Favourite UK Stations?

[yorksrob]

I agree Lancaster station is very good. Architectueally nice, decent facilities and plenty of cover.

I also find it very handy for the football and various pubs.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I must admit,Birmingham New Street Doesn't do it for me. Yes, it's a lot better than the mess that was above the platforms until a few
years ago, but it's still a shopping centre with smokey dark platforms underneath.

It's interesting how we are completely opposite in our appreciation of stations. New St isn't great "below deck", but above deck I really quite like it - it's practical, it's large, it's airy and it has excellent facilities of all kinds - everything Manchester Victoria doesn't. (The one thing it has in common is the plastic roof, which I think they will come to regret, though at least it doesn't leak yet). The one main annoyance is the split ticket barriers at the A end, but that wasn't avoidable without making significant changes to the rebuild which would have come at massive cost.

I get the feeling you like "interesting" whereas I like "practical and consistent" - I think it may actually be similar to the way we strongly differ with regard to what the role of the Atherton line should be.

I agree Lancaster station is very good. Architectueally nice, decent facilities and plenty of cover.

Lancaster isn't bad and has nice heritage features (like the rest of the rather nice small city it is), but I wouldn't say it has "decent facilities", it has a couple of coffee places and that's it. However, it is (give or take a big hill) very near the city centre so the facilities (i.e. shops etc) can be used there, and if I have a change there that's what I will usually do.

Apart from the site it's not hugely dissimilar to being a larger version of Penrith which is also quite pleasant, station facilities are provided by the McDonalds outside

Oxenholme is again architecturally quite nice (with a bit of a Lakeland feeling twist on the Windermere platform) but has very poor facilities and is essentially in the middle of a field (location similar to Cheddington, really).

 

[Mikey C]

Picking a few common ones, Birmingham Moor Street, York, Huddersfield, Glasgow Central

Picking something a bit different, especially as I used it a lot 20 years ago, Canary Wharf DLR station. I always liked the roof, and its size and grandeur really stood out when compared to the basic DLR platforms elsewhere on the network

 

[bluespaul]

Hoveton and Wroxham.

 

[Radley]

So you signed up because you want people to basically write your newspaper/journal article for you, but don't want to explicitly say.

No actually. I just thought it would be nice to see what people would say. Maybe not just jump to conclusions?

If I really wanted people to help me with writing a journal article, I would have specifically said that, but that would come across as selfish and lazy.

We're all one community so I thought starting off my first post with a open Q/A style chat would be nice.

No actually. I just thought it would be nice to see what people would say. Maybe not just jump to conclusions?

If I really wanted to write a journal article, I would have specifically said that, but that would come across as selfish and lazy.

We're all one community so I thought starting off my first post with a open Q/A style chat would be nice.

I'm just opening up a room for discussion, because that's one of many purposes of a forum, is it not?

 

[Llandudno]

Deganwy, beautiful place to wait for a train (provided it’s not raining) stunning views across the Conwy Estuary to Conwy Castle and the Carneddau Mountains beyond.

No facilites at the station, of course, but a couple of decent cafes within 100 yards of the station plus on Deganwy’s pedestrianised promenade a little beach hut selling various snacks and drinks in the summer.

 

[Purple Orange]

It's not. I hate the place, it's one of my least favourite stations. It's out of date and not designed for passenger benefit; a victim of 1990s cost cutting that nobody will properly fix. It's like old New St (which was, probably deliberately, a bit of a mini-Euston) but worse.

Yes, the tram bit looks a bit German and has some nice architecture (why does Metrolink get the best bit?), but the rest of it is just horrid. And the new plastic roof is just cheap and nasty (and leaks).



I'm not even that convinced about the building. It has a nice map and an olde worlde wooden ticket office. It's impractically shaped, the roof leaks, the new bit is like New St where someone's set fire to a massive pool of diesel, its main feature is a row of ticket barriers with a big ugly advertising panel above it (couldn't they just put something useful up there instead like a departure board?), it doesn't even have a main departure board, the toilets are absolutely disgusting (even worse since they became free) and it's served mostly by a third rate TOC. Add that it's freezing in winter. It's just awful. A third world mess. Literally nothing good about it.

It was borderline adequate when it basically just played host to local services. It is now TPE's main station (a grown up TPE which is much more InterCity than previous instances of it), and for that it is downright unacceptable.

If the Arena fails when the new one opens, and I really hope it does, it'll be a great opportunity to flatten the lot (other than the small fancy building) and rebuild it to proper European Hbf standards.

Piccadilly, by contrast, 13/14 aside, is a wonderful station. Great facilites, light, airy, nice architecture etc. Feels like a proper big-city Hbf.

The arena won’t go. With a new arena at Eastlands, some of the scenario outcomes for the current arena are:

• The arena succeeds and carries on.
• The arena fails and then the owners are faced with a choice:
  • Another operator comes along who believe they can make a success​
  • The arena is closed and mothballed, awaiting the best offer​
  • Potential future owners may see other viable options, such as office or residential new build​
  • The arena is closed and NR acquire the ability to build more through platforms.​

There are more scenarios that mean the station can’t expand than can, but even if it does, would expanding Victoria be a priority? The mood music is that Piccadilly will become the focus for long distance train services if an integrated NPR & HS2 station is realised, therefore Vic will return to being a station purely for local/regional services.

I agree that the wrong decision was made in the 90s to reduce Victoria to the size it is, but if they had taken the decision to create 6 through platforms, it may have been operationally stronger for the long term, but we’d still be stuck with a New Street feel.

Perhaps the future development of Victoria rests on too many variables. The success of the arena (which has been a huge success since it opened), how does NPR manifest and whether there are competing options for that land. Even if it is expanded, I would expect office or residential development to be incorporated in the overall scheme.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Perhaps the future development of Victoria rests on too many variables. The success of the arena (which has been a huge success since it opened), how does NPR manifest and whether there are competing options for that land. Even if it is expanded, I would expect office or residential development to be incorporated in the overall scheme.

To be fair on that one, the "New St style" concrete-with-stuff-on-top would work reasonably well if DMUs were banned, i.e. it was electric-only. A clean concrete ceiling can actually be an attractive feature with warm LED uplighting - look at the Haagse Tramtunnel for an example (and it's something that would be worth looking at for a rebuilt Liverpool Central, too). It'd take a heck of a lot of cleaning to get it to that state now, though.

Another improvement might be to change the way the Arena is accessed - the Arena bridge really clutters things - if that access to it was removed completely you could probably redo the station footbridge to be, er, less rubbish. Perhaps it'd actually be better if it was just accessed from (directly) outside the station, which would probably aid their security provision, too.

 

[DB]

It's interesting how we are completely opposite in our appreciation of stations. New St isn't great "below deck", but above deck I really quite like it - it's practical, it's large, it's airy and it has excellent facilities of all kinds -

But above the platforms it's more a shopping centre than a railway station!

 

[Bletchleyite]

But above the platforms it's more a shopping centre than a railway station!

It's a combination of the two, which gives rise to excellent facilities. I don't see why people have a problem with combining a railway station and a shopping centre - they are actually quite compatible and the relationship is quite symbiotic (and even was in the days of "old New St" where it was handy to pop upstairs for a Subway, a Starbucks or a Maccies). It's not like airport duty-free where they force you to walk through the shops - that is annoying.

 

[CBlue]

London Kings Cross, it was always my favorite station but ever since it was refurbished, it legitmatley became one of the nicest places in the country. Its so beautiful, the concourse is stunning and the public square is brilliant. I frequently visit there just because its such a nice place to go out to.

Can only agree with this! Kings Cross was always a total dump pre-refurb. Now, it's a very pleasant open space and also far more straightforward to access platforms 9-11 than previously.

 

[Purple Orange]

To be fair on that one, the "New St style" concrete-with-stuff-on-top would work reasonably well if DMUs were banned, i.e. it was electric-only. A clean concrete ceiling can actually be an attractive feature with warm LED uplighting - look at the Haagse Tramtunnel for an example (and it's something that would be worth looking at for a rebuilt Liverpool Central, too). It'd take a heck of a lot of cleaning to get it to that state now, though.

Another improvement might be to change the way the Arena is accessed - the Arena bridge really clutters things - if that access to it was removed completely you could probably redo the station footbridge to be, er, less rubbish. Perhaps it'd actually be better if it was just accessed from (directly) outside the station, which would probably aid their security provision, too.

Yes all of that would help. It’s a big subject. Worthy of a thread?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Can only agree with this! Kings Cross was always a total dump pre-refurb. Now, it's a very pleasant open space and also far more straightforward to access platforms 9-11 than previously.

Agreed, Kings Cross is now very pleasant, compared with the dump it was. The area is improving alongside it, too.

Yes all of that would help. It’s a big subject. Worthy of a thread?

I think so yes, my takeaway has just shown up but I'll create one in a bit and edit this post to link to it.

Edit: new thread to discuss Victoria: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/how-could-manchester-victoria-be-improved.212239/

 

[raetiamann]

My favourites include London Paddington, Manchester Oxford Rd, Newcastle and Glasgow Queen St (though I've not been there since its refurbishment.) I've visited Huddersfield only a couple of times but that was impressive too.

Paddington reminds me of the days, when on a red a redeye out of LHR, I'd stay a the Paddington Hilton, hope on the HEX and be at the airport in no time. Much better than an airport hotel.

Of the small stations I'd have to say Edale is my choice. Fresh air and a good pub next door.

 

[Jamesrob637]

York holds memories for me as a kid.

Dawlish holds wet memories! Manchester Piccadilly is fine too. P13/14 are ok for very short waits.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Manchester Oxford Rd

The unique (listed) architecture of that station is impressive, but in terms of using it it's long been dirty, dowdy, down at heel and has inadequate facilities as well as being too small (in terms of footbridge, concourse and platform space) for the number of people using it, though admittedly not quite as bad as Picc 13/14. Better than Deansgate, but that's also unacceptably poor for a prime city centre station at one end of arguably the North's biggest shopping street.

I did however almost suggest it for the architecture and memories I have associated with it.

 

[Jamesrob637]

The unique (listed) architecture of that station is impressive, but in terms of using it it's long been dirty, dowdy, down at heel and has inadequate facilities as well as being too small (in terms of footbridge, concourse and platform space) for the number of people using it, though admittedly not quite as bad as Picc 13/14. Better than Deansgate, but that's also unacceptably poor for a prime city centre station at one end of arguably the North's biggest shopping street.

I did however almost suggest it for the architecture and memories I have associated with it.

Many I know have memories only of delays and cancellations there pre-COVID!

 

[yorksrob]

It's interesting how we are completely opposite in our appreciation of stations. New St isn't great "below deck", but above deck I really quite like it - it's practical, it's large, it's airy and it has excellent facilities of all kinds - everything Manchester Victoria doesn't. (The one thing it has in common is the plastic roof, which I think they will come to regret, though at least it doesn't leak yet). The one main annoyance is the split ticket barriers at the A end, but that wasn't avoidable without making significant changes to the rebuild which would have come at massive cost.

I get the feeling you like "interesting" whereas I like "practical and consistent" - I think it may actually be similar to the way we strongly differ with regard to what the role of the Atherton line should be.




Lancaster isn't bad and has nice heritage features (like the rest of the rather nice small city it is), but I wouldn't say it has "decent facilities", it has a couple of coffee places and that's it. However, it is (give or take a big hill) very near the city centre so the facilities (i.e. shops etc) can be used there, and if I have a change there that's what I will usually do.

Apart from the site it's not hugely dissimilar to being a larger version of Penrith which is also quite pleasant, station facilities are provided by the McDonalds outside

Oxenholme is again architecturally quite nice (with a bit of a Lakeland feeling twist on the Windermere platform) but has very poor facilities and is essentially in the middle of a field (location similar to Cheddington, really).

Yes, for New street, the split barrier line is an annoyance and puts it in the "not even massively functional" category, along with narrow, pokey stairwells etc.

It's true, I do like "interesting", but somewhere like Brighton, for example, manages to be interesting, beautiful, practical and consistent.

In terms of the others:

Lancaster - I often use the Merchants as a station bar if I have a long wait - just up the hill

Oxenholme - If you walk up the hill for five minutes away from Kendal, there's a decent pup

Penrith - I agree, excellent station and I often make use of the agricultural hotel, just over from Maccie's for a wait.

Manchester Oxford Road as well as having splendid architecture, is great for same/cross platform interchanges. Could do with some tlc though.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's true, I do like "interesting", but somewhere like Brighton, for example, manages to be interesting, beautiful, practical and consistent.

True, and that was where (other than 13/14) I sat Manchester Piccadilly, and to a slightly lesser extent Paddington. A classic station with impressive architecture needn't be rubbish, it's just that a few of them sadly are. Though one thing we should be thankful for is that there are very few stations anywhere on the network that are not nicer now than they were under 1990s BR when things really were down at heel, dowdy and dirty pretty much throughout the network.

 

[Jamesrob637]

True, and that was where (other than 13/14) I sat Manchester Piccadilly, and to a slightly lesser extent Paddington. A classic station with impressive architecture needn't be rubbish, it's just that a few of them sadly are. Though one thing we should be thankful for is that there are very few stations anywhere on the network that are not nicer now than they were under 1990s BR when things really were down at heel, dowdy and dirty pretty much throughout the network.

Plymouth station is not much better than in BR days. But then that reflects central Plymouth in general; only modest improvements compared to London or the Midlands/Northern cities.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

- Dewsbury. Yes, really. It's like an understated version of Huddersfield, but I like the addition of the platform canopies, the wrought-iron supports and the classic bridge. It doesn't feel like it should be in Dewsbury. The West Riding Refreshment Rooms are of course excellent, probably my favourite station pub. Also the origin of my first British Rail journey.

This. I've often joked that the station and pub are the highlights of Dewsbury, and that it's downhill all the way once you step outside (both metaphorically and topographically). A shame really as the town centre has some lovely bits of architecture hidden amongst the vacant shops and 1970s concrete. It's really only an accident of history that Dewsbury has the service it does, whilst nearby Batley was a more significant town after the industrial revolution. However Dewsbury Wellington Road is right next to a centralised town centre whereas Batley is more of a sprawl and the town centre is some distance from the railway.

 

[Pit_buzzer]

I quite like Hull, using the excess space to make a bus station has really worked well and the large flower shop on the concourse really adds something to it

 

[Bigman]

Being a rail and aircraft enthusiast, it has to be Clapham Junction. Got serious had cramp from writing numbers (and aircraft registrations) down when I went there for the for first time on 20 years last year. Leeds, London Bridge and Stockport are also favourites for the same reason.

 

[yorksrob]

True, and that was where (other than 13/14) I sat Manchester Piccadilly, and to a slightly lesser extent Paddington. A classic station with impressive architecture needn't be rubbish, it's just that a few of them sadly are. Though one thing we should be thankful for is that there are very few stations anywhere on the network that are not nicer now than they were under 1990s BR when things really were down at heel, dowdy and dirty pretty much throughout the network.

I don't know about elsewhere, but NSE wasn't down at heel in the 1990's.

 

[trebor79]

It's a combination of the two, which gives rise to excellent facilities. I don't see why people have a problem with combining a railway station and a shopping centre - they are actually quite compatible and the relationship is quite symbiotic (and even was in the days of "old New St" where it was handy to pop upstairs for a Subway, a Starbucks or a Maccies). It's not like airport duty-free where they force you to walk through the shops - that is annoying.

I've only used New Street a couple of times but I find it utterly confusing. Both times I found myself wandering around in a bewildered state. Once looking for the way into the Leon, which appeared to be behind a barrier line, but wasn't. The other time looking for a way out of the place! It's a shopping mall with some platform entrances scattered seemingly at random to the uninitiated.

 

[yorksrob]

I quite like Hull, using the excess space to make a bus station has really worked well and the large flower shop on the concourse really adds something to it

So do I - so much so, I can forgive it for always having lousy toilets, no matter how many times they rebuild them !

 

[NoMorePacers]

So do I - so much so, I can forgive it for always having lousy toilets, no matter how many times they rebuild them !

The toilets are part of its charm.

 

[matchmaker]

I'd like to throw Wemyss Bay into the mix. It was even better when it had real steamships (plus the unique DEPV Talisman!)

 

[fireftrm]

Whitby, York, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Stalybridge, Sheffield and Durham for their pubs; Bury, Rawtenstall, Kidderminster and Bridgnorth on Heritage lines for the same reason

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't know about elsewhere, but NSE wasn't down at heel in the 1990's.

Possibly the only bit of the network that wasn't, then, in no short measure due to Chris Green's efforts, I guess.

Mind you, I'd say plenty of it was. You can paint all the lamp posts red you like but it doesn't solve the issue of the fact that some parts of it were creaking and operated using elderly slamdoor rolling stock. I think you'd get a totally different feel if you'd used the Northampton Line (say) with the then-nearly-new 321s than if you'd used the LTS, which had for years been termed "the misery line".

But Regional Railways/Provincial was mostly pretty grim, with a feeling of a permanent axe hanging from the ceiling over the top of it all. Victoria Wood's programme really does sum it up well.