shadow_in_the_water
STRAND STATION PICCADILLY RLY
underground-history.co.uk/aldwych.php
Aldwych Station, originally named Strand Station, formed part of the Great Northern Piccadilly & Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), one of three tube lines opened 1906-7 by the Underground Electric Railways Co of London Ltd (UERL). The City & South London Railway - the world's first deep tube line - had opened in 1890 from the City to Stockwell, and although a flurry of proposals for further routes ensued, progress was hampered by lack of capital. The Central London Railway (later the Central Line) opened in 1900 from Bank to Shepherd's Bush. From 1901-2 the American transport entrepreneur, Charles Tyson Yerkes, acquired four dormant companies: the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR); the Brompton & Piccadilly Circus Railway and the Great Northern & Strand Railway (GN&SR), which he merged as the GNP&BR, and the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway; the three were incorporated into the UERL. Yerkes died in 1905 before the tube lines were completed.
The GNP&BR, or 'Piccadilly Railway' or 'Tube', opened on 15 December 1906, running from the Great Northern & City Line terminus at Finsbury Park to the District Railway station at Hammersmith, with 16 intermediate stations, increased to 19 in 1907. A station at the Strand had been planned as the terminus of the GN&SR, but after the merger with the B&PCR it was left as a spur to the main line. In 1910 the three combined UERL tubes were formally merged as the London Electric Railway (LER) and the GNP&BR became the Piccadilly Line.
The Strand branch opened on 30 November 1907. Three lift shafts were drilled, but only one was installed with lifts. Apart from a short-lived late-night service for theatre-goers, the line never operated through trains to Strand, running a shuttle service to and from Holborn. The station was renamed Aldwych on 9 June 1915 to avoid confusion with the Charing Cross CCE&HR station which changed its name to Strand on that date. The number of commuters was far less than anticipated, and the second track closed in 1917. The station was closed during WWII for use as an air-raid shelter and the disused platform and running tunnel provided storage for artefacts from the British Museum. The station closed in 1994 due to the cost of renewing lift machinery, and since then has been used for filming and events.
STRAND STATION PICCADILLY RLY
underground-history.co.uk/aldwych.php
Aldwych Station, originally named Strand Station, formed part of the Great Northern Piccadilly & Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), one of three tube lines opened 1906-7 by the Underground Electric Railways Co of London Ltd (UERL). The City & South London Railway - the world's first deep tube line - had opened in 1890 from the City to Stockwell, and although a flurry of proposals for further routes ensued, progress was hampered by lack of capital. The Central London Railway (later the Central Line) opened in 1900 from Bank to Shepherd's Bush. From 1901-2 the American transport entrepreneur, Charles Tyson Yerkes, acquired four dormant companies: the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR); the Brompton & Piccadilly Circus Railway and the Great Northern & Strand Railway (GN&SR), which he merged as the GNP&BR, and the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway; the three were incorporated into the UERL. Yerkes died in 1905 before the tube lines were completed.
The GNP&BR, or 'Piccadilly Railway' or 'Tube', opened on 15 December 1906, running from the Great Northern & City Line terminus at Finsbury Park to the District Railway station at Hammersmith, with 16 intermediate stations, increased to 19 in 1907. A station at the Strand had been planned as the terminus of the GN&SR, but after the merger with the B&PCR it was left as a spur to the main line. In 1910 the three combined UERL tubes were formally merged as the London Electric Railway (LER) and the GNP&BR became the Piccadilly Line.
The Strand branch opened on 30 November 1907. Three lift shafts were drilled, but only one was installed with lifts. Apart from a short-lived late-night service for theatre-goers, the line never operated through trains to Strand, running a shuttle service to and from Holborn. The station was renamed Aldwych on 9 June 1915 to avoid confusion with the Charing Cross CCE&HR station which changed its name to Strand on that date. The number of commuters was far less than anticipated, and the second track closed in 1917. The station was closed during WWII for use as an air-raid shelter and the disused platform and running tunnel provided storage for artefacts from the British Museum. The station closed in 1994 due to the cost of renewing lift machinery, and since then has been used for filming and events.