editor
hiraethified
Come on - natural light has to struggle to get through because of all those massive metal pipes blocking the light.
Hebden Bridge station (and other lovely railway stations)
- Thread starter editor
- Start date
_angel_
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yeah. somewhere like birmingham new street is far worse.
_angel_
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Most platforms are open to some degree or other anyway. One thing I will say about it is it's so cold. All the cold air seems to be trapped in Leeds station.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
editor
hiraethified
Er, hello? New Street is a modern station.
You can't seriously be comparing the elegance of St Pancras with the clunky mess that is Leeds station?!
editor
hiraethified
http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=7262795
It's hard to imagine how such a bustling station can be reduced to a shitty bus shelter.
Then:
Now:
It's hard to imagine how such a bustling station can be reduced to a shitty bus shelter.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
No, that would be an unfair comparison for the reasons I mentioned before. Just making the point that the structure/glass ratio isn't any better there than it is at Leeds, from the look of it.
I'm not trying to say Leeds station is some sort of architectural wonder; I just think you're being a bit harsh on it.
But like I say I've only been there once so amn't particularly well qualified to pass comment.
editor
hiraethified
I suggest you go. For a modern station, it's ugly, dark, badly designed and unpleasant to use. The low, windowless area leading to the platforms is as bad as New Street, and the entrance feels like an Eastern European checkpoint.
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
I have to say that I find the Dark Arches a bit of a marvel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/943360924/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianpercival/929417613/sizes/o/
http://www.leeds-uk.com/river/cross-arch-22_JPG.htm
Am I right in remembering that these arches would have handled freight from the station above, as well as from the canal which also goes through here?
Otherwise, Leeds Station remains the only place where I've ever been offered a blowjob in exchange for a cigarrette.
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
Dunno? Although I'm no great fan of Victorian architecture, I have to hand it to them that they were masters of adventurous engineering & appreciated what could be got from the materials of the time in a way that few have managed since.
_angel_
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Aye. There are much much worse stations.
_angel_
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are they not there? the pics?
sorry, i have a headache
I can see the pictures of erm glorious Keighley.
editor
hiraethified
Seeing as I was specifically talking about a modern, large station, could you give some relevant examples please rather than stating the ruddy obvious?
_angel_
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Like I said New Street. That Manchester one I can't remember (actually, all the Manchester stations except Victoria)
editor
hiraethified
Birmingham New Street was rebuilt over forty years ago. Hardly comparable to Leeds then, which was rebuilt as recently as 2002.
_angel_
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It wasn't completely rebuilt. They did building work to parts of it. And I don't really see the distinction.
You make it sound as if the whole station was just thrown up over the last two years.
It's a wonderful place, that whole jouney from Fort William to Glasgow goes over the moor stopping at tiny stations in the middle of nowhere, one of those train lines worth taking just for the ride.
Ahh, Oxford Road, the bane of my life (especially now they've put ticket barriers in). The exterior's like Sydney Opera House (well, perhaps), the inside is, well, trains are fairly frequent so you don't have to stay. It's funny, on both the lines near me all the old stations were ripped out and replaced with concrete bunkers, except one station that's in a hard to access place. I'm glad they kept it. I'll get a photo and put it up.
If you want a truly hideous station go to Macclesfield. Words cannot describe this. It's part of the trinity of Macclesfield, Stafford and Coventry, the worst medium sized stations and all on the same line.
Preston's nice.
editor
hiraethified
I've no idea why you insist on posting up tosh on this thread but allow me to correct you once again.
Birmingham The station was completely re-built by the British Railways in the mid 1960s, while Leeds was a "major rebuilding project."
_angel_
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What is your point then?
Leeds station isn't *that* different in terms of architecture as it was before. What has been modernised is mainly:
1) There are passenger accessible lifts. Before you needed to book assistance to use the staff only lifts.
2) There are more loos and shops/ vending machines on the platform front.
3) The outside concourse was 'embellished' with more shops
That's it, from a passenger POV. Anyone who claims Leeds Station was going to be radically different, or 'majorally rebuilt' was lying.
Leeds station was never a beauty spot, never the worse it could be. So it remains, just with lifts.
What did you actually expect? The hanging gardens of babylon????
editor
hiraethified
Well, that and the construction of additional approach tracks at the western end of the station, the station growing nearly 50% in size with five new platforms, almost all of the track, points and signals being replaced, the building of a new taxi rank and bus interchange, the entire station canopy being removed and replaced, and a large new footbridge being constructed, replacing the previous underpass.
Makes you wonder how they managed to spend £245 million on that little exercise in window dressing!
LOL.
Editor - I think you seriously need to look up some photos of how cack Leeds Station used to be. I agree the new model is just a meccano set job, but at least yet it's not covered in ads.
As for Hebden Bridge (re-rails thread), that's not been done up recently - it was like that when I was at school in the 80s, and getting trains there regularly. All the stations on the Aire Valley, Wharfe Valley and Manchester lines out of Leeds are worth checking out, really.
As for Hebden Bridge (re-rails thread), that's not been done up recently - it was like that when I was at school in the 80s, and getting trains there regularly. All the stations on the Aire Valley, Wharfe Valley and Manchester lines out of Leeds are worth checking out, really.
editor
hiraethified
Hey, I've no doubt that Leeds used to look shit but that doesn't excuse the crappy thing that's there now.
Sure it's not the worst station in the world, but seeing as we departed from that awful Mecanno/airport hybrid and ended our journey at the delightful Hebden Bridge, it really made me think of how poor the architecture was.
You just know that the new Leeds isn't expected to last more than 30-40 years before it falls apart and I find that kind of short-term, bodge-it design philosophy depressing.
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
Had the pleasure last year of doing a gig on the platform of Loughborough station! V.Bizarre idea and a clever bit of marketing for the sponsors but I was more interested in the place!
I know it`s not a true working station but it was still great to see it so well looked after. We even wandered down to the loco sheds to see them restoring the old steam locos.
Few pics..
and some of the old signage was great!
Was a bit tricky sound checking when you get the shunting locos rumbling past every 5 mins
One of my nicest days of last year
.p.
I know it`s not a true working station but it was still great to see it so well looked after. We even wandered down to the loco sheds to see them restoring the old steam locos.
Few pics..
and some of the old signage was great!
Was a bit tricky sound checking when you get the shunting locos rumbling past every 5 mins
One of my nicest days of last year
.p.
