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London's Disused Tube Stations

TheMan

TheMan

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I found this article fascinating, I am not a big fan of The Underground etc, but it is a marvel of technology for the age - and browsing through these disused stations was almost a bit sad when you look at some of the architecture alone that has been lost and replaced by asinine concrete structures/newsagents.

For example, a whole double decker under ground tram line lol? OK then...

image.jpg


Or Churchill's bunker prior to the cabinet war rooms?

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Here is the link to the pictures. I found some of those buildings stunning, and far better than much of what is around nowadays. Imagine London with more of those buildings still intact?

Anyway, I know there are many train etc fans on here so thought I'd post it up for you. More images/full article here

Enjoy, I did.
 
The first photo there is Kingsway tram tunnel which ran underneath the road between Aldwych and Holborn. After the trams were withdrawn in 1952 it was used as a storage facility for buses and coaches in case they were needed for the coronation. From 1957 it was leased out as a storage facility and that's what it remains to be today I think.

The abandoned tube stations are extremely fascinating to learn about from why they closed to looking at the design and architecture of the stations (Most of them share designs with stations that are currently open).

I found these 2 websites which go into more detail about not only the Abandoned tube stations and the Kingsway tram tunnel, but also all of the closed stations/lines around London as well http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/ and http://underground-history.co.uk/front.php In case anyone is interested, I'd check them out.

=)
 
Aww, poor Wood Lane, we shouldn't be harsh - the original that's pictured had to be dismantled along with the old platforms (you could just see heading eastbound on the Central Line) for a new depot underneath with the building of Westfield shopping centre & surrounding roads. In fairness it had been closed since 1947. Impressive it remained standing for that long really, almost 60 years! I think some of the frontage was salvaged by the London Transport Museum though.

The new one is on the Hammersmith & City line and not technically a replacement for the Central Lines old Wood Lane as that is White City further up the road (though there was also another Wood Lane on the H&C, opened like the Central Lines for the Great Exhibition. The remains of that could be seen heading down to the BBC car park - holes in the brickwork of the railway arches for the platforms and the ticket box was still standing!). The new one makes a feature of the railway arches inside as part of its architecture, not obvious from the outside pics... (oh according to Wikipedia, one of the old stations frontage roundels has now been restored and is in the station now too). Gone but not forgotten, eh?

*geekery over* mostly as working opposite the whole lot during that period means you do see a lot of what was going on with it! I love old pictures like those though. There's so much old stuff around still, however much you think has gone - like at Hillingdon station they've never replaced the metal Piccadilly stop's sign, all they did was cover over the 'Aldwych' branch part of it and half of that has now scratched away to see it again!
Visiting places like Aldwych would be fascinating, I'd love to nose around the old Jubilee branch and platforms of Charing Cross too. :)
 
Kelpie said:
*geekery over* mostly as working opposite the whole lot during that period means you do see a lot of what was going on with it! I love old pictures like those though. There's so much old stuff around still, however much you think has gone - like at Hillingdon station they've never replaced the metal Piccadilly stop's sign, all they did was cover over the 'Aldwych' branch part of it and half of that has now scratched away to see it again!
Visiting places like Aldwych would be fascinating, I'd love to nose around the old Jubilee branch and platforms of Charing Cross too. :)
Click to expand...

I love seeing old Tube stuff on the existing network! I know that at Ealing Broadway and Covent Garden feature a Roundel design which was from about 90-100 years ago! (Although I think the one at Ealing Broadway was replaced with a exact replica in 1992, not sure about Covent Garden mind)

At some stations on the Central line (Liverpool street is one off the top of my head) You can see some old maps which feature a covered the Epping to Ongar Branch. The southern part of the Northern Line pretty much has had the 1926 roundels restored at most of the stations. I remember seeing a 1980's advertisement for Kew Gardens at Moorgate a few years ago (A staff member there told me they couldn't remove it because of the ticket barriers), There was a Old Metropolitan Line timetable which was also at Moorgate (Not sure whether it's still there though), The old District Line destinations boards at various stations on said line. I could go on...

In short, The Tube is awesome for it's history!
 
Yup, gotta love a bit of abandoned tube geekery. Me and Kelpie have a huge map on our living room wall that shows all the abandoned stations, and the dates every station opened / closed. I even have a couple of books on the subject.

There's plenty of info on plenty of websites, such as Subterranea Britanica. I'd post more links, but it's a pain in the arse on an iPad. ;)
 
Thanks for this, Richie! I've always fancied going on a tour of an abandoned tube station at some point! Then again, I am a bit of a Tube geek, and I definitely haven't changed trains at Baker Street if I'm heading towards King's Cross St Pancras just so I can go on the S Stock... :p
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Just found this site. It's keeping me sane on an otherwise slow night at work.
http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/
Click to expand...

I already posted that Diogo ;)
TedTheHuman said:
I found these 2 websites which go into more detail about not only the Abandoned tube stations and the Kingsway tram tunnel, but also all of the closed stations/lines around London as well http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/ and http://underground-history.co.uk/front.php In case anyone is interested, I'd check them out.
Click to expand...
 
I once asked about seeing a sort of cross section of the tube, to find out the depths of the lines - it fascinates me that lines run above/below one another!

I remember someone mentioned it wasn't possible for security reasons?? Boo.

Yet more interesting tidbits of information from you resourceful lot regards closed stations! Very insightful :)

Sent using Tapatalk
 
Someone's done a bit of 3D modelling of a selection of Tube stations. While it's not 100% accurate, I reckon it's still quite interesting to look at, and you may find it useful, Saz.

http://stations.aeracode.org/

It also goes to show how complex some stations are, most notably Bank and Kings Cross St Pancras.

EDIT: Credit should go to Jordan, who I believe found this in the first place.
 
Shame some of the really confusing stations on the Northern line aren't on there, like Euston or Camden Town.
 
It does seem to be growing, albeit rather slowly. I'd love to see places like Paddington and Waterloo appear at some point, though.
 
I've wanted to find a plan of Waterloo tube station for ages and never been able to find one. It's always struck me as something that would be really useful to have for journey planning.
 
Of all the stations to do a map of, why on earth pick West Silvertown? It's virtually identical to every DLR station out there.
 
Wow thanks for that!! Definitely an eye opener :)

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This article was brought up whist chatting with a couple of other TST members on Skype tonight - interesting reading surrounding the myth of a supposed station under Selfridges (actually part of the PO railway).... fascinating stuff :D
 
Did a tour of the closed Aldwych Tube station yesterday (Sat 30/11).

Access included the street level ticket office area, deep level platforms, one of which closed in 1917, the other closing along with the station in 1994, and also access to walkways which were never opened to the public and only recently were opened up for guided tours.

Some of the photo's taken during the tour (and a couple not taken during the tour :eek: ), can be seen clicking the linky below :)

Aldwych Station Tour 30/11/13
 
Vik said:
Did a tour of the closed Aldwych Tube station yesterday (Sat 30/11).

Access included the street level ticket office area, deep level platforms, one of which closed in 1917, the other closing along with the station in 1994, and also access to walkways which were never opened to the public and only recently were opened up for guided tours.

Some of the photo's taken during the tour (and a couple not taken during the tour :eek: ), can be seen clicking the linky below :)

Aldwych Station Tour 30/11/13
Click to expand...

Great photo's, Vik - really enjoyed looking through them. Looks like you had a very interesting time!

:)
 
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