Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a special undeground shopping
mall or similar service, with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground shuttle
from Holborn.

"juvenal" wrote in message
...

Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a
special undeground shopping mall or similar service,
with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground shuttle
from Holborn.

Aldwych was closed because the lift was life expired, and the passenger
numbers couldn't justify its replacement. It will never see another
passenger train, unless a huge development occurs around Aldwych which can
fund the lift replacement.

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

"juvenal" wrote in message ...
Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a special undeground shopping
mall or similar service, with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground shuttle
from Holborn.

That sounds like a really good idea - they could renovate the
half-remodelled platform 6 at Holborn and the half-destroyed platform
2 at Aldwych and turn it into a super-modern Underground store where
they sell more Underground stuff.

Too bad it would be prohibitively expensive to repair the lifts -
they'd never get their investment back.

"TheOneKEA" wrote in message
om...
"juvenal" wrote in message
...
Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a special undeground
shopping
mall or similar service, with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground
shuttle
from Holborn.

That sounds like a really good idea - they could renovate the
half-remodelled platform 6 at Holborn and the half-destroyed platform
2 at Aldwych and turn it into a super-modern Underground store where
they sell more Underground stuff.

Too bad it would be prohibitively expensive to repair the lifts -
they'd never get their investment back.

If you restored the disused station as an early Yerkes station, used the
station and the second tunnel to Holborn as a Tube museum, and redeveloped
the parts of the station that were never used as larger tunnels with small
retail outlets (along the lines of an undeground Covent Garden) with a
second Strand entrance, then you might have enough passengers to restore the
lifts (although it would be shame to remove them). If it really took off,
you could even put platforms on the JL oveerun from CX to Aldwych!

Beack in the realms of reality, though, you're probably right in thinking
that it probably wouldn't be able to pay it's way.

"Boltar" wrote in message
m...

Its not unrealistic. Thats exactly how the NYC Transit
museum is set up. Its based in an old disused subway
station on a spur from the main line and in the platforms
they've got lots of old stock that you can wander around in.

I presume that is not a tube line, but a shallow skirt-blower line, from
which emergency exit could be made by the most asthmatic in about a minute.
The moribund Thameslink line from Farringdon to Moorgate could probably
become a museum, but for the deep tube Aldwych station with no lift or
escalator it is not practical.

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

"juvenal" wrote in message ...
If you restored the disused station as an early Yerkes station, used the
station and the second tunnel to Holborn as a Tube museum, and redeveloped
the parts of the station that were never used as larger tunnels with small
retail outlets (along the lines of an undeground Covent Garden) with a
second Strand entrance, then you might have enough passengers to restore the
lifts (although it would be shame to remove them). If it really took off,
you could even put platforms on the JL oveerun from CX to Aldwych!

Beack in the realms of reality, though, you're probably right in thinking
that it probably wouldn't be able to pay it's way.

Its not unrealistic. Thats exactly how the NYC Transit museum is set up. Its
based in an old disused subway station on a spur from the main line and in
the platforms they've got lots of old stock that you can wander around in.
Aldwych would be a squeeze but CX would be perfect for this (well , for showing
tube stock at any rate).

B2003

"John Rowland" wrote in message ...
"juvenal" wrote in message
...

Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a
special undeground shopping mall or similar service,
with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground shuttle
from Holborn.

Aldwych was closed because the lift was life expired, and the passenger
numbers couldn't justify its replacement. It will never see another
passenger train, unless a huge development occurs around Aldwych which can
fund the lift replacement.

No doubt the people who made that decision forgot that the underground is
a public service, not a for profit company. For somewhere like Ongar that
only had 3 people and a dog use the station each day I can understand closure
but aldwych had something like 500 people a day using it. Not a huge amount
but IMO enough to justify its being kept open given that there are probably
quite a few stations still open that probably get less usage that that.
The whole of the ELL springs to mind for starters plus Mill Hill East on the
northern line. But I guess in this country the bean counters rule.

B2003

"Boltar" wrote in message
om...
"John Rowland" wrote in message
...

Aldwych was closed because the lift was life expired, and the passenger
numbers couldn't justify its replacement. It will never see another
passenger train, unless a huge development occurs around Aldwych which
can
fund the lift replacement.

No doubt the people who made that decision forgot that the underground is
a public service, not a for profit company

And as with any public service choices have to be made as to where to spend
a limited budget. It is not realistic (and it wasn't so even in the
'good-old-days') that there is a bottomless pit of money to be spent on
public transport.

Considering how close Aldwych is to other tube stations and the good bus
links it has there is little loss to those getting to the area to the
closure.

But I guess in this country the bean counters rule.

They always have. Don't forget that most of the London Underground network
(as well as mainline services) were built using private money with the idea
of making a profit. The Aldwych - Holborn link wasn't built as a social
service.

Dave.

In message , Dave Liney
writes
Considering how close Aldwych is to other tube stations and the good bus
links it has there is little loss to those getting to the area to the
closure.
The concept of a tube station at Aldwych is actually a good one.
However, having it on an isolated shuttle to and from Holborn only was
what really limited its usefulness.

Had the Jubilee Line been built as originally planned and had a station
there between Charing Cross and Ludgate Circus (?), it might have been a
different matter.
--
Ian Jelf, MITG, Birmingham, UK
Registered "Blue Badge" Tourist Guide for
London & the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

"juvenal" wrote in message ...
"TheOneKEA" wrote in message
om...
"juvenal" wrote in message
...
Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a special undeground
shopping
mall or similar service, with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground
shuttle
from Holborn.

That sounds like a really good idea - they could renovate the
half-remodelled platform 6 at Holborn and the half-destroyed platform
2 at Aldwych and turn it into a super-modern Underground store where
they sell more Underground stuff.

Too bad it would be prohibitively expensive to repair the lifts -
they'd never get their investment back.

If you restored the disused station as an early Yerkes station, used the
station and the second tunnel to Holborn as a Tube museum, and redeveloped
the parts of the station that were never used as larger tunnels with small
retail outlets (along the lines of an undeground Covent Garden) with a
second Strand entrance, then you might have enough passengers to restore the
lifts (although it would be shame to remove them). If it really took off,
you could even put platforms on the JL oveerun from CX to Aldwych!

Beack in the realms of reality, though, you're probably right in thinking
that it probably wouldn't be able to pay it's way.

The problem with all of these ideas is lack of fire escape. On
several occasions I've been asked about the possibility of converting
Aldwych into some form of themed night club. The problem is that
health & safety would be a nightmare as the only access (currently) is
the spiral stair case and the lift shafts are in the same section as
that.

Currently, the only alternative exit is down the tunnels to Holborn
and this would mean crossing potentially live rails - again a big
no-no!

Conversion into a museum would be a grand idea, though I suspect
providing it with a special train only to serve the museum would
porbably be prohibitively expensive. I believe something similar
actually exists on the New York Subway, where Court Street station now
houses the New York Transit Museum.

Coincidentally, just this sort of conversion is about to be applied to
a tunnel that runs in parallel with Aldwych immediately above - the
Kingsway Tram Tunnel. I've been told that this (or at leas part of
it) is about to be converted into an art gallery which will open later
on this year.

--
Hywel Williams
http://www.starfury.demon.co.uk/uground