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Post by holborncentral on Nov 3, 2017 19:26:39 GMT
I wish I'd been there to see it. Such an iconic train. I might go and see the Agatha Christie film at some stage. I actually did see it once a long time ago (but I'm not sure if it was continental or UK rolling stock). It was the year before I moved to Ireland. I was with my parents waiting for a train at Woking station in Surrey and the train was delayed. The delay turned out to be a good thing though as while we were waiting the Orient Express came by. If I'd had a camera at the time I would have snapped a photo.
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Post by holborncentral on Nov 2, 2017 16:22:18 GMT
But what happens if some of those people are unable to ride a bike? Then that wouldn't be ideal. I think there may be more than a teaspoon of sarcasm being aired here HC. It happens sometimes. Ah I see. I didn't quite get it
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Post by holborncentral on Nov 1, 2017 23:31:05 GMT
it could interfere with the MLX. Perhaps its the latest budget cut to the project - everyone wanting to travel between Watford Junction and Croxley will be lent a bicycle. But what happens if some of those people are unable to ride a bike? Then that wouldn't be ideal.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 30, 2017 14:37:19 GMT
I won't be able to make it because of college commitments. I'm doing a night course in my university (as well as trying to get my PhD sorted out) and the department have decided to have the Christmas exam for the course on a Saturday and they picked the 9th as the exam day. The exam might be in the evening. Maybe some other year I might be able to make it to a social. Hope you all enjoy the day anyway 😄
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 25, 2017 13:18:32 GMT
Looks creepy. I think they used it as a fictitious tube station set for a movie (can't remember which one). That old tube map looks interesting. It shows a lot of disused stations and the Northern Heights extension that never was.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 24, 2017 20:38:23 GMT
I haven't seen any plans for how the work will be done, but I would imagine that they'll do it with the minimum of closures they can, certainly weekday closures as it's a key interchange and gets very busy with commuters during the week and sometimes with tourists (Covent Garden, British Museum) at weekends. They might close it at night or during times when it's less busy. I read that they're building a new entrance and I think they'll add the lifts to the existing Kingsway entrance when the new Procter Street one is built. They probably won't need to close anything in order to convert the old Aldwych platform. It's supposed to take a few years once they get the go ahead.i had a quick read of the plans last week.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 24, 2017 18:22:54 GMT
A work site for the Holborn station works is a possibility. I never thought of that (assuming the Holborn rebuild goes ahead of course). I wonder if they'll have to close the station completely if/when the rebuild starts?
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 24, 2017 17:06:13 GMT
Interesting. I wonder what they'll use it for after they've finished building Crossrail?
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 23, 2017 21:58:29 GMT
I haven't got that book, but I plan to get it sometime. Is it worth reading? I saw a picture of the station online. The surface building is now a bank, but there's still some stuff left underground. I read somewhere that either the British Museum or Holborn stations are meant to be haunted by an Egyptian ghost and there were rumours of a secret tunnel going from Holborn to the Egyptian room of the museum, but I doubt that's true. The history of Holborn station is one of the reasons it's my favourite station. It's certainly not a dull one. Only thing that ruins it is the overcrowding and it would probably annoy me if I had to use it every day. Definitely! Ask Santa I think I will nearer the time Hopefully he'll oblige 🎅
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 23, 2017 21:35:21 GMT
It looks like it's in a pretty old station, maybe a Leslie Green Piccadilly one.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 23, 2017 21:33:21 GMT
Would the old Holborn station be the original entrance or the now disused British Museum one? I know Holborn as it is now was originally a Leslie Green station, then when it was redone in the 1930s to hook it up to the Central Line they rebuilt the entrance (which was designed by Charles Holden). I guess the surface buildings could be sold off or listed if they were of historical significance a la Aldwych (or even Down Street), but the below ground parts of many disused stations are still on working lines so I'm guessing not much can be done with them. Are the ex-Jubilee Line platforms of Charing Cross listed? The British Museum one, which was on the corner of Bloomsbury Court. If you have access to a copy of 'London's Disused Underground Stations' by J.E.Connor, see page 43 for a photo. I haven't got that book, but I plan to get it sometime. Is it worth reading? I saw a picture of the station online. The surface building is now a bank, but there's still some stuff left underground. I read somewhere that either the British Museum or Holborn stations are meant to be haunted by an Egyptian ghost and there were rumours of a secret tunnel going from Holborn to the Egyptian room of the museum, but I doubt that's true. The history of Holborn station is one of the reasons it's my favourite station. It's certainly not a dull one. Only thing that ruins it is the overcrowding and it would probably annoy me if I had to use it every day.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 23, 2017 20:39:46 GMT
I don't think it is. I've just had a thought - apart from Aldwych, are any disused tube stations listed or protected buildings? I know some operating ones are but I'm not sure about disused ones. I'll stand corrected, but I doubt it. I worked in the Holborn area years ago and the old CLR 'Holborn' station was redeveloped. Down Street in the middle of Mayfair, I've often wondered how that has escaped. Others which come to mind are Euston, Sth Kentish town and York Road. Is it the case of how much a developer will pay, or how important the blow ground level is to LULs operation? Would the old Holborn station be the original entrance or the now disused British Museum one? I know Holborn as it is now was originally a Leslie Green station, then when it was redone in the 1930s to hook it up to the Central Line they rebuilt the entrance (which was designed by Charles Holden). I guess the surface buildings could be sold off or listed if they were of historical significance a la Aldwych (or even Down Street), but the below ground parts of many disused stations are still on working lines so I'm guessing not much can be done with them. Are the ex-Jubilee Line platforms of Charing Cross listed?
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 23, 2017 15:45:02 GMT
Well it could easily be made a listed building, or a local nature reserve, or protected woodland or something but it's not currently protected at all as far as I can tell. I don't think it is. I've just had a thought - apart from Aldwych, are any disused tube stations listed or protected buildings? I know some operating ones are but I'm not sure about disused ones.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 23, 2017 0:07:15 GMT
I'd just be worried that I would find it too high to look down as I'm not good with heights... I have a similar kind of fear, it's not a fear of heights though, it's a fear of falling. I can quite happily walk across a glass floor, Go Ape (once I'm satisfied that I actually am attached), or look down the centre of a twelve story stairwell. However if there is a real possibility of falling any more than 20' (such as the edge of a quay, even with water below) then there's no way you'll find me near the edge. Unlike most 'fears' this isn't a 'phobia'. A 'phobia' is an irrational fear or something and my fear is the very rational fear of plummeting to my certain doom! Ahem, I drift from the topic. That's what I worry about too. I don't think I could walk across a glass floor if it was very high up. Falling from a great height is never a good thing norbitonflyer: One of my lecturers went to New College in Oxford in the 90s. I don't know if she liked it though.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 22, 2017 21:55:47 GMT
It's only right that they keep the building. It's a part of TfL's heritage after all. I would love to tour it someday though. What was it like being on the roof gardens? Is it very high up? You get a good view of central london, but being practically next to new scotland yard, you were not allowed to take pictures in that direction. That's understandable I guess. The view from the roof looked good on the photos. I bet you see a lot. I'd just be worried that I would find it too high to look down as I'm not good with heights, but I doubt it's as high as some of the US skyscrapers.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 22, 2017 18:41:53 GMT
It's only right that they keep the building. It's a part of TfL's heritage after all. I would love to tour it someday though. What was it like being on the roof gardens? Is it very high up?
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 22, 2017 15:26:06 GMT
Thanks for sharing, they're lovely photos. Are any parts of the building still in use by LUL/TfL?
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 20, 2017 23:00:14 GMT
You couldn't play an accordion whilst riding a bike. Not even in Blackpool I can just picture someone trying to do that It wouldn't end well.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 19, 2017 23:06:19 GMT
Holborncentral, think they moved locations about series 3 or 4, and again in the 90s. That was the Merton location. Sun Hill became much less East-end! They moved in 1987 from Wapping to Kensington, where series 3-5 were filmed, and then in 1989 to Merton where the remaining 21 seasons were filmed. The first move, from Wapping, was forced on them because of altercations with the News International strikers mistaking the actors in costume (i.e police uniform) for the real thing. I never knew it was filmed there. I've only ever known it being filmed in Merton and I've often seen the depot where the props are stored. I only wish I'd had a camera along the night I saw the programme being filmed. If I saw something like that now I would get my phone out and take photos or even a quick video, but in 2003 we didn't have that luxury. Smartphones are a useful thing to have I could also have done with it on a school trip to Dublin in 2007. I saw a peacock out the window of our bus and when I told my parents they just laughed. They didn't believe me. Oh if only I had a photo
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 19, 2017 19:54:39 GMT
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 19, 2017 17:25:02 GMT
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 19, 2017 17:13:30 GMT
I've always seen it as red, never realised it was once orange. I must look at some old Underground maps when I have a spare moment and see what colours the lines used to be.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 19, 2017 17:10:55 GMT
I was staying at a friend's in Morden one night in 2003 and I saw an episode of The Bill being filmed outside a pub right over the road from where she lived. The TV crews were outside it with their cameras. I only wish I had taken a camera so I could have got some photos. I think they still have the warehouse where the props are stored, it's on the road to Savacentre in Merton/Wimbledon. Used to pass by it a lot (I grew up in London and lived there til 2003). My mum used to watch it but I don't know if she watched it to spot places or because she just liked the show.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 19, 2017 17:02:58 GMT
which is a shame because the tiles on the Aldwych platform are the only internal remnants of the station's Leslie Green origins. It was changed completely after they built the redesigned entrance (Charles Holden style)?Plus the Aldwych branch is an important part of Underground history. Even a replica of the original tiling pattern would be alright. The original tiling also still exists in the old spiral staircase, which is still in use for staff access. In Holborn? Wonder what they will do with that staircase if the upgrade plans go ahead?
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 19, 2017 17:00:51 GMT
In Ireland we don't have any underground system, even in Dublin. The nearest is probably the DART in Dublin (which is a mainly overground rapid transit system which goes around Dublin and into the outskirts and surrounding counties a bit, probably could be compared to the Metropolitan Line and the outer areas of the Central Line). There were plans to build a DART Underground but so far they haven't started building it. The recession came and it was put on hold. Here's some info about the proposals: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DART_Underground There's also the LUAS which is a light rail/tram system. I've never used either of them. When I go to Dublin I either tend to drive or go by train and then get taxis to where I want to go, unless I'm with a group (have been there on school tours and college field trips and they would use private coaches). I think the city I'm in could do with trams or a light rail as traffic can be a nightmare sometimes, especially during rush hour or weekends. Where I am is too small for an underground and there is no way one could be built.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 18, 2017 22:52:11 GMT
holborncentral it could go either way. If TfL are making a point that the developers need to stump up more cash to get the stations fitted out then I imagine that they'll do the maintenance required to keep the tunnels functional enough that it really is just the station fit out standing in the way of a service. Or they could just be abandoned bar enough maintenance that they don't collapse or otherwise pose a danger. Or the tunnels/station boxes could be rented out to third parties like the deep level shelters are. Either on short or long term leases. It really depends on what TfL see as being in their best interests. Another option I've just thought of is that they run a service through the tunnels as if the stations were open, they just do so without any passengers on. Perhaps the most pointy option, and not one I think they'd choose without being very sure that everything standing in the way of a passenger service is the responsibility of the developers. Interesting. If this was to happen would both new stations not open or is it mostly the Battersea Power Station one? I guess they could keep the tunnels open for maintenance access or emergency exits if needed.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 18, 2017 21:33:02 GMT
There is a team within LU who work with projects teams on things like this, and they're very passionate about what they do. One less member soon! --- Wrt to the white tiling. maybe the perception is such because some of the recent station refurbs have been at stations which already had white tiling, or nothing authentic left of more decorative tiling left? The CLR, for example, went for white tiling. And TCR lost its original tiling with the stationwide mural in the 80s. It would be inappropriate on the former, and incongruous for the latter, to put up Lesley Green style tiling; even though the latter had some somewhere at one point. It would absolutely be crucial though to emphasise the importance of what remains at Holborn to TfL for any proposed redevelopment. Fingers crossed it can remain. Another point - the ability to have a 'period' set for filming in Aldwych will be lost. Presumably that will mean that in the medium term TfL will seek to dispose of the station property. What then happens to the booking hall. Hmm, that's an interesting point. I never thought of that. As far as I know the original white tiling of the CLR (now the Central Line) can only be seen at Lancaster Gate station, but I may be wrong on that, and I believe there are remnants left in the old British Museum station on the route between TCR and Holborn. The all white tiling is very reminiscent of some of the Paris Metro stations.Was TCR originally a Leslie Green station? In that link I posted earlier before the thread got moved there is a link to a survey run by TfL where you can have your say on the Holborn upgrades. Perhaps it might be worth mentioning the Aldwych platform in it. Good point about the film set thing. At the moment film crews can use Aldwych for 'period' filming and Charing Cross Jubilee line for a more modern LU station set.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 18, 2017 18:51:39 GMT
I like the sound of this. Keep Aldwych station as it is but make the tunnels into a tourist attraction. It could be an interesting museum of LU history, a monument (no pun intended)to Leslie Green's station design. Perhaps they could use part of the platform as a new passenger concourse and the other bit going into the tunnel as the walkway? Or is this getting a bit Farfetch'd? Let's stick to the actual proposals and consultation, folks: more than happy for a new thread discussing possible ideas for the Aldwych branch over on the RIPAS boards, however.Good idea. I'd be more happy to start up a thread over there and get people talking!information. Keep it separate from the main thread.
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 18, 2017 18:04:35 GMT
Not sure if this is the right place on the forum to post about this, but there are proposals to upgrade Holborn station, including building a new entrance, adding lifts to the existing Kingsway entrance and redoing some of the passenger tunnels, including reusing an Aldwych platform. consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tube/holborn-station-upgrade/Thoughts? Personally I think it sounds like a good idea as long as they keep the old tiling of the Aldwych platform, the only original features remaining inside the station. I wonder what they'll do with the other disused platform, the one that was later used as a 'hostel' for immigrants in the 50s? If at all possible, any refurbished Aldwych platform should conform strictly to Leslie Green's originals. Fat chance! So, why not recreate various tiling schemes as a walkthrough tourist attraction between Holborn & Aldwych, as it ain't gonna see trains again? I like the sound of this. Keep Aldwych station as it is but make the tunnels into a tourist attraction. It could be an interesting museum of LU history, a monument (no pun intended)to Leslie Green's station design. Perhaps they could use part of the platform as a new passenger concourse and the other bit going into the tunnel as the walkway? Or is this getting a bit Farfetch'd?
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Post by holborncentral on Oct 18, 2017 17:57:51 GMT
The tunnels will be finished. It would cost pretty much the same to stop them as to continue so even a bean counter wouldn't halt that now. Station fit out though is a different story, and could much more easily be "deferred", even more so if any assets already ordered could be used elsewhere on the network (e.g. ticket machines or gates ordered for the new stations could replace life expired kit elsewhere). So what would happen if the tunnels were finished but the station fit out was 'deferred'? Would the tunnels just be left to rot like other abandoned line extensions? Would the new ones end up like a modern day version of the Northern Heights project or North End (Bull and Bush) where the tunnels were built or partially built but no surface building?
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