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My most depressing station is ...


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There was no shortage of depressingly 'Dickensian Workhouse' stations before the 1960's especially in Cottonopolis. Oldham Werneth, in a cutting and adjacent to a dank smelly tunnel, was a bad 'un. Middleton with it's skeleton roof was another. Even Royton with its open aspect was pure cotton town grot. Oldham was an utterly depressing district anyway. 

 

The L&Y Summit line via Todmorden was depressing even by the lineside, whereas the LNWR Standedge line over the Pennines seemed exciting. Same with the Woodhead line before 1954 although Guide Bridge was depressingly cold and draughty when all the platforms had canopies as was Denton. Oxford Road station in Manchester also springs to mind as depressing, not helped by those dark green EMU's. Having mentioned electrics, the whole Manchester-Bury electric line was depressing especially when the old L&YR Units were LMS brownish maroon.

 

Jeepers, I nearly forgot to mention Blaenau Ffestiniog North.

Never knew it when it was open, but how was Oldham Glodwick Road? A restricted-site station in a cutting. Talking of Guide Bridge, all the stations on the Woodhead Stump are depressing now; the whole line is depressing in the extreme

Edited by 62613
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and the people - don't forget the people .......................  :O

I remember a couple of years shift working at Westbury where one week in three I caught a 22.10 departure back to Bristol,

the passengers who joined at Trowbridge were an interesting crowd, the guard would often have a challenging time when checking tickets,

 

cheers 

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Some of the stations in Birmingham, like Northfield, Small Heath, Duddeston and Stechford are pretty grim and run down. Away from there, these days Holyhead station isn't as glamorous as it once was.

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Perry Barr in Birmingham is the most grim I have used in a while. Wouldn't want to spend time there at night, very reminiscent of the North London Line stations pre-LOL.

 

On the positive side though, it is amazing how the London termini have avoided that terrifying seediness that seems to permeate most of the major European city stations.

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Three contenders from me:

 

Gatwick Airport - Hopelessly overcrowded and utterly inadequate for the airport it purports to serve, essentially seven dingy platforms with a glorified tin shed over the top of it and very luggage unfriendly!!!

 

Euston - Nasty Concrete carbuncle that needs flattening ASAP

 

But worst of all, [Drum Roll please] the prosecution enters the following into evidence.  Crawley, I mean , look at it:

attachicon.gifCrawley0001.jpg

Gatwick is horrible -all concrete with virtually continuous, annoying, automatic announcements that you are approaching the end of the escalator. I suppose it is one way of getting people to spread along the platform. All the catering apart from a few vending machines is up in the area around the airport entrance, so if you are just changing trains e.g. Reading to Gatwick - Gatwick to Lewes - you can't get coffee without leaving the platform  - and then Southern say they don't think on-board catering is viable because everyone buys before they board. Mind you getting a trolley to pass through many of Southern's trains must be well nigh impossible. Rant & ramble over!

Edited by phil_sutters
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Never knew it when it was open, but how was Oldham Glodwick Road? A restricted-site station in a cutting. 

'Gloddik Road', another depressing Oldham station.  The other end of the line at Delph was an unprepossessing place in shadow much of the time, but the rest of the lines stations were fine until closure in 1955.

Edited by coachmann
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There are so many to choose from!  For many, it depends a lot on the weather at the time - Connel Ferry on a sunny morning is great, in rain and howling wind it is horrible, the bus shelter being totally unable to keep the horizontal rain out.  Still, from memories of spending many hours there waiting for connections, I would vote for Birmingham New St in the mid 1970s.  It has improved quite a bit since then,though.  Merthyr Tydfil is also a depressing place, mainly because of the surroundings.

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I suppose stations can be depressing for various reasons, but I am always upset by those that have suffered a catastrophic decline in their importance and facilities.

 

Morcambe and Pontypool Road are two that immediately come to mind, but there will be lots of others.

There are plenty of more depressing places in absolute terms but for that decline reason I can't catch a train from Chinley without feeling a bit glum.

 

Anywhere apparently consisting entirely of concrete and palisade fencing is really depressing.

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How about a non-UK station that really depressed me when I passed through it back in Summer 2014?

 

Rodby F in Denmark which is the northern end of the Fehmarnbelt (spelling?) train ferry from Puttgarden in north Germany.

 

Mile upon mile of disused weed and bush strewn sidings with derelict customs sheds. Only one platform and bus shelter for the rail terminal - imagine the wind coming off the Baltic on a cold grey winter's day! Ugh!

 

This must have been very busy with freight wagons being shunted on and off the ferry before the opening of the rail bridges from eastern Denmark to Jutland providing a direct route via Schleswig-Holstein.

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Personally, I love Euston. Recent retail developments have not helped one bit, but I love the big circulating area with its marble floor and high ceiling. The old Euston, though long demolished before I was born, sounded like a depressing place. And as for the Doric Arch -pig ugly monstrosity! Why try to make a railway station look like a Greek temple? Who are you trying to kid?

 

My nomination for most depressing station today would have to be Swindon though.

 

For all Euston's faults the marble floor is quite wonderful I always think, lovely quality marble.

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Trowbridge was a depressing place even before the bus shelter.

I spent over an hour there waiting for a failed 33, which eventually arrived behind a 47, on a freezing December evening in 1983.

That was around the time I was at Trowbridge College. Cold winter evenings waiting for the 33's heading home to Sway via Southampton I was always grateful for the waiting room

 

Bleak was Broxbourne in a 1970's winter with an East wind cutting you in two whilst you switched from Hertford East service to the faster service to Liverpool Street. At times you stuck with the slower service just to avoid getting out onto the platform

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In the 1970s, Bedford St Johns was dire another in this category Manors at Newcastle.

Lea Hall Birmingham, not the sort of place a Railman would volunteer to work.

By far the worst for me, Sheffield Victoria being taken apart by vandals before co-ordinated demolition.

I have photographs of the War Memorials before their removal.

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From the 80s I nominate Wembley Central and what back then was Wembley Complex.

Central was served by the prison barred 501s, and Complex was a bridge and bus shelter with views of the old Wembley Towers...

 

Dave

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Regarding non-UK stations, Warsaw Central was pretty grim. Big subterranean concrete maw, bit like New Street, but without the charm.

 

I suppose a lot of these stations had what you might call "atmosphere"-but then so did the Colisseum when they were feeding Christians to the lions..........

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Guest eddie reffin

Perth- a real fallen gem that is badly in need of regeneration.

 

Aberdeen is also a bit like that especially platforms 6N and 7N under the shoppping centre. The roof leaks and North end is so gloomy.

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