trisonic Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 .....and who can forget this little baby in lined out Great Eastern blue..... A loco that will remain with me forever.... http://www.time-caps.../number1304.asp Gordon, wasn't it mooted at some point that the loco would be mounted on some kind of plynth at Liverpool Street? Didn't they have an 08 painted the same way too? Sorry but I kind of lost track with Liverpool Street over the years...... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wollastonblue Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Preserved it has to be Highley on the SVR absolutely stunning. But on the main network, I've always thought Worcester Shrub Hill is a beautiful station. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted November 23, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 23, 2010 How about Birmingham Moor Street. A good example of how an original station can be sympathetically restored and new facilities added in harmony. Will soon be back to full use again (11th December). Moor Street Station Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 How about Birmingham Moor Street. A good example of how an original station can be sympathetically restored and new facilities added in harmony. Will soon be back to full use again (11th December). Moor Street Station Keith For me part of the joy of stations like Moor Street -- and why I'm not such a big fan of the modernised Liverpool Street, despite loving it when it was all grime and labyrinthine walkways -- is that the trains are there, for all to see. In Liverpool Street they're hidden away behind the "retail opportunities" (it's a bit like Euston which sought to be as much like an airport terminal as possible. The design philosophy appeared to be to pretend that there were no trains there). Architect Norman Foster's original design for Stansted Airport was intended to let passengers see the planes, through the glass walls on the opposite side of the terminal building, from the moment they stepped through the front doors. It was part of trying to connect the passenger to their objective, to help them to orientate themselves, and to realise that they were already starting their journey. Railway stations which hide their trains feel to me like they are embarrassed to be part of the railway, so whatever their other merits I think they should be disqualified from the award of "most beautiful station". I'm interested that most people are choosing Victorian stations. I like many of them, but I'm also a fan of the very late 1950s/early 1960s stations associated with electrification in the Eastern Region -- Barking, Harlow Town and Broxbourne (I've just put some images in a RMWeb gallery but couldn't work out how to put them in this post). Modern, using good quality materials, light, airy, and all designed around the passenger (though Barking has been poorly treated, with more wretched retail opportunities clogging the public space and cheap cable ducting stuck over the ceiling and walls). Harlow has just been refurbished and looks splendid. Broxbourne is about to get the same treatment (again, it needs a clear-up: who thought it was a good idea to dump a portakabin outside the front door?). From an earlier age, London's Cannon Street station was Betjeman's favourite (in its pre-WW2 state, with what was supposed to be the most elegant glass trainshed roof of any terminus). It's sad to see it today, the platforms crushed under a wretched office block, the low ceilings of the station creating a sense of gloom unrelieved by the ghastly overhead lights that have to burn all day. I'm still not convinced that selling off "air rights" was the best long-term solution to the cost of redeveloping these stations. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I'd love to add a vote for Liverpool Street, but certainly in it's rebuilt form it has lost much of it aesthetic appeal (although the view from Exchange Square is a small compensation). To be honest, there were some aspects that were never that appealling. The East Side (a later addition) lacked the grandeur of the original trainshed (and certainly does now that it's a dingy office basement), while the grimy walls and structures between the approach tracks and the dingy cuttings that precede the open air of Bethnal Green Bank proper are not particularly attractive. On the other hand, there used to be the interest of seeing an Underground train tucked away in Shoreditch and of course the site of the old Bishopsgate terminus. I even once detrained at the low-level Bishopsgate platform when there was a points failure in the main terminus. Which reminds me of other memorable journeys. Once when leaving Liverpool Street there was a loud bang and the train stopped - some vandal had hurled a chair onto the OHL over the fence from Worship Street. Pity the poor driver terrified by their action. On a lighter note, there was one morning around twenty years ago when the morning rush into Liverpool Street was disrupted just outside Bethnal Green. While sitting there, the reason appeared in the shape of a horse running loose on the tracks - followed swiftly by various owners and staff trying to catch hold of it! Times like that (pre mobile phone days) you regret not taking a camera everywhere. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Paddington has its curved trainshed, of course, but externally does it really compare well with the (former) frontages of most of the other London termini? I'd hardly say that the parcels side is an architectural gem. On the other hand, unlike most of the other London termini, it benefits from a level approach, such that arriving trains can be seen from a long way off (oh for the days of trying to identify whether it was a Western or a Hymek or a 47 in the distance - but then again, as someone has said, the "surprise" of what emerged from the Gasworks Tunnel at Kings Cross also had its attractions). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 On a lighter note, there was one morning around twenty years ago when the morning rush into Liverpool Street was disrupted just outside Bethnal Green. While sitting there, the reason appeared in the shape of a horse running loose on the tracks - followed swiftly by various owners and staff trying to catch hold of it! Times like that (pre mobile phone days) you regret not taking a camera everywhere. Reminds me of the Victoria Line earlier this year - we had a line closure due to a fox on the line in the Warren Street station area. Now when you think the Victoria line is wholly in tube except for the depot (accessed via a branch tunnel from Seven Sisters, near the north end of the line), and Warren Street is about the middle of the route, that does seem a strange one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Must have gone into the warren while chasing the rabbits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Moore Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 The best station without question in the world is Dent simply because it is a lovely iconic building which is set in the most beautiful dale in the world. It's my dream home living around either Dent or Garsdale if i could live between Ais Gill & Ribblehead i would never go abroad again i'd be in heaven . Simon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rods_of_Revolution Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 My favorite is Matlock Bath, beautiful and styled like many buildings in Germanic countries I have visited. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matlock_Bath_railway_station Regards, Jack Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
valeofyork Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 Has anyone mentioned Newcastle yet? I think that's one of the finest of the big ones. York is good too - use it every week so perhaps don't notice it much any more! Sheffield is very nice too since its refurbishment. Of the middle-sized ones I like Carlisle, a fitting terminus t the S&C. Bath Spa is quite impressive too, and Shrewsbury. With the smaller ones there are so many contenders! All of the S&C stations will definitely be in the list, but I think my favourite of these has to be Kirkby Stephen. Other nice little stations on many rural branches - Barnstaple line and Matlock line spring to mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyDodd Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 Decisions, decisions........ I love Oxenholme, for its beautiful setting, architecture and sheer atmosphere- to me it still retains the timeless feel of a main line junction in the middle of nowhere, a place that only exists to allow you to change into the branch train (which, mirabile dictu, still runs). Another favourite is Knaresborough, period atmosphere in a lovely setting, complete with gates, semaphores and that unique signalbox. Beverley and Bridlington still ooze NER spirit, complete with tile maps. It's easy to mourn what's gone, but this thread shows how lucky we are there is still so much left to enjoy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
westernglory Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 A hot summers day, flowers in bloom and the bees buzzing. A distant plume of smoke means a train is on its way.... Blue Anchor station. Been there, experienced that and something that will never be forgotten.... I would certainly second your choice Gordon. Love the place..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
South of 1E Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Kew Gardens on the much maligned North London line remains a gem for me. Well looked after gardens and trees with colour at most times of the year, just shows what a bit of money and care can do for a station. A Pub and local shops keep the area around it bustling too. Shame about the class 378 trains though! On a wilder front i always enjoy waiting for a train at Dalwhinnie, very remote with big mountains all round. Often a few horses in the field behind to keep you company in winter and the perhaps unique down platform bothy with walls so thick to keeps you warm in the wildest of Highland weathers! NR Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
definate maybe Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Hard to beat York for me. Curved overall roof, the ex signal box (now a cafe) at the top of the stairs and bays shooting out in several directions add to the interesting layout. Add to that it had a model exhibiton as part of it for several years, the spacious entrance and the beautiful covered taxi rank, all surrounded by the wonderful raised road that gives you a brilliant view on the way into the station and the roman walls boxing it in on one side. What more could you ask for? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve fay Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Hampton loade SVR oh and Arley to. Carrog Llangollen railway Cardiff general ( central ) well the front of it 30s architecture at its best. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike tugsandsheds Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 The best station without question in the world is Dent simply because it is a lovely iconic building which is set in the most beautiful dale in the world. It's my dream home living around either Dent or Garsdale if i could live between Ais Gill & Ribblehead i would never go abroad again i'd be in heaven . Simon. I'm with Simon on this one... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37079 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I agree with a lot of what has been said in this topic - there really are some gems out there. York's popularity surprises me a little bit - the trainshed is very grand, but the bland high numbered platforms and the weed-infested engineers triangle area rather ruin the whole for me. A couple of larger stations that I don't recall being mentioned which I've always liked are Norwich and Leamington Spa. Have to agree with those who have mentioned Staverton - a stunning example of what a preserved railway can achieve. Finally, perhaps not beautiful but certainly aesthetically successful in its surroundings, is Canary Wharf. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lurker Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Wateringbury on the Medway Valley line is a favourite of mine - good looking station buildings in a rural location EDIT - I seemed to manage to post this three times ...now removed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webbo Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Haven't been there for many years but Dumfries was a very tidy station with a frontage that sported an emblem of the G & SW which was made with tiles, or was it a flower bed (cannot remember correctly). Grotty station award has to be Birmingham New Street. Webbo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteScR Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Surprised nobody has yet mentioned Wemyss Bay on the Firth of Clyde. Built in 1903 for the Caledonian Railway and is absolutely superb, from what I can recall. You get the added bonus of the Rothesay ferry slip as well Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Surprised nobody has yet mentioned Wemyss Bay on the Firth of Clyde. Built in 1903 for the Caledonian Railway and is absolutely superb, from what I can recall. You get the added bonus of the Rothesay ferry slip as well Pete Ohh - that's VERY nice (and I thought Stirling was good).... Four Marks on the Mid-Hants is just beautiful (IMHO) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Old Ford Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welly Posted June 28, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 28, 2011 Finally, perhaps not beautiful but certainly aesthetically successful in its surroundings, is Canary Wharf. I remember visiting the DLR system in the late 1980s/early 1990s and thinking that the tall King's Cross-like train shed over Canary Wharf is so pretentious for what is after all a three track light rail station! But then again that part of the Docklands is so pretentious so yes just right for the surroundings! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6975 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 PeteScR beat me to it.. That circular roof at Weymss bay is a stunning piece of architecture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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