Ghost tube stations

cabbles

It's Friday afternoon and no one is picking up the phone at work, I've opened pretty much every thread on page 1.

I started reading about ghost tube stations. Not the paranormal kind. Any lifers know much about these. A tour looks pretty interesting. Aldwych, King William Street, the Strand. Apparently you can see some of these platforms and old signs on certain lines.

Happy Friday

LenGlover

Mornington Crescent?

MrLargo

Think Aldwych is still used quite frequently for TV and film shooting.

cabbles

Some of them are ancient and only ran for a few years. Some of them have just been re-sited. Oh the joys of a slow Friday

cafcnick1992

My dad took me on a tour of Angel station's dissused platforms when I was a kid. I remember it being utterly fascinating. We had to go down some old wooden escalators to get to them which took us to platforms that were so narrow that it was obvious as to why they had to close them.

Stig

I regularly walk down Surrey Street and see Strand station. Just the facia to the building though, it would be great to do a bit of urban exploration though and see it properly.

cabbles

cafcnick1992 said:

My dad took me on a tour of Angel station's dissused platforms when I was a kid. I remember it being utterly fascinating. We had to go down some old wooden escalators to get to them which took us to platforms that were so narrow that it was obvious as to why they had to close them.

Deepest Station isn't it?

MrLargo

Not on the tube, but the Aladdin's Cave Junk Shop on Loampit Hill, Lewisham is house in the building that used to be Lewisham Road Railway Station (closed 1917).

MrOneLung

Not deepest station, but the longest escalator.

Believe deepest is Hampstead but not 100% sure.

bobmunro

This will keep you busy for a while:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/9789966/London-Underground-150-fascinating-Tube-facts.html

We really are a bunch of trainspotters!!

MrOneLung

cafcnick1992 said:

My dad took me on a tour of Angel station's dissused platforms when I was a kid. I remember it being utterly fascinating. We had to go down some old wooden escalators to get to them which took us to platforms that were so narrow that it was obvious as to why they had to close them.

Did Angel used to have one thin platform that served both directions?

smiffyboy

I work for London Underground and have been in a few of them, also a lot of the older stations have disused parts, old ticket offices, passages etc, that still have the posters stuck to the walls from when they was last used, which Is interesting to look at. Their not very pleasant though as most are really dirty and dusty and on London Underground that's not nice as 80% of the dust build up is made up of human skin.

cafcnick1992

MrOneLung said:

cafcnick1992 said:

My dad took me on a tour of Angel station's dissused platforms when I was a kid. I remember it being utterly fascinating. We had to go down some old wooden escalators to get to them which took us to platforms that were so narrow that it was obvious as to why they had to close them.

Did Angel used to have one thin platform that served both directions?

Yes it did!

IA

Choo chooooo

cafcnick1992

IA said:

Choo chooooo

Scoham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZzHtxf9TNI

Alex Wright

The London transport museum had tours of Aldwych / Strand station organised for early next year. All tickets sold before I found out abouy it. I'd put up a link but A) I'm usuing a mobile phone and it seems a bit pointless as it's sold out.

Mortimerician

I recall years ago when Stella did iconic screenings. One was American Werewolf in London, screened in the Strand station in which some of it was filmed. Would have loved to go, but couldn't secure a ticket.

superclive

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/features/index10.shtml

superclive

Eltham park is on that website. Interesting

CatAddick

cafcnick1992 said:

MrOneLung said:

cafcnick1992 said:

My dad took me on a tour of Angel station's dissused platforms when I was a kid. I remember it being utterly fascinating. We had to go down some old wooden escalators to get to them which took us to platforms that were so narrow that it was obvious as to why they had to close them.

Did Angel used to have one thin platform that served both directions?

Yes it did!

God that makes me feel old. Used to use Angel every day with its narrow platform and endless spiral staircase. ...

cabbles

superclive said:

Eltham park is on that website. Interesting

They've also included old tram lines up in Amersham and places like that

stop_shouting

Down street in Mayfair used to be a bunker for Churchill during the war. A topic that fascinates me.

boggzy

Scoham said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZzHtxf9TNI

Hah - I was pissed a couple of years ago and went round the 'Kennington Loop' for a laugh. You're meant to get off, as it says in the video, the train terminates, it then runs empty round the big loop towards Oval, and curves back round to Kennington station to start back Northbound. Was stuck in the loop about 10 mins waiting for other trains. Didn't see or hear anything weird on that occasion, though!

Pedro45

Strand station was converted - along with Trafalgar Square - into the new Charing Cross underground station. Embankment station was previously called Charing Cross. Warren Street used to be called Euston Road, and name evidence is still on the platform. The GPO had its own tube line (different gauge), running post trains from Liverpool street (I think), through Mount Pleasant, along Oxford Street to Paddington, with about six station stops on the way. I think that closed down about ten years ago, although the lines are still there?

red_murph

Pedro, I saw a piece on the BBC a while back. They were planning on doing rides for the public on the little Post Office train.

Crusty54

cafcnick1992 said:

My dad took me on a tour of Angel station's dissused platforms when I was a kid. I remember it being utterly fascinating. We had to go down some old wooden escalators to get to them which took us to platforms that were so narrow that it was obvious as to why they had to close them.

Think you are a little confused. There are no disused platforms at Angel and only lifts before the escalators were installed when the extra platform was built and the old island platform was widened by filling in one side.

Robbo on the wing

I have done a lot of work recently at both King William St and Down St. King William St is accessed via Regis House ( building adjacent to Monument/London Bridge). Suffers regularly with water ingress fron the Thames. Churchills bath still remains at Down St, as does a telephone exchange/ switchboard.
Charing X (disused) sits behind a bank of doors as you travel down the first flight of escalators from the train station.

cabbles

Robbo on the wing said:

I have done a lot of work recently at both King William St and Down St. King William St is accessed via Regis House ( building adjacent to Monument/London Bridge). Suffers regularly with water ingress fron the Thames. Churchills bath still remains at Down St, as does a telephone exchange/ switchboard.
Charing X (disused) sits behind a bank of doors as you travel down the first flight of escalators from the train station.

That must be pretty impressive to see. What do they do now with these disused stations, just leave them as they were, or have they been demolished where the platforms were etc?

CatfordCat

http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/ has probably more about London's abandoned underground stations than most people will want to know...

I'm puzzled by the 'Angel' visit referred to above. Angel did not have escalators until after it was rebuilt - like most 'deep tube' stations built before escalators were used, it was built with lifts and a spiral emergency staircase.

I'm trying to think which station it might have been.

And yes, as others have said, it did have a single platform in between the two tracks - the City & South London built to this style - two of the three Clapham stations on the northern line still have these.

and http://www.mailrail.co.uk/ has more about the post office railway

Robbo on the wing

cabbles said:

Robbo on the wing said:

I have done a lot of work recently at both King William St and Down St. King William St is accessed via Regis House ( building adjacent to Monument/London Bridge). Suffers regularly with water ingress fron the Thames. Churchills bath still remains at Down St, as does a telephone exchange/ switchboard.
Charing X (disused) sits behind a bank of doors as you travel down the first flight of escalators from the train station.

That must be pretty impressive to see. What do they do now with these disused stations, just leave them as they were, or have they been demolished where the platforms were etc?

If you travel on the Piccadilly Line, look out for Down Street station. It is located between Hyde Park Corner and Green Park.
The platforms are still visible, and they have rooms built on them. These were sleeping quarters that were fitted with bunk beds.
Churchill had a lift installed at this station, up the centre of the circular staircase.

The end of the (now redundant) Central Line is now run by enthusiasts ( Epping - Ongar).