A thread for mumsnet nerds to talk about the history of the London Underground (aka what's your favourite tube station)

[GetOrfMoiIand]

I spent a happy hour looking at this site www.abandonedstations.org.uk/

The history of the tube is fascinating, and I love travelling on it, it is so atmospheric (apart from when I am commuting within London and then I hate it with a vengeance like any normal person reserving special ire for the wanking Circle line).

Some stations feel really evocative - for instance Lambeth North looks as if it hasn't changed since the second world war.

Where's it being moved to Olivia? sad losers' corner?

lol at Giorgio and the smell of piss.

I can just about remember fags on buses and aeroplanes.

OOh is there a sad losers' corner? (lifetime membership: me)

Weirdly DH and I were talking about abandoned tube stations last weekend (yes, we really are that sad :))
Will share that website with him when he gets home.
I don't have any interesting tube facts to share but you will be relieved to hear that when we took DNiece to London for the first time earlier this year we tutored her in standing on the correct side on escalators and letting people off before we got on

My favourite train fact: the Russian for train station is Voxoll, because in the 19th century some Russians came to London to look at the marvels of British engineering. They were shown Vauxhall station (now pretty grotty but then, presumably, the pinnacle of train stations) and somehow, someone got confused as to what the word 'Vauxhall' referred to

There's a terrible, terrible book about a guy who visits every tube station in a day. He gets the girl and befriends a tramp. I don't recommend you read it.

My people, hello .

I have nothing useful to contribute by the way, just thought i'd show me face.

I actually really like all tube stations, even the art deco ones, they're all lovely. I'm a sucker for industrial/functional buildings.

Oh and THANKYOU for the info about the fake house frontages!

alma I LOVE that fact!

Just so you know, tube geek brigade, there is a thread in Active where amateurs are asking London travel advice. Let us spread tube knowledge!

OOoo, finally I have found my spiritual home with fellow tube geeks!!
DH gets cross that I always have to sit on the left side of the Picadilly line going north from Hammersmith so I get to see bits of the deserted stations on that line (Down St & Brompton Road).

What's happened to the old Jubilee line station at Charing Cross these days? Do they use that for filming like Aldwych?

Yay for kindred spirits! I've spent hours on those sites at work when utterly bored.

FIL and I love this stuff - I am noting down the various book recommendations. I spotted the old York Road tube station across the road from a building site I was working on, and took loads of photos

I am known as the transport guru amongst my friends, but my colleague at work is the absolute champion - he knows everything. I realise now that we are those people being bashed on the "boring conversations" thread this morning, who compete to find the quickest/easiest route from A to B across London .

In fact, said colleague was involved in the design of the first new underground station following the fire at King's Cross.

Has anyone read about the old Kingsway Tram? I think it's sad that can't come back into use. I know the road tunnel under Aldwych is in the way now though. I'm sure there was a consultation about trams in central London a few years ago?

I can't wait until DS is old enough for the London Transport museum. If he's not into trains and stuff I think I will cry - me, both his grandfathers and his uncle are planning visits to model railway exhibitions and train sets on a massive scale!

Yes, they were going to have a tram line running south from Camden to Brixton/Peckham, but Boris cancelled it. I was obviously in favour but do wonder if it would have made sense or just caused massive congestion.

I had a boyfriend once who in his younger days had worked for London Transport and got to go down all the abandoned tube stations. He told me this on our very first date, and must have realised as he saw my pupils dilate with envy and excitement that I was his from that moment on. (Unfortunately that was probably the highlight of the relationship.)

Still loving this thread.

London Transport Museum is fab. They had a special exhibition of Springtime posters earlier this year. I love those old posters!

What's crossrail?

Yes Abycat, Charing Cross Jubilee bit is used for filming - its escalators used to be on Spooks a lot.

Ds loves the Transport Museum but scared me by running away the first time we went - he was 2.4, one moment next to the Boris bus prototype and by the time he was tracked down had gone up a ramp and two flights of stairs and along a train and was climbing down to the tracks. So I never really relax there. I want to go without ds sometime so I can read all the blurbs.

Did anyone watch The Tube series last year? Makes you despair of the general public.

Blimey re Crossrail - that looks so exciting.

Paddington - Liverpool Street, 4 stops and 9 minutes. That's amazing!

I know, GetOrf - I can't wait!

There's also a proposed Chelsea-Hackney line, though I'm not sure if it will ever happen.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea%E2%80%93Hackney_line

Has anyone mentioned Creep?

Ffs whatkungfu - did you have to? That film bloody terrified me, what with all the stuff based around Holborn. It was too sodding close for comfort!

Luckily once it got into all the abandoned station/ people trapped underground for a century/ cannibals bollocks it was all safely into the realms of bad fiction again. Still, didn't sleep very well that night.

Another piccadilly line factoid
The Mind the Gap voice is that of David Archer from the archers.

I thought that Mind the Gap voice dated from the 1930s and was Trevor Howard or something

I have spent all day looking at links on here. I don't even particularly like trains! Please please please can this thread be moved out of chat so I can go looking again when I have more time?

I can't WAIT for Crossrail to be finished. Would be able to get from my house to work in 10 measly minutes on the train, total of about 20 minutes commute.

Currently averaging about 45 (and I do London walking ie sprinting) so it will be a bloody JOY.

Any transport geeks taken the emirates cable car yet? I am a teeny bit scared of it, especially since reading that it got stuck for 30 minutes this week.

SQUEE.

Thinking of voices... Does anyone else get really pissed off by the train-voice-lady who says "highgut" instead of Highgate?

Yes but where can it go - there isn't a geek topic

I think it is a good idea to move it though as it is such a lovely thread and it would be a shame for it to disappear, so I will report this post and hopefully Olivia can move it somewhere.

Ever heard the recorded message asking for Inspector Sands to come to the operations room?

I read an interview with the lady who did all the "THIS is Embankment. Change here for the Bakerloo and Northern lines and riverboat services from Embankment Pier" announcements. She said that she doesn't even have a posh accent and is from the north, so she had to do a fake posh accent.