controversial.

It is simply a way of celebrating some of the wonderful people that work/have worked for London Underground. Having said that, if anyone contributing wants to stay anonymous, then that is fine too - I’ll simply change your name, and state in a disclaimer that some names have been amended where necessary.I may in fact decide not to include names at all - this is yet to be determined.

Many, many thanks in advance to those that who get in touch. Your input will be acknowledged in the notes, and I will be very grateful for your insight. I look forward to hearing from you soon. The book is listed on Amazon here, but there isn’t much in the way of detail yet, as there are still a few months until publication. It will be updated with more information closer to the release. You can also read about my second book while you are there, which comes out in April.

150th Anniversary Steam Run and Museum Talk

With the 150th anniversary celebrations well underway, it’s an exciting time to be a London Underground geek. I've been looking forward to the various planned events for months, but actually managed to miss the anniversary itself because of a trip abroad with the day job. The trip was to The Bahamas, so I can’t really complain, but I was gutted to miss the special steam runs last weekend. They ran again yesterday however, and this time not even a day's worth of snow was going to stop me.  

It was tricky deciding where to go and watch (even with the aid of the helpful guide from IanVisits), but we decided to head for Moorgate first, as this is where the steam runs were starting/ending. The London Transport Museum also had a pop-up shop there, and I'm a sucker for Tube merchandise. 

The disused platforms at Moorgate were dressed for the occasion, including a few old roundels. It was a nice touch, and one of the many examples of how far TFL have been willing to go in order to promote the anniversary. The pop-up store was also a great idea, and managed to relieve my wallet of £22 in a matter of minutes. The book section also had copies of Do Not Alight Here, which is always nice for me to see. 

The IanVisits guide had actually advised against Moorgate, and a helpful police woman confirmed Ian’s suspicions that we wouldn’t get to see much from here. We headed for Barbican instead, which ended up being a great choice. No dressing-up of the disused platforms this time, but the heavy snow and cold air somehow managed to enhance the scene.

The first run had the train being hauled by the restored Sarah Siddons locomotive, with the Met Locomotive No. 1 steam engine at the rear. It returned soon after, this time with the engine leading. It provided the packed platform with some great photos, and plenty of confused faces from those waiting patiently in the freezing cold for their delayed Hammersmith & City line train.

We also wanted to see the train in one of the original stations though, so headed to Baker Street for the next run. With an hour to spare, it was only right that we popped into the Metropolitan pub in the Baker Street complex to kill some time (and eat some questionable food). 

Back on the Circle/Hammersmith & City line platforms we saw the steam engine pass through again. On an original platform like this, with restored carriages, minimal billboards or modern signage and smoke-filling the air, the scene looked just like the old illustrations I've seen in so many books. Incredible scenes.

The first of three sold-out talks by the authors of the new book Underground: How the Tube Shaped London also took place today, at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. It’s already become my favourite book of all the ones I own about the Tube (and I own a lot), and comes highly recommended. 

Tonight's talk was by David Bownes, who covered how the first underground railways were conceived and built, plus the first few decades of use. It was an extremely interesting and insightful talk, and particularly helpful for me, as I am currently in the middle of writing my next book about London Underground history. 

The other two co-authors will be giving their own talks in February and March. I have tickets for those too, and will aim to cover them after. In the meantime, tickets also went on sale today for more 150th anniversary events, including special walks with Mark Mason (author of Walk the Lines). 

As ever, the London Transport Museum seems to be making a great job of running these events. TFL staff were also very accommodating during the steam runs. Except that is for the man at Baker Street who insisted I stepped way back from the edge when the steam train passed. Seconds later, he was stood with his camera in the exact same spot he asked me to move from. 

Here's a video of the steam train passing through Baker Street. 

 

Photos courtesy of Louise Pedroche. 

Highlights from Two Recent Guided Walks

I spent the last two weekends going on guided walking tours by two London authors, both of which were a great way to spend a couple of hours exploring the city. First up was a walk led by Paul Talling, writer of perhaps my most favourite book about London, Derelict London. His latest book London’s Lost Rivers is a fascinating read that explores several buried rivers, and Paul has been running regular walks that follow the route of the most famous ones included in the book.

The walk I attended covered the River Fleet, which is the most famous buried river of all, with a long and colourful history along its full journey from Hampstead Heath to the Thames. Paul very kindly invited me along, as the route also passes by several sites included in Do Not Alight Here, in particular the area around Farringdon.

I’d walked much of the route from Blackfriars to St Pancras before, but Paul filled the journey with some incredible facts that were new to me, illustrated with archive photos. Highlights on the walk included the site of the old Bridewell Prison, the Clerk’s Well of Clerkenwell, and Holborn Viaduct. I was pleased to see that the route also passed by Smithfield Market, which allowed Paul to throw in some of the sites included in Derelict London.

Paul is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his subject, and the walk was well organised, with a relaxed and casual atmosphere. We also ended up in the pub, where myself and other fans of Paul’s books got to chat to the man himself.

There are two more River Fleet walks coming up this month, before Paul then takes a break for the Olympics. The walks resume in October, and Paul also hinted at plans for a potential series of Derelict London walks next year, which I for one would love to see. Go to the London’s Lost Rivers site for tickets to the next walk.  

The other walk took place last Saturday, and was led by Mark Mason. Arranged together with the London Transport Museum, it was one of a series being hosted by Mark to promote his book Walk the Lines - another of my favourites. For those who haven’t read it, the book is about Mark’s travels walking the entire route of every tube line, and this walk covered part of the route along the Piccadilly line.

Although my obsession with the Tube means I never tire of hearing Underground facts and trivia, it’s not enough to sustain a walk. Mark wisely therefore focuses on a wide range of other facts about buildings along the short route from Green Park to Covent Garden (the walk ended at the London Transport Museum itself, in classic exit-through-the-gift shop style).

As with the Paul Talling walk, I’d heard much of the trivia before, but there were some fascinating new bits. My personal favourite was the tale of a tiny hook on the side of a building next to The Photographer’s Gallery, in between Leicester Square and Covent Garden. The story goes that the building once had a loose nail sticking out of it, where policemen controlling traffic used to hang their coat. The nail was then removed, much to the annoyance of the policemen. The solution was to install a permanent hook, which still sits there today. There are more walks coming soon, including those covering other lines, and you can find out more at Mark’s website.

Both walks are highly recommended, and they have also made me realise its time I got my act together and started running similar walks from my book. It’s on my to do list for 2013, and I’ll keep you posted.

Apostrophes, Vowels and Other London Underground Curiosities

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. 

A Rare Visit to the Epping Ongar Railway

 
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.