Special Post: Victoria

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series “London Station by Station“. I hope that you will enjoy this post and be encouraged to share it.

THE ULTIMATE IN TRANSPORT NODES

A SOUPCON OF HISTORY

Victoria Underground station first opened as part of the Metropolitan District Railway in 1868. The construction of this of the system was combined with the building of the Victoria Embankment, and was designed and overseen by Joseph William Bazelgette who was also responsible for the design of London’s sewer system. Peter Bazalgette, the TV producer who has a bridge programme from the 1980s to his credit and Big Brother to his debit is a great-great nephew of Joseph William.

The infighting between the Metropolitan District (now the District line) and it’s supposed senior partner the Metropolitan meant that the Inner Circle (now the Circle line), the other line to serve these platforms was not completed until 1884.

In spite of giving its name to the line in question, Victoria was not one of the original Victoria line stations, opening as part of the second of three tranches in 1969, before the final section from Victoria to Brixton opened in 1971.

A PHILATELIC DIGRESSION

One of the quirks of the Victoria line is that every station features a pattern o a picture of some sort used as a motif. The pattern used at Victoria, is based on one of the most famous items to feature a picture of Queen Victoria, the 2d blue postage stamp. I do not have a picture of the London Underground pattern based on it to hand, but this was lot 682 in James and Sons’ May auction…

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THE TRANSPORT HUB

Victoria is the most used station on the entire London Underground network. In excess of 60 million passenger journeys per year start or finish at this station. Victoria is a major train station, serving a wide variety of destinations to the South and East of London, including running the Gatwick Express, which connects to London’s second busiest airport. There is at the moment a bitter rivalry between Gatwick and Heathrow over who will get a new runway. My own view? Neither – do not build the thing at all – instead encourage people away from aeroplanes.

In addition to the train services there is Victoria Coach Station, from which you can reach most parts of the country, although some of the journey times are very long.

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC FINALE

As usual for these posts I have some map pictures…

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Special Post: Triangle Sidings

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest post in my series “London Station by Station“. This one is a little bit of a departure from the standard because it takes in three separate stations. I hope that you will enjoy it and will be inspired to share it.

TRIANGLE SIDINGS

The triangle of the title has Gloucester Road, Earls Court and High Street Kensington at its corners. The first two stations are also served at tube level by the Piccadilly line. High Street Kensington and Gloucester Road both opened in 1868 under the aegis of The Metropolitan Railway. The first station was opened at Earls Court in 1871, and replaced with the present one in 1878. Both the Piccadilly stations were part of the original section of that line that opened in 1906.

The curve of track from Gloucester Road to High Street Kensington, now used exclusively by Circle line trains, plays a role in a Sherlock Holmes story, The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans, because at that time there were flats overlooking the line in that area, and Holmes was able to work out that the German agent Hugo Oberstein lived in one of them, and from that how the unfortunate Arthur Cadogan West had made his involuntary entrance to the underground system.

These days the land above triangle sidings is occupied by a Sainsbury;s supermarket.

The complexity of this section is largely down to Earls Court being the chief hub of the District line. Trains leave Earls Court going East to Upminster, North to Edgware Road, Northwest to Kensington Olympia, South to Wimbledon, West to Turnham Green, whence some services go south to Richmond and others continue West to Ealing Broadway. Platforms 1 and 2 carry trains to Upminster and Edgware Road, while all the other services, which for London Underground purposes are going in the opposite direction leave from platforms 3-4.

To finish this post I have some maps pics and a couple of photos from London Underground: The Official Handbook…

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Special Post: Aldgate and Aldgate East

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest post in my series “London Station by Station”. I hope you will enjoy this post and will be encouraged to share it.

A FOUR WAY TRIANGLE

I am treating two stations together because they are so close to one another that one can stand o the platforms of one and watch trains pulling into the other. The title refers to the number of current lines using this segment of the system and the shape it very roughly resembles. Aldgate opened in 1876 and has been open ever since. The first Aldgate East station opened in 1884 and was closed in 1938, with the current station opening the very next day.

The confluences and divergences are as follows: at Liverpool Street the triple route of Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines diverge, with the H&C going to Aldgate East and the other two to Aldgate, where the Met terminates. At Tower Hill the District and Circle part ways the Circle continuing round to Aldgate and the District going to Aldgate East where it joins the H&C.

To assist with orientation and to finish this brief post here are my usual map pics…

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Special Post: Southfields

INTRODUCTION

This is the latest post in a series I have been running on this blog called “London Station by Station“. This particular post as you will see has extra special relevance, and could only go up this morning. I hope you will enjoy it and be encouraged to share it.

THE HOME OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Yes folks, Wimbledon is upon us once more. As usual, full coverage will be being provided by the BBC. Southfields, the third to last stop going south on the Wimbledon branch of the District line, opened in 1889 (so after William Renshaw’s seven titles) is the local station for these championships, as this reproduction of an old poster shows…

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As someone who grew up in South West London this tournament has particular meaning for me. I only got to see it at the venue once, but have always followed the tournament as closely as circumstances allow.

When I first started following the tournament in the mid 1980s a Brit in the second round was cause for banner headlines. These days things are rather different, although in the Men’s game there remains a veritable “Ginnunga Gap” between Murray and the next best Brit. Things are definitely looking up for British Women though, with Johanna Konta reaching the quarter-finals at Eastbourne last week and only going out to the eventual champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, and Heather Watson also playing well.

During the Eastbourne coverage, various displays showing people’s possible progress if all went to plan were shown, but I paid little attention because if I learned anything from 30 years of following tennis it is that one thing that does not happen is things going according to plan. If I was a betting person I would put money on at least one of the seeds being a goner by the end of day 1.

This stretch of line includes one of only two places where London Underground trains cross the Thames by way of a bridge (the other is on the Richmond branch of the District line).

As usual with these posts I finish with a couple of map pics…

Special Post: Southgate

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest post in my series “London Station by Station“. I hope you will enjoy this post and will be encouraged to share it.

A TUBE QUIRK AND A CRICKETING BROTHERHOOD

Southgate opened in 1933, as part of a northern extension of the Piccadilly line. The location is notable for two things, one underground and one a sporting connection.

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

As this picture from London Underground: The Official Handbook shows, the platform at Southgate is one from which you can see daylight.

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This quirk, unique for a tube tunnel (although the cut and cover tunnel at Hounslow West has the same feature), is because the station is in a small hill, which the line burrows through. Apart from the tiny stretch including Southgate station, the Piccadilly is in the open from Arnos Grove to Cockfosters.

A CRICKETING BROTHERHOOD

There were no fewer than seven cricketing brothers named Walker who came from Southgate. Vyell Walker, the most famous of the seven achieved an astonishing feat in 1859 when he scored a century and then followed up by taking all ten of his opponents wickets in the next innings. In the whole subsequent history of first class cricket only W G Grace achieved the feat.

The cricket ground at Southgate still bears the Walker family name, and Middlesex sometimes play county games there.

MAPS

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Special Post: Notting Hill Gate

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series “London Station by Station“. I hope that you will enjoy this post and be inspired to share it.

A CARNIVAL, A THEATRE AND A FILM

The District and Circle line station at Notting Hill Gate was opened in 1868. In 1900 The Central London Railway, forerunner of today’s Central line, opened between Shepherd’s Bush and Bank, with a station at Notting Hill Gate. It was not until 1959 that the two stations were officially linked. There is no surface building at all, merely a staircase leading down from each side of the main road to an underground ticket hall. The District and Circle line platforms still have their original roof, a remarkable arched canopy.

NOTTING HILL

Probably these days this film is what most people think about when this area comes up. I did enjoy it the one time I watched it, but I am far from being convinced that it actually did the area any favours.

THE GATE

Taking it’s name from the pub above which you can find it, The Gate Theatre has staged some remarkable productions in its tight confines. I remember seeing several plays by Lope De Vega performed there.

THE NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL

Before the making of the film, this was what the area was most widely known for – London’s biggest annual street festival. Unfortunately beyond mentioning it I can say little of it because I never attended since neither vast crowds nor continuous loud noise have ever appealed to me.

ODDS AND ENDS

Before displaying a couple of pictures, a little more about the area. The layout and some of the names of the streets in this part of London reflect the fact that a racecourse was planned for the area but the developers went bankrupt. Now for those pictures…

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Special Post: Tower Hill

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the the latest installment in my series “London Station by Station“. This post in a radical departure for this series contains a couple of photographs of old auction lots which happen to be of relevance to the subject matter.

BACK AND FORTH

A station opened on the present site in 1882, was closed in 1884 in favour of a new site at Mark Lane and then in 1967 the old site was reopened under the present name Tower Hill. I am going to mention two significant sites served by this station before talking about its other connections…

THE TOWER OF LONDON

Started in the reign of William the Conqueror and augmented consistently thereafter, this is one of the most famous sites in London. One of the more spectacular commemorations of World War 1 during the centenary year was the ceramic poppy display. One of these poppies, boxed and with a picture of the whole display as background, is Lot 1 in the Great Centenary Charity Auction. Although I do nat have any photographs of the Tower, I do have the complete gallery for this medallion which went under the hammer in James and Sons March auction…

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TOWER BRIDGE

The other site I mention here is Tower Bridge, most distinctive of all the bridges across the river Thames. If you manage to be there when this bridge opens up to let a boat through you will not forget the experience. Again I provide a picture in the form of an old auction lot. This plaque was part of a lot that went un der the hammer in February…

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FENCHURCH STREET STATION

The only square on the London Monopoly board to contain all five vowels, and the only one of London’s main line railway terminals whose name does not appear on the London Underground map, Fenchurch Street is just across the road from Tower Hill. Trains from this station go to Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness.

THE DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY

Tower Gateway, just across the road from our title station, was one of the original termini of the Docklands Light Railway when that network first opened. In those days, it was very much smaller than it now is, with the other northern terminus at Stratford and the only other terminus at Island Gardens. Until the southward extension to Lewisham was built one could visit Greenwich by travelling to the Island Gardens terminus, crossing the Thames by means of the foot tunnel and then tarvel back from Greenwich Station.

A FINAL WORD AND SOME MAP PICTURES

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and will be inspired to share it. I end with these pictures…

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Special Post: Farringdon

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to another installment in my series “London Station by Station“. I hope that you will enjoy it and be inspired to sahre.

FARRINGDON

The current Farringdon station opened in 1865, when the Metropolitan Railway (as it then was) expanded eastward for the first time from the old terminus just to the south of here at Farringdon Street (it had already reached west to Hammersmtih in 1864). As the colours of the heading indicate it is currently served by the Hammersmith and City, Circle and Metropolitan lines. There is also an overground station served by Thameslink.

I have a couple of shots from an old A-Z to show the area at surface level…

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For three months in 1997 I worked (for experience plus travel expenses) at Interpretations, based in Bakers Yard, the near the junction of Farringdon Road and Rosebery Avenue, the first job I ever had.

Also, tying in with two of my interests (real ale and English literature), just to the north of this junction is a pub called the Betsey Trotwood, which I would recommend anyone to visit.

Just south of here is City Thameslink, a train station with exceptionally long platforms, owing to the fact that it was created by amalgamating two old stations, Holborn Viaduct and Ludgate Hill into one.

I end but setting this historic station in context with the aid of the Diagrammatic History…

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Special Post: Alperton

INTRODUCTION

Welcome the latest installment in my series “London Station by Station” I hope you will enjoy this post and be inspired to share it.

ALPERTON: A MINOR STATION WITH A MAJOR QUIRK

Alperton was originally opened in 1903 as a District Line station, but since October 1933 has been served only by the Piccadilly line. The transfer of services on this branch occurred in two phases as shown in the following extract from the Diagrammatic History…

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Of course, typically, this important paragraph straddles a fold on the map, as you can see.

A legacy of the period of joint service is that all stations on this branch have platforms of a compromise height between that of tube and surface stock.

We come now the the sole reason for this very brief post – the quirk referred to in the title. Escalators can be found all over London Underground, but those at Alperton are there for an unusual reason on this network: to carry passengers up from street level to the platforms.

A couple of pics to finish…

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Special Post: Hainault

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest post in my “London Station by Station” series. These posts do not contain anything other than the title piece, and any links and pictures relate exclusively to that theme, as is not the case with my regular posts.

A BELGIAN PROVINCE AND AN OUTPOST OF LONDON UNDERGROUND

Hainault was important duchy in what is now Belgium in 14th century, although the modern province has subsequently lost the l and is now called Hainaut. The connection to this country dates from that same period, when Phillippa of Hainault, daughter of the then duke married Edward III. For more on this, I have a link to a short academic article.

As with the rest of the eastern end of the Central line, Hainault was originally served by the Great Eastern Railway before being transferred to London Underground in 1948. Hainault gives it name to the Hainault Loop, which the following extract from the diagrammatic history shows…

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For many years, Hainault was a terminus station, with the northern segment of the loop being run by a shuttle service, but nowadays trains taking the loop run all the way round it to Woodford.

At one time the southern part of the Hainault loop was going to form an eastern extension to a planned Chelsea-Hackney line, but that line never got beyond the planning stage, and I have not heard it mentioned in the last couple of decades. This 1994 speculative map from Ken Garland’s “Mr Beck’s Underground Map” shows the plan along with one or two other plans of the time, some of which did come to fruition (though by no means all)…

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As for the place itself, the only point of interest as that there is a country park, which would probably provide a decent walk if you were so minded.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and that you will be encouraged to share it, and I leave you with one last picture…

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