Ugliest railway stations in the UK

[nino_savatte]

The govt site's been demolished now. I quite like those 3 stations though - classic inter war Southern Railway architecture.

linky to mahoosive pic

My experience of these stations has been blighted by wind, rain and the greyness of the concrete. I forgot to mention Malden Manor, which was also built at the same time. The nearby estate is a soulless place where Kingston dumps many of its council tenants. it's a great place to look at burned-out cars.

Didn't Tesco apply to build a superstore on that gov't site?

 

[_pH_]

My experience of these stations has been blighted by wind, rain and the greyness of the concrete. I forgot to mention Malden Manor, which was also built at the same time. The nearby estate is a soulless place where Kingston dumps many of its council tenants. it's a great place to look at burned-out cars.

Didn't Tesco apply to build a superstore on that gov't site?

My brother used to live there

Don't know about Tesco, long time since I lived in Tolworth

 

[nino_savatte]

My brother used to live there

Don't know about Tesco, long time since I lived in Tolworth

The poor soul. It's a good thing he got out. Malden Manor is the only place that I've seen in a while where the chemists is closed and boarded up. I guess it had been raided one too many times.

 

[_pH_]

Innit

MM is a bit grim, but the walk along the Hogsmill is quite nice

 

[nino_savatte]

Innit

MM is a bit grim, but the walk along the Hogsmill is quite nice

I agree, the Hogsmill walk is very nice.

 

[_pH_]

do you know that part of the world then nino?

 

[nino_savatte]

do you know that part of the world then nino?

Aye, I used to work as a cycling instructor for Kingston council, so I know that part of the world pretty well. I had to work at a school on the Sunray Estate (the area outside the local school had one of those dispersal orders slapped on it last year) last year, which is how I found out about Tesco. But I heard that there was a huge petition of local residents being organised but I don't know if Tesco got their own way or not.

 

[_pH_]

Aye, I used to work as a cycling instructor for Kingston council, so I know that part of the world pretty well. I had to work at a school on the Sunray Estate (the area outside the local school had one of those dispersal orders slapped on it last year) last year, which is how I found out about Tesco. But I heard that there was a huge petition of local residents being organised but I don't know if Tesco got their own way or not.

was that Knollmead school? I went there!

 

[boing!]

Tolworth, Chessington North, Chessington South (all built at the same time and all are wind-swept soulless places. Tolworth station is next to a derelict former goverment site).

I was going to suggest these. Chessington North used to be my local station. Was pretty grim.

Also, Hampton Court station from the outside looks surprisingly crap, which is especially bad seeing as its next to a major tourist destination.

 

[nino_savatte]

was that Knollmead school? I went there!

Yep, it was Knollmead. There was an incident last year where groups of youths were congregating outside the school gates and setting fire to things.

 

[nino_savatte]

I was going to suggest these. Chessington North used to be my local station. Was pretty grim.

Also, Hampton Court station from the outside looks surprisingly crap, which is especially bad seeing as its next to a major tourist destination.

Hampton Court is an odd one and, like you say, if it's near a major tourist attraction, it should at least look a little more attractive.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Oh, Upper Halliford. Nestling under a flyover

 

[Mr T]

Originally Posted by Mr T
You'll be pleased to know that there's a new station building in the pipeline - should be mostly built by this time next year, if not finished!

I thought they were supposed to be doing that atm? It reopens in the spring according to the DLR map on the TfL site.

The current project is to redo the platforms to take the new 3-car trains - its finished and reopened as of last weekend I think. The next project is to redo the station building next year though I don't think funding is confirmed yet.

 

[Fledgling]

Macclesfield is pretty terrible, gonna have to find a pic. Stafford on the same line is awful too.


Gosh remember dragging myself up the hill from Soton Central, on one side you had those grey flats and the other welcomed you onto a trading estate. Get the train from Manc to Soton and you go through: Macclefield, Stafford, Wolverhampton, New Street, International, Coventry, Oxford and Reading stations eventually arriving in Southampton. Toss apart from Winchester station.


Still Fort William has been the one small place they've really ruined. That shit shopping centre and shit carriage way urghh, though one good thing about the station there is that if you're travelling back south you have a wonderful train journey to look forward to.

 

[teuchter]

Still Fort William has been the one small place they've really ruined. That shit shopping centre and shit carriage way urghh, though one good thing about the station there is that if you're travelling back south you have a wonderful train journey to look forward to.

Conversely it's a rather anticlimactic end to possibly the finest rail journey in the UK, going northwards.

Recently I've also been getting a bit upset about the effects of the adjacent road improvements on the line from Fort William to Mallaig. The approach into Mallaig by rail was spoiled somewhat a while ago by the widening of the road in between the rail line and the seashore, but over the past few years they have been progressively widening the road on the stretch down to Arisaig and beyond, and each time I take the train along there another bit of the view has been carved up by massive cuttings and embankments for the road. It's not just an aesthetic thing; to me it's an illustration of the pro-road bias (as was the destruction of Fort William station) - supposedly the improvements are partly to ease the congestion caused by the lorries bringing fish south from Mallaig harbour - why not make improvements to the rail line instead, or invest in incentives for more freight to go by rail? That's what it was built for all those years ago, to take the fish traffic.....

/rant

 

[Homeless Mal]

Oh dear.

Not so Great Yarmouth.

Shocking eh

 

[Passdout]

The waiting room at Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex

Edit: Didn't read the thread as I was so excited to have a chance to post that pic

And a few miles away from there is this monstrosity

 

[laptop]

'Bout time I offered my usual nomination on these threads:



Angel Road, Edmonton


Photo taken from the flyover under which part nestles.

Scrapyards to the left of you, scrapyards to the right: entrance is a long sloping path between spiked fences behind which are - you guessed?


E2A: Pacific Ocean has anticipated me...

 

[teuchter]

Oh dear.

Not so Great Yarmouth.

Couldn't find it earlier but here is a picture I took in Great Yarmouth station last summer.

Welcome to the seaside.

 

[Velouria]

How would you know if you just pass through it?
It has a pub!

Dundee station has a bar too.

Or, did last time I was there

So does Edinburgh Waverley.

What other 'wet' stations are there?

 

[quimcunx]

Couldn't find it earlier but here is a picture I took in Great Yarmouth station last summer.


Welcome to the seaside.

That's put me right in the mood for an icecream.

Dundee station has a bar too.

Or, did last time I was there

So does Edinburgh Waverley.

What other 'wet' stations are there?

Think it still does. Don't all railway stations of any size have one?

 

[SK.]

Anyone ever travelled via Basildon? urgggh I used to live there years ago. this was one nasty looking station, I can't find a decent picture of the front entrance/stairwell

And this is Pitsea which is the next station along. Truly hideous and Essex at it's best. the London-Tilbury-Southend line I would guess probably has it's fair share of ugly stations

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Head of Steam.
We've had a few Urban drinks in there over the years.

And now (as I read further down) it's the Doric Arch. Is it still good?

(I only ask because I have friends who are going to stay in Bloomsbury in May so I was going to recommend it, but if it's now just a standard Fuller's rather than a multi-beer pub it may not be worth it.)

 

[pogofish]

Think it still does. Don't all railway stations of any size have one?

Aberdeen still does. Can't remember for Inverness & Perth.

 

[HackneyE9]

And now (as I read further down) it's the Doric Arch. Is it still good?

(I only ask because I have friends who are going to stay in Bloomsbury in May so I was going to recommend it, but if it's now just a standard Fuller's rather than a multi-beer pub it may not be worth it.)

It ok, but not as good as it was.

 

[HackneyE9]

Dundee station has a bar too.

Or, did last time I was there

So does Edinburgh Waverley.

What other 'wet' stations are there?

Huddersfield has the best station pub of any station - but maybe that's a separate thread....

 

[Roadkill]

Come to think of it, Harrow on the Hill station is quite impressively ugly.

Much larger image here.

I'm sure to some people it's a fine example of 1930s railway architecture, but I think it looks rather forbidding and gloomy.

 

[PacificOcean]

Does anyone know why it's Harrow-on-the-Hill and not just Harrow Hill?

 

[teuchter]

I'm sure to some people it's a fine example of 1930s railway architecture,

A decent example of 1930s railway architecture, somewhat disfigured in the years since.

The platform canopies are quite nice, like many on that line.

 

[ViolentPanda]

One of my least favourite stations has to be Watford Junction, if only for the truly appalling access, and the sheer ugliness of the place.

The picture, of course, tells a slight lie. The taxi-rank, parking and roadways in front of the station are usually choc-a-bloc with traffic including buses from the bus station next door. It's a total cluster-fuck.