On 5 May 2004, Nick Cooper 625 wrote:

Roland Perry wrote in message ...

I'm trying to compile a list of interesting things to go see on the
"tube" on a day trip. Engineering mainly,

Step-plate junction

Whassat?

tom

--
Why do we do it? - Exactly!

Tom Anderson wrote:
On 5 May 2004, Nick Cooper 625 wrote:

Roland Perry wrote in message
...

I'm trying to compile a list of interesting things to go see on
the "tube" on a day trip. Engineering mainly,

Step-plate junction

Whassat?

Mark Brader's definitive explanation, given here on 3 Mar 2003, can be
seen at:
http://tinyurl.com/3b3x4

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

"Tom Anderson" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 4 May 2004, Paul Corfield wrote:

On Tue, 4 May 2004 13:01:14 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

I'm trying to compile a list of interesting things to go see on the
"tube" on a day trip.

Barkingside on the Central Line - another world and most unlike a Tube
Station. Some of the Met Line stations qualify in this regard too.

Sounds intriguing. Can someone elaborate on this?

Was not Barkingside built predominantly for Queen Victoria's use?

On Wed, 5 May 2004 19:16:56 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:

On Tue, 4 May 2004, Paul Corfield wrote:

On Tue, 4 May 2004 13:01:14 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

I'm trying to compile a list of interesting things to go see on the
"tube" on a day trip.

Barkingside on the Central Line - another world and most unlike a Tube
Station. Some of the Met Line stations qualify in this regard too.

Sounds intriguing. Can someone elaborate on this?

what I meant was that it is like a small rural station but retaining all
the grand buildings and platform canopies from its LNER days. It has a
bell tower and large vaulted ticket hall. To see modern 92 stock pull in
to such a setting is most odd yet charming. Newbury Park is even more
of a contrast as it is GER style at platform level while you have the
amazing 1940s concrete arched bus station canopy at street level.

Stations like Chorleywood, Chesham and Chalfont & Latimer on the Met
have a similar semi-deserted rural charm complete with a blend of Met
and Chiltern trains (well excluding Chesham anyway). Visit those
stations in the middle of the day and they are a complete contrast to
Central London with its hustle and bustle.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

"Janice" wrote in message
. ..

One of the Shepherd's Bush tube
stations was awesome (furthest east,
anyway). Does anyone else think so?

I think the platform decor is great, but most people seem to have forgotten
that the original question was about things of engineering interest, not
architectural interest...

--
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

Paul Corfield wrote in message . ..
On 5 May 2004 09:09:04 -0700, (dan) wrote:

Paul Corfield wrote in message . ..


snipped out Paul's fantastic list of things to see on the network!

glad someone liked it.

Whitechapel - District / H&C track layout will change soon so if you
want to see it in action look now. Also Whitechapel is a bit odd with
mixed levels plus the ELL platforms.

I had assumed the plans to rebuild Whitechapel had been dropped. Are
they still going to change it to three tracks only, with the middle
track having access from both eastbound and westbound platforms? When
is this planned to be done?

I may be out of date but a proposal along the lines you mention was
certainly part of the Metronet bid for upgrading the sub surface lines.

As I recall, the plan was for three island platforms at Whitechapel -
that implies five roads, not three - unless the layout was to be
similar to White City or Arnos Grove. Besides, I thought three-road
double-island stations were illegal now because of people who kept
touching the current rails.

Brad

In article ,
(Tom Anderson) wrote:

On 5 May 2004, Nick Cooper 625 wrote:

Roland Perry wrote in message
...

I'm trying to compile a list of interesting things to go see on the
"tube" on a day trip. Engineering mainly,

Step-plate junction

Whassat?

It's where a tunnel splits into two - such as at a junction

See the link below for some info:

http://www.romilepa.pwp.blueyonder.c.../stepplate.JPG

Roger

"John Rowland" wrote:

Bermondsey station, where the geology changes from solid to mushy halfway
along the station, and the station changes from deep tube to deep pit
accordingly.

Not true. The entire length of the station has the same geology - which at
platform level means that it is wholly within the Woolwich and Reading Beds
("mushy stuff"!), as are the running tunnels on either side for a
considerable distance.
[Source - Extending the Jubilee Line, Jon Willis, LT, 1997]

Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) stations were constructed by cut & cover
methods wherever possible, to make them as light and airy as possible. At
some of the other station sites (Canada Water, Canary Wharf, North
Greenwich) the entire station "footprint" was available, and so the entire
station was constructed that way. At Bermondsey, only the ticket hall
"footprint" was available (and hence only that section was built by cut &
cover); the western ends of the platforms (in tube tunnel) were built below
low-rise flats.


Despite the reason for the unusual construction being different to that
stated, it is still an interesting sight, and John was right to include
Bermondsey in his list. The other JLE stations are all worth a look.
Others have already mentioned the cavernous Westminster, Canary Wharf and
North Greenwich - the curve-roofed main entrance to Canary Wharf with its
bank of escalators is particularly striking. Canada Water has the East
London Line crossing on a "raft" (built so that ELL trains could continue to
run while the JLE station could be built around it, although this didn't
really happen because of the ELL's unexpected extended closure).
Waterloo has its travelators; much of the brick undercroft of London Bridge
main-line station is now accessible (and London Bridge has interesting
curved gates in the Jubilee - Northern interchange subway).

Of the surface JLE stations, Canning Town has the DLR platforms stacked
directly above the JLE platforms, and the surface building for the JLE
floodgates can be seen to the south. West Ham is an interesting 90s take on
the 30s Charles Holden stations. Stratford has an interesting station
building straddling the North London Line tracks, and you can see how the
Central Line tracks rise to the surface to give cross-platform interchange
with suburban trains before diving back into tunnel (the nearby bus station
is also worth a look).

But I think that the most interesting JLE station is probably Southwark -
built on a narrow constricted site, it has a low-level circulating area open
to daylight, and single escalator shafts sited in the middle of the railway
viaduct's brick arches (anything more might have destabilised the viaduct).


On the rest of the LUL and DLR networks, engineering highlights that haven't
already been mentioned include -

# Earl's Court - see how the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre is supported
above the District Line tracks. Staggered end wall at the bottom of the
escalators, reflecting the way that only one of the original escalators
here had a "shunt".
# Baker Street - Circle Line platforms restored to something like original
appearance, with lights in the original shafts. Wider than expected
platforms, made possible when the broad-gauge tracks here were removed.
# King's Cross St Pancras - Circle Line platform concourse built in the
original running tunnel.
# Embankment - one Northern Line platform tightly curved, one completely
straight - reflecting the fact that originally there was just a single
platform here, on a reversing loop.
# South Kensington - top of escalator shaft to the Piccadilly Line visible
alongside the District Line platforms, plus a long foot subway with its
own ventilation openings in the middle of the road above.
# Finsbury Park and Arsenal - deep tube platforms that aren't that deep,
and are accessed from the street only by stairs (with, at Finsbury Park,
spiral staircases in the former lift shafts to the main line station
high above).
# Finsbury Park (southbound Piccadilly line), Highbury & Islington
(northbound WAGN), Euston (northbound Northern Line, City branch) -
tracks diverted in the 60s to give cross-platform interchange with the
new Victoria Line, with the old course just about visible at each end
of the diversions. (Similar tunnels also visible on the Northern Line
near Angel, London Bridge and Borough, albeit for somewhat different
reasons.)
# Kennington and Elephant & Castle - at each station, the track and
platform have changed sides in one of the Northern Line platform tunnels
(I forget which ones). This is just about discernable from the track
alignments at the platform ends, and I understand that retiling work at
Kennington currently makes this clearer.
# Bank - the Northern Line ticket hall here is built in the former crypt
of the church that sits above! Waterloo & City Line has a long sloping
subway, with travelators alongside, showing just how far the platforms
are from the station entrance.
# Camden Town - complex junctions just south of the station, so both
southern branches can connect with both northern branches.
# Golders Green - three tunnel entrances south of station, two being
running lines and one the depot headshunt.
# Highgate - escalator shaft to the "Woodman" exit that begins in tunnel
and ends up elevated.
# White City - station with right-hand running, reflecting the unusual
railway history and geography of the Wood Lane area.
# Hounslow West - see how the 20s (30s??) station building, once at the
end of terminal platforms (where the car park is now sited), has been
adapted to serve the through subsurface platforms on the Heathrow
Extension.
# East Ham to Barking - massive flyovers, built to separate Underground
and main line tracks and still give good interchange at Barking.
# Prince Regent to Royal Albert - massive DLR bridge with steep approaches
on either side, giving great views of London City Airport.
# Beckton Park and Cyprus - DLR "bowl stations", built into roundabouts
(one of which is no longer a roundabout!) of the dual carriageway above.
# Bow Church - steeply graded tight curve immediately to the north
(showing just what light rail vehicles can do); 60s artificial tunnel
built as part of a housing estate, a little to the south (which is also
visible from the District Line east of Bow Road).
# Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich - Greathead tunnelling shield on
display halfway between platforms and entrance.
# Greenwich - DLR tracks surfacing beneath the main line station building.


Some "non-LUL/DLR" items might also be worth a look -

# Heathrow Central (Heathrow Express) - cavernous entrance shaft
containing lifts and escalators at the T2/T3 end, which only exists
because of a tunnel collapse during construction (the shaft had to be
sunk in order to "reclaim" the area where the collapse occurred).
# The Kingsway Subway - both entrances to the former tram subway (one in
the middle of the road just north of Holborn station, the other on the
Embankment under Waterloo Bridge) can still be seen, as can the former
entrances to Holborn tram station (staircases, now covered with grills,
in the middle of the road outside Holborn LUL station). Ride through
the Strand Underpass (road tunnel built through part of the disused
subway in the mid 60s) on a northbound 521 bus during Mon-Fri peaks.


These is one LUL station that is an absolute "must see" - Wapping. This is
probably the oldest part of the LUL network. The narrow platforms give good
views of Brunel's 1843 Thames Tunnel (the world's first tube tunnel), and
the station has a distinctive musty smell because of the proximity of the
river. The narrow stairs up from the platforms to the base of the lifts are
in the original 1843 entrance shaft. From here to the surface, use the
stairs to reach the surface and see the rest of this original shaft, with
an "artificial" lift shaft in the middle of it. It will be a great pity if
this station has to close as part of the East London Line extension project
(as is currently being mooted).




--
MetroGnome
~~~~~~~~~~

A few for the Northern Line

City and South London Railway stations Oval - Euston City

The platforms were originally 200' long. In most cases the site of the
original platform is easily seen as:
a) it is often the only straight part of the platform
(all the original platforms were straight)
b) the original station tunnel is a different shape (narrower)
c) many of the original platform ceilings still have their tiles showing
(painted over)
d) where there is work going on, the original brickwork may be seen
(the original platform tunnels were built out of brick, not iron
segments)

Kennington City NB
The wide tunnel mouth at the north of the platform. The track and platform
used to be on opposite sides. The station tunnel was extended southwards
and the track swapped. The wide tunnel mouth was necessary to get the
track back in line.

Elephant & Castle NB
As for Kennington, except that the wide tunnel mouth is at the south end
of the platform.

Stockwell
Although a bit hard to see from the platform, the original island platform
was where the crossover now is. There are still tiles on the ceiling of
the crossover. The original tiled exit is through a (by these days) narrow
passage to the left, just as the train enters the crossover area. It's
blocked off after about eight feet by a bulkhead door.

Moorgate SB
The stub at the south end of the platform where the engine siding used to
be.

Roger

On Wed, 5 May 2004, Richard J. wrote:

Tom Anderson wrote:

On 5 May 2004, Nick Cooper 625 wrote:

Step-plate junction

Whassat?

Mark Brader's definitive explanation, given here on 3 Mar 2003, can be
seen at:
http://tinyurl.com/3b3x4

Okay, lovely, thanks; thanks also to Roger for the picture.

tom

--
All we need now is Jesus the Lord, fine corn liquor and the courage to think the unthinkable.