Worst examples of BR era "vandalism"?

[Ken H]

I suppose most would think of the demolition of Euston, and the removal of the Doric arch.

But I think this is worse - Its the north concourse at Leeds station, built by LMS in 1937 when they built the Queens Hotel and the Aire Street offices.




But BR made the fine Art Deco concourse into a desolate car park

But then they also built this in front of Worcester Shrub Hill!



(Image shows ugly looking office block)

 

[Lemmy282]

Well the Leeds concourse is now much better, eating outlets all along there.

 

[yorksrob]

Yes, the Wellington Street concourse was in a bad way, but at least it survived to be refurbished and become what is IMO, one of the finest public spaces in Yorkshire (when I first moved to Yorkshire in the 1990's, it was so new that Maccy D's was the only eatery in there).

Far more troubling are the full demolitions - Bradford Exchange, Birmingham Snow Hill etc.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well the Leeds concourse is now much better, eating outlets all along there.

Same thing at Bristol Temple Meads with the old trainshed - and needs the same thing doing to it to give Temple Meads a decent concourse which it presently lacks.

 

[WesternLancer]

I guess the wholesale demolition of lots of small station buildings on some routes, to be replaced by very minimal facilities, must be up there. Many such buildings could presumably have found other uses - eg community or small business use, but at the time I assume there was little appetite for that to happen or perhaps doing the work involved in making it happen.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Same thing at Bristol Temple Meads with the old trainshed - and needs the same thing doing to it to give Temple Meads a decent concourse which it presently lacks.

I believe there was/is a plan to refurbish the Trainshed into retail outlets and some sort of entrance. How that would affect bringing it back into rail use i don`t know.
There are too many examples of corporate destruction to list, both on and off the railway!

 

[Sun Chariot]

It's a fine line, between "a necessary removal of dangerous / deteriorated infrastructure" versus "scandalous destruction". Nostalgic me would love the retention of Glasgow St Enoch and Edinburgh Princes Street and the Woodhead route - but I'm pragmatic enough to accept why they went.

My take on "BR era vandalism": the Network Southeast era - painting nearly every surface in bright red.
At the time, it seemed nothing escaped the darned stuff...

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I believe there was/is a plan to refurbish the Trainshed into retail outlets and some sort of entrance. How that would affect bringing it back into rail use i don`t know.
There are too many examples of corporate destruction to list, both on and off the railway!

The original plans for GW electrification included putting trains back into the Brunel shed, didn't they? Must admit that I didn't think Temple Meads was short on capacity as it is, even with the originally planned extra trains from Paddington via Filton and Parkway. From a passenger point-of-view the lack of a proper entrance concourse is more glaring absence than a few extra east-facing terminus platforms.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

But then they also built this in front of Worcester Shrub Hill!

View attachment 153601

(Image shows ugly looking office block)

The question to ask is what was the occupancy take-up of the office block when built.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Hull Paragon was a shocker with the divisional office plonked at the front in place of the porte-cochère - happily now demolished.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hull Paragon was a shocker with the divisional office plonked at the front in place of the porte-cochère - happily now demolished.

Yes, didn't BR build a number of these office blocks in the general period concerned, not the greatest architecture from the period concerned. Wasn't there one outside Sheffield station too.

Who worked in them? Presumably they were for various staff carrying out duties that are no longer required, due to changing nature of the railway business as well as technological change in the tasks concerned. Where had such jobs been located before? - presumably spread about various old buildings in the railway estate in the towns concerned.

 

[Wolfie]

It's a fine line, between "a necessary removal of dangerous / deteriorated infrastructure" versus "scandalous destruction". Nostalgic me would love the retention of Glasgow St Enoch and Edinburgh Princes Street and the Woodhead route - but I'm pragmatic enough to accept why they went.

My take on "BR era vandalism": the Network Southeast era - painting nearly every surface in bright red.
At the time, it seemed nothing escaped the darned stuff...

The Network Southeast red was about trying to unify multiple diverse lines. It was the station equivalent of painting all the trains in NSE livery. I understand the logic but at times as you say it felt like overkill.

 

[Sun Chariot]

The Network Southeast red was about trying to unify multiple diverse lines .. but at times as you say it felt like overkill.

Absolutely agree - as a "brand" exercise, it was superb. But that bloomin' red paint was even used on my local station's grass!

 

[Wolfie]

Absolutely agree - as a "brand" exercise, it was superb. But that bloomin' red paint was even used on my local station's grass!

Hmmm.... Ex-military staff??? lol

 

[32475]

Christ’s Hospital Station in Sussex springs to mind as does Fort William and Oban.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The original plans for GW electrification included putting trains back into the Brunel shed, didn't they?

I believe so,but Bristol Panel is in the way and there doesn’t seem to be any rush to abolish it. Part of the trainshed was removed to build the panel box too!

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Yes, didn't BR build a number of these office blocks in the general period concerned, not the greatest architecture from the period concerned. Wasn't there one outside Sheffield station too.

Who worked in them? Presumably they were for various staff carrying out duties that are no longer required, due to changing nature of the railway business as well as technological change in the tasks concerned. Where had such jobs been located before? - presumably spread about various old buildings in the railway estate in the towns concerned.

Quite a few monstrous 'Rail Houses' were built when the divisional structure was introduced - Zetland House in Middlesbrough was another. As the traffic fell away divisions were first merged and then abolished altogether.

In Manchester, Rail House was built alongside Piccadilly with staff moving out of the old L & Y HQ building at Victoria - this was derelict for years before being finally demolished. Ironically, NR staff from Square One at Piccadilly are to move back to Victoria to the offices in the station building which are currently being refurbished.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The trainshed buildings at Exeter St Thomas and the temporary (!) wooden Brunel (?) station building at Starcross.

 

[WesternLancer]

Quite a few monstrous 'Rail Houses' were built when the divisional structure was introduced - Zetland House in Middlesbrough was another. As the traffic fell away divisions were first merged and then abolished altogether.

In Manchester, Rail House was built alongside Piccadilly with staff moving out of the old L & Y HQ building at Victoria - this was derelict for years before being finally demolished. Ironically, NR staff from Square One at Piccadilly are to move back to Victoria to the offices in the station building which are currently being refurbished.

Thank you - that's interesting to read.

And I see online Rail House now seems to be used (according to its owners) by various govt departments including Highways England.

 

[The exile]

The original plans for GW electrification included putting trains back into the Brunel shed, didn't they? Must admit that I didn't think Temple Meads was short on capacity as it is, even with the originally planned extra trains from Paddington via Filton and Parkway. From a passenger point-of-view the lack of a proper entrance concourse is more glaring absence than a few extra east-facing terminus platforms.

It’s not just platform capacity that’s tight (at times) at Temple Meads. The access stairs to platforms 13/15 are not up to coping with full trainloads- guess which platforms most London services use.
But if (and I know it’s a big if) the extra Severn Beach line and Cardiff services materialise (Henbury’s basically an extension of the existing Filton shuttle) it’s going to get cosy at times.TM may have 13 usable platforms but only if everything goes out the way it came in. A lot does, but by no means everything, and even without locos to run round, reversals take time.

 

[Welly]

Birmingham New Street being turned into "The Hole"

 

[Helvellyn]

Whilst everyone slams BR for the demolition of the old LNWR Euston Station they were nearly beaten to it... by the LMS! Seems there were plans to build something similar to what was done at Leeds Wellington Station but on a much larger scale. Interesting to contemplate that we may have lost the old station sooner but would BR then have needed to redevelop a single large Art Deco station in the 1960s?

 

[Mat17]

I think most 1950s-60s brutalist architecture is abysmal. It has its place in history but to my eye, most cities look better when it's torn down.

Shame the can't totally demolish New Street and start again with something above ground. It makes Hull look grand.

 

[yorksrob]

I guess the wholesale demolition of lots of small station buildings on some routes, to be replaced by very minimal facilities, must be up there. Many such buildings could presumably have found other uses - eg community or small business use, but at the time I assume there was little appetite for that to happen or perhaps doing the work involved in making it happen.

The removal of platform canopies in these instances has been quite problematic. Many would have been useful with climate change.

It's a fine line, between "a necessary removal of dangerous / deteriorated infrastructure" versus "scandalous destruction". Nostalgic me would love the retention of Glasgow St Enoch and Edinburgh Princes Street and the Woodhead route - but I'm pragmatic enough to accept why they went.

My take on "BR era vandalism": the Network Southeast era - painting nearly every surface in bright red.
At the time, it seemed nothing escaped the darned stuff...

The red can be painted over. However a lot of Victorian timber stations from the old South Eastern Railway were rather needlessly demolished at the time (you can still see one at Pluckley, amongst others).

[QUOTE="Mat17, post: 6668679, ]

Shame the can't totally demolish New Street and start again with something above ground. It makes Hull look grand.
[/QUOTE]

Hull Paragon is grand.

 

[gg1]

Birmingham New Street being turned into "The Hole"

A few years ago I was told by someone who used to use it regularly in the 1950s and early 60s that the old MR/LNWR New Street wasn't much to write home about either, Snow Hill being a much nicer station.

The decision to demolish and completely rebuild New Street in the 60s was IMO the right one (for one thing the old station only had 8 through platforms), the mistake was burying it under a shopping centre.

 

[Davester50]

I quite liked the old post-war 1950s Dundee Tay Bridge seen below



To be replaced with this in the 1980s with naff cladding in ecru.




Both pics from Dundee City Archives on Flickr

 

[Recessio]

The old 'temporary' canopy outside King's Cross was pretty awful. Luckily no lasting damage done.

Building a shopping centre on top of half of London Victoria station - I'm not sure what was there before, but I hope it wasn't more of lovely glass trainshed...

 

[yorksrob]

The old 'temporary' canopy outside King's Cross was pretty awful. Luckily no lasting damage done.

Building a shopping centre on top of half of London Victoria station - I'm not sure what was there before, but I hope it wasn't more of lovely glass trainshed...

I didn't mind the old Kings Cross canopy.

In terms of London Vic, the rather grand glass trainshed over the concourse continued down to the road bridge, so it is indeed a shame that it was lost as it cuts the vista that waiting passengers get in half.

There was another trainshed the other side of the road bridge which was less of a loss.

 

[Magdalia]

The old 'temporary' canopy outside King's Cross was pretty awful. Luckily no lasting damage done.

I didn't mind the old Kings Cross canopy.

I'm with Recessio on this one, the 1970s "temporary canopy" was hideous, and I speak as someone who commuted through it for most of its lifetime.

The Western concourse is a huge improvement.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

I'm with Recessio on this one, the 1970s "temporary canopy" was hideous, and I speak as someone who commuted through it for most of its lifetime.

The Western concourse is a huge improvement.

To be fair, the 1970s effort was an improvement on the collection of 'huts' that preceeded it.