I'd be in favour of having it rebuilt.

@boldford

4 жыл бұрын

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euston_Arch

@Wade_Wilson

3 жыл бұрын

Euston Arch Reconstruction BBC London Report 09/02/2015 kzread.info/dash/bejne/i6umuqaTo8fdmM4.html

@user-ky6vw5up9m

3 жыл бұрын

Ok you put some money in the pot firsr.

@pooletrainboy

3 жыл бұрын

Your in luck!

I'm fascinated by The Euston Arch. It just seems so tragic, knowing something that grand was demolished. Looking at photos, it doesn't look like something that existed, but otherworldly.

@meganbaute4254

11 ай бұрын

It looks otherworldly because is was otherworldly 👁️

The same thing happened in New York at around the same time. The old Penn Station was demolished to build a sports arena. This caused enough of an uproar that Grand Central, and many other stations around the country, were spared from the "urban renewal" craze in the following years.

@Atomsk102

4 жыл бұрын

@Mr Spoon Yes, that was the "urban renewal craze" I mentioned. Many cities across the country were effected, not just New York. They saw it as a way to reverse the "flight to the suburbs" (which it didn't). However, the fate of Penn Station focused attention on preservation of historically significant buildings, in the U.S., like Euston did in the UK.

@johnmurray8428

3 жыл бұрын

Gran Central Station is now a joy to see. Penn Station is a massive disappointment.

@Atomsk102

3 жыл бұрын

@@johnmurray8428 agreed

@bobblue_west

3 жыл бұрын

@@johnmurray8428 Thank Jackie Kennedy Onasis for saving Grand Central. Mind numbing to think it was going to be demolished.

@sherlockjwl

3 жыл бұрын

The thing that hurts most about the loss of Penn Station, to me, is that the architects of the original terminal obviously designed it to last centuries, a monument to rail, to New York, to America, even, and it barely lasted half a century.

Euston Station: rebuilt in the "Whatever, we'd rather be down the pub getting drunk than actually designing something nice" school of architecture.

@davidjames579

4 жыл бұрын

If they were all frausters (see also Poulson and T Dan Smith), then that's probably the attitude. Would explain a lot of 50's, 60's, 70's buildings.

@JagoHazzard

4 жыл бұрын

It’s kind of crazy that Britain was doing so well in art, music, film, theatre and fashion at the time, but architecture just didn’t get the memo.

@2112jonr

4 жыл бұрын

@@JagoHazzard And arguably still waiting for the post to arrive in 2020....

@Eliteerin

4 жыл бұрын

@@JagoHazzard I'm quite a big fan of the brutalism of the period although I agree that they shouldn't have demolished old Euston and also that Euston is an ugly building

@utterlee

4 жыл бұрын

I think that’s unfair. Whilst the outside of the station is modest and those office blocks dominate, the interior of the booking hall was well designed with interesting and high quality materials and shapes on the flooring and ceilings. Modifications over the years, especially the addition of the mezzanine level and wooden cladding on the surfaces, have been extremely detrimental to the original conception. The low level train shed at the back was always a bit dark and frumpy, mind.

My first job in tunneling was as a chain boy assisting the engineer with his survey and build QA. This was on an existing tunnel that needed electrification mounted in the roof of the tunnel so the tunnel had to be enlarged. The tunnel ran from chalk farm, under the roundhouse to the marshaling yard at Euston, it was used to run empty carriages into the station. A short while later I was employed again as a chain boy resurveying the streets around Euston in preparation for the upcoming Victoria Line Tube. I can remember the Arch but it and the gardens were just a hang out for wino's and Ladies of the Night. Trouble was we were working at night when foot traffic was lighter. The next time I visited Euston was on the construction of the Victoria line station, for that we constructed access shafts and new passageways plus some lift shafts. I also worked out at Walthamstow digging the tubes lines and stations. The 60s were swinging for me, a nice fat wage packet each week, girls in mine shirts and a Mini Cooper, a young lads paradise.

@suginami123

2 жыл бұрын

Excellent account. Thank you.

@DadgeCity

8 ай бұрын

is "mine shirts" a typo?

@TheByard

8 ай бұрын

Yes, but some of the shirts were as small as the miniskirts. Braless as well. Tough life but some of us had to do it.@@DadgeCity

Practicality vs Nostalgia, over and over and over and over again and again and again...

They have found the arch and refurbished it and plans is to put the arch in new Euston Station.

@paullewis2413

4 жыл бұрын

I don’t see how they can find something that was destroyed. A few sections maybe but no attempt was made at the time to preserve most of the original. Do you have more info. on this ?

@boldford

4 жыл бұрын

@@paullewis2413 For more complete information, have a read here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euston_Arch

@alexbonham2361

4 жыл бұрын

Yes Dan crackshacks researched where builders dumped the build and most was used to fill in a water way. So drivers was used to bring back brick work.

@highdownmartin

4 жыл бұрын

Last week I covered the Doric Arch at Euston. I’ll just run through it again

@highpath4776

4 жыл бұрын

@@highdownmartin Most hideous structure I have ever seen . Should have been left where it was.

I still find it amazing that in a city which loves to demolish things as much as Birmingham does, the original terminus at Curzon Street has survived all these years.

Jago - You’ve scored a hit here! I ‘ve never seen so many public comments on one subject. Excellent video, as expected. I saw Euston being demolished in March 1963, and saw the original Stephenson roofs, not yet taken down. I hated the 1960s, when it felt like half the railway system was being smashed up. My favourite London termini are Paddington and King’s Cross; both seem to have survived without much of the fine architecture being ruined.

I've always liked the architecture of Fenchurch Street, simple but very attractive.

This is the exact same thing that happened in new york city in the 60s with penn station and penn station is now being rebuilt again

Absolute tragedy that they demolished that beautiful arch

@FreedomLovingLoyalistOfficial

4 жыл бұрын

pretty spare arch.

@neilfranklin5644

4 жыл бұрын

Oh that is for sure they should be made to put it back.

@henrybn14ar

4 жыл бұрын

There was a lot more that was demolished and should not have been and did not need to be.

@chrisinnes2128

3 жыл бұрын

They have found it and are planning to put it back

Kings X was my favourite London terminus , many hours in childhood with my Ian Allen Eastern Region book crossing of the numbers, while eating lunch of corn beef sandwiches at the end of platform 10.

@highpath4776

4 жыл бұрын

Probably the easiest station to do trainspotting in.

I've lived in London for over 20 years, got tired of it, to be honest. Your videos are reigniting the love I had for this "Old Town".

@bohomaturebabe

2 жыл бұрын

Who was it that said: When a man is tired of London he is tired of life....?!

The 'new' Euston made up for a lot of the old stations shortcomings... The parcel deliveries all went (and still go) up onto the roof and the post goes onto the platforms via its own access road beneath the concourse, so they dont interfere with passengers. It was a good system and just a shame that now parcels and mail no longer run on the railways. The big open concourse was a revelation when it opened and, despite what the train spotters will have you believe, was - and is - very popular with passengers. Big departure board in front. Tickets to the left. waiting rooms to the right, underground and taxis behind you. In recent years its all been rejigged with extra food outlets but the basic concept remains. Before then - and this is from my Father - Euston was a maze. For example, trying to catch the tube meant leaving the station and crossing the road to a separate building! The replacement was never pretty on the outside but the addition of the offices between it and the Euston Road in the early 1980s wiped out even the ability to see it! But the rebuild WAS needed, particularly with the addition of the Victoria line at the same time, making sense of the terrible tube station. Much of the old station was no loss architecturally, Its just a shame the Arch and some aspect of the Great Hall, couldnt have been retained

@robtyman4281

4 жыл бұрын

''very popular with passengers'' ....er, like who? No one I know says they love the station. They say it's difficult to find your way around, difficult to find the main entrance (if you're not a Londoner), hardly any seating (though all London's termini have this problem), and generally not that nice to wait around in.

@jimtuite3451

4 жыл бұрын

@@robtyman4281 I agree its hard to find the entrance but thats mainly because of the office blocks that were built between the station and Euston Road in the 1980's. I have seen several passenger BR surveys, old and new. and Euston ALWAYS came top or near the top of 'best station'. Like I said, when reading rail enthusiasts posts, magazines and websites, its easy to believe Euston is hated but thats not the case? Compared to the ins and outs of Victoria (now that IS hard to find your way around), the choking diesel fumes of Paddington and the vastness of Waterloo, Euston scores well with visitors and Londoners alike. Its the nostalgia buffs that dislike it but they arent the ones the railways rely on for income

@hi-viz

4 жыл бұрын

@@jimtuite3451 Yeah I do agree with you on that, Euston is ugly architecturally wise but I find it far more user friendly and easier to navigate than say St. Pancras (this is gonna be controversial), Victoria or Paddington. And don't get me started on Birmingham New Street.

@YetAnotherGeorgeth

4 жыл бұрын

@@hi-viz While the open space of the new shopping centre is better I do agree with you on Birmingham New Street. I remember when it was opened after the rebuild a couple years back and I had no idea where I was supposed to go! As for Euston I don't mind it inside but outside I would say the 80s office blocks do a good job of hiding the building. Unfortunately I wasn't born when the it was in it's former guise, and neither was my dad.

I need to go see Kings X & the modern St Pancras (screens of me and my Ian Allen books from 1955-60), next time I am in the UK. Last time we turned up at Waterloo, what a joy that is now.

About 60% of the stone work still exists. On demolition the remains were used as in fill in the River Lea navigation. Some stones were fished out when the area was done up in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. Another lump was discovered as part of a rockery in Enfield If they do rebuild it, it would be great if as much of the surviving stone as possible was re-used

i luv euston station,my first visit to london from where i live in lancashire all seemed very modern back in 1981 as a 19 year old,then over the years i saw all the other london terminus stations when i visited,euston has a good vibe to it,the station will grow on you,st pancras is amazing,and euston is to me to.

Right to the end of Steam, Camden bank was a problem. The reason for the troughs at Bushey were there so locos at the head of heavy express trains could leave Euston, and climb Camden bank with the tenders half empty, then dip for water at Bushey, where as if the exit been less steap, the troughs would have been around Northampton!

@rjjcms1

3 жыл бұрын

Is there an explanation for the way trains coming in to Euston habitually slow down to a crawl for that last mile or two,after emerging into the daylight from the tunnels around Queens Park,etc.?

@rayfisher3921

Жыл бұрын

@@rjjcms1 Probably because there's another train in front.

This was a video I was thinking of doing. I'm so glad you did it!

Apparently, the main reason for the arch being demolished wasn't to make way for the main line station (which ends well before where the arch was) but to facilitate digging a hole to rebuild the tube station - hence it was demolished well before the rest of the station. Apparently, according to parliamentary records, demolishing it cost £12,000, whereas relocating it would have cost £190,000. While the pieces were numbered, supposedly to allow future reconstruction, the authorities allowed them to be scattered around London on the flimsy excuse that nowhere could be found to store them. Around 60% ended up lining the Prescott Channel, while other bits found their way into the gardens of those involved in the demolition. Sadly, while various people have expressed an interest in seeing it rebuilt, given the government's asked that the new-new station be redesigned (probably at least partially to cut costs, given the spiralling costs of the HS2 project), rebuilding the arch probably won't occur to them (or be cited as too costly - especially if some parts have to be rebuilt due to being unobtainable).

"Even by the bleak standards of Sixties architecture, Euston is one of the nastiest concrete boxes in London: devoid of any decorative merit; seemingly concocted to induce maximum angst among passengers; and a blight on surrounding streets. The design should never have left the drawing-board - if, indeed, it was ever on a drawing-board. It gives the impression of having been scribbled on the back of a soiled paper bag by a thuggish android with a grudge against humanity and a vampiric loathing of sunlight". -- Richard Morrison, The Times

There is a similarly hideous station at the other end - Birmingham new Street - an underground maze with no Ariadne's thread, and a shopping centre above it.

@jmtubbs1639

4 жыл бұрын

Improved above track level with the latest round of alterations? Hell on wheels down below.

@iankemp1131

4 жыл бұрын

But vastly better than it used to be - at least the above ground section is smart now. The most unbelievably stupid decision when rebuilding was not to provide extra tracks to the east to relieve the bottleneck, which is why HS2 will have to go into Curzon Street instead. But at least one will see the "other" arch then!

@jmtubbs1639

4 жыл бұрын

@@iankemp1131 Yes. Even if it is a propylaeum rather than an arch, which is self-supporting.

@frogandspanner

3 жыл бұрын

@@iankemp1131 Try to get a taxi. It used to be 10 paces across the concourse to the taxi rank. Now it's a few hundred metres through a shopping centre. A long walk with luggage in those circumstances is not an improvement. If you are suggesting that the shopping centre is an improvement on the previous shopping centre - I agree. But the station - that bit set aside for travellers - is worse than before. It used to be that you went through the ticket barrier and were presented with different platforms. Now there are 4+ ticket barrier areas, and you can never be sure which one you are going to pop out of on arrival. A single improvement for rail users (apart from a slight widening of platforms) is entry on the same level as the concourse. In the old days having to go up a ramp, across a shopping centre, then down escalators with yobs spitting from above, was unpleasant.

@iankemp1131

3 жыл бұрын

@@jmtubbs1639 Quite so - which is also true of the Euston "arch".

As I live in Birmingham this fascinates me. I've been in the listed entrance building at Curzon St with its beautiful columns on the front, which mirrored the Euston Arch in style. It is the last remaining piece of the B'ham Station & one of the oldest standing pieces of railway architecture in the world. It's going to be incorporated into the new HS2 station.

It was a Propylaeum, not an arch, with side pavilions. I loved the old station and especially the Great Hall which was restored by BR to the original paint scheme. You could read its extensions in the ironwork and even see where the original line had been. I then worked at the new concrete station-cold and soulless. Harold Macmillan, the PM hardly gave the request for demolition a glance. I believe the demolition contractor offered to resite the Propyleum at his own expense. Interestingly, The LMS wanted to rebuild the station before the War. I don't expect they would have saved much either. How Ernest Marples was contractor for the M1 construction while still Minister of Roads (sorry, Transport), beggars belief.

I remember arriving at Euston on my first trip to London. The sixties architecture made a great impression on me.

I used to work at Euston Underground. Knew of the Doric Arch Propylaeum, as I've heard it called. It was sinful and criminal to demolish what was an impressive entrance and structure of giant proportions. The current Euston, rebuilt in the 60's is boring and doesn't have the grandeur of the old station. I can only assume back in the 50's and 60's, unlike now, the appreciation of the heritage value wasn't considered as much. Today we have a tendancy to want to preserve things from times past. I made a model of the Doric Arch in 2001, still have it. It was said some stones are lying about somwhere.

Controversial but having had to deal with Victoria (and on a similar tier, Waterloo) as my main station growing up, I have great appreciation for the interior of Euston and how easy it is to go from tube to train, train to tube, plus the "waiting room" on a mezzanine overlooking the concourse and the departure board. While it interfaces badly with the street and the outside world (trying to find the entrance when walking from St Pancras Thameslink was a nightmare), it is a great interchange and I dread to think what it may look like Post-HS2 given how stations seem to increasingly be mazes.

Really enjoyable video, thanks. My 4x Great Uncle was Matthew Kirtley, He was born in February 1813 in Clough Dene, Tanfield Co Durham. Tanfield was a pioneering place in the development of the railway and Kirtley joined the Stockton & Darlington Railway as an apprentice aged 13 in 1826 and would have worked under either the Stephensons or Timothy Hackworth. He was present as a 16 year old at the Rainhill trials, and he was soon on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway working as a fireman. His career was closely linked to George and Robert Stephenson's and it was with their help that Kirtley’s career progressed - he became an engine driver and by 1836 he was employed by the London & Birmingham railway looking after locomotives and static engines at Camden shed. It is said that it was he who drove the first train into the Euston station.

@rayfisher3921

Жыл бұрын

You've left out what happened next. He became Locomotive Superintendent of the Birmingham & Derby Jnct Rly, which became part of the Midland Railway, which is where he became famous as their first Loco Supt, designing many successful locomotives, dying in office in 1873.

I'm a great fan of St Pancras, so much so that I actually loved prior to the Eurostar. While working on a Masters degree at Leicester I used it frequently.

@JagoHazzard

4 жыл бұрын

I must admit that I slightly miss the old station.

@davidw1518

4 жыл бұрын

@@JagoHazzard Only slightly? It's been desecrated, made into an airport-like shopping mall with a railway attached. I grew up in St Albans, so St Pancras was our London terminal, as it was in later years when I was working in London, and I could buy a bag of plums or cherries at the little fruit stall on the station concourse. I just hate it now.

Euston's main saving grace is it's a simple station to navigate and the departures board is easy to follow, and in recent years, the choice of places to eat and shop is so much better than the British Rail buffet on the first floor and WH Smiths from the old days. Yet it is a boring building, the approach to the platforms is dark and miserable, and the passage to the Underground is claustrophobic.

I used to work in one of the office blocks outside Euston, it was as boring inside as it was outside. My favourite terminus was Broad Street. When I used it in the 70's it was in a dreadful state, and the buffet, or cafe was so neglected that it still had a "Festival of Britain" sticker in the window.

Many of the current buildings at the front of Euston station have been added since the 1960s rebuild BR was expert at either using spare land and air space for office developments and getting income from so doing, or selling surplus land off; around St Pancras, the British Library is on the old Somers Town goods depot site, there is housing on the coal yards around Brill Place, etc - disposal or development of the King's Cross railway lands was delayed by the construction of HS1. They even managed to get a new railway built by developers between Blackfriars and approximately the site of Holborn Viaduct station. Gradually, land in front of the rebuilt Euston was built on, and so now the actual railway station terminal building is difficult to see; it isn't the most beautiful of station termini, but it is practical and very much of its time. If it was to have been rebuilt say thirty years later it would probably have been very different because there wouldn't have been the need to provide facilities for Royal Mail and parcels, and it might then have been possible to have a trainshed with more glass and retain the Propylaeum (but not the Great Hall) - what are now Overground services to Watford have never been more than 120m in length, and so the station could possibly have managed with a couple of short platforms behind it, longer platforms fanning out on either side. Also remember that BR was driven by a simple question when it considered investment in something like the new Euston; how many extra bums on seats would a prettier - and more expensive - station generate?

OMG, I am old! I used Euston for 3 years, as a student at UCL, from 1969. It was almost brand new then, as was the Victoria line. There was no plethora of office blocks then between the station entrance and Euston Square gardens. Now you say it is due a rebuild. OMG indeed!

There are pieces of the arch sitting on the lawn the last time I was in London in 2018. The two small buildings adjacent to it are now very fine pubs. They still need larger loos, though. Great beer selection, check it out!

The Euston Arch is iconic. It would be nice to bring it back. But what did the station look like. I've never seen a satisfactory image of the outside of whatever building was behind that Arch by the time it was destroyed. A former frequent traveller from Euston.

@Martindyna

4 жыл бұрын

I imagine that once you'd walked through the Euston Arch the front of the station building was unremarkable, I'm only guessing though. The interior was beautiful and there are photos available. www.wikiwand.com/en/Euston_railway_station en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euston_Arch#/media/File:Euston_Arch.jpg

@jozg44

4 жыл бұрын

Here's a good aerial view of Euston in 1936 : www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW049910 (you can navigate to different angles too). By this time the late-Victorian hotel had been built across the entrace road, blocking the view of the arch from Euston Road. The aerial views also make clear what the famous lithograph of the station in its early days and many photos of the Arch in the 20th century do not - that the Arch was a long way back from the Road, and that the original lodges which survive today are not the ones which flanked the Arch. As far as I can tell the Arch was pretty much on the spot occupied today by the Krispy Kreme outlet! This is one of the reasons why BR were not too fussed about preserving the Arch - it had been essentially hidden to anyone who wasn't already inside the station precinct and hadn't been the iconic, public-facing symbol that it is often made out to be for the best part of 75 years. Not that I agree at all with it being removed! The aerial photos also show that even the 'old' Euston was something of a mess both in terms of architecture and layout. Which the new one singularly failed to improve on!

@dianapatterson1559

4 жыл бұрын

@@jozg44 Thanks for all this info. I feel it tells us a political, rather than historical truth. But it is what it is.

@henrybn14ar

4 жыл бұрын

There was an elegant walkway at right angles to the platforms. Behind that was the Great Hall and Shareholders' Meeting Room which in the 1950s was used as an exhibition space.

@Martindyna

4 жыл бұрын

@@jozg44 Thanks very much for the information Jack.

2:30 Great still being able to see the cargo rails visible in Camden Market. And two restored examples of the cargo-handling robots that criss-crossed the yard throughout the 1890s and 1900s!

Yes it would be nice to see the arch back . My favorite London Station has to be Paddington.

So that's what that little door on the canal is for! Those buildings near Morrisons too, fascinating vid :) Bring the arch back!!!

"Over arching": a nice pun and yes: it would be great if the 'Arch' was rebuilt ("resurrected").

My dad would have been so pleased if the Arch was rebuilt. Me too.

I have read somewhere that the original plan was to have UCL Hospital rebuilt on top of the station site (bit like Guys even though it's not on top), but as you know it was eventually put on Euston Road. My favourite use of Euston was in a 70s Tomorrow's World special about the Channel Tunnel, they depicted Euston as a "London Central" for all those trains from North of London to the continent.....

Wonderful video, thanks so much for sharing!

Thank goodness architects are beginning to see beyond the dull designs of Le Corbusier and looking to other architectural styles of the past. Resurrecting the arch would surely be the final nail in the coffin of the nightmare urban planning of the 50s and 60s.

In favour of a rebuild..... Mt favourite station has to be St Pancras station

Thanks that was really interesting. Would have liked to have heard a little more about the old station itself and its great hall.

I remember I was visiting Family in coventry we had no idea abot HS2 and when we came back we accidentally got on the new trains we got of the next stop down and had to an hour for another train

In the US there was a similar situation that helped lead to historic preservation. Old Penn Station in New York City was a grand station that was replaced by a station in the basement of the new Madison Square Garden. As a result when Grand Central Station was threatened with being torn down it was preserved and eventually renovated. Today it is a great gem in the middle of the city.

@JagoHazzard

4 жыл бұрын

It’s interesting, a few US enthusiasts have mentioned Penn Station. I looked it up, it was absolutely amazing. Real shame it went.

@amcalabrese1

4 жыл бұрын

@@JagoHazzard Especially what replaced it. The new station is literally in the basement of the city's main indoor arena. But it saved Grand Central, as well as other grand stations like Union Stations in Chicago and Washington. My Euston Station story involved Gordon Brown's children. It was not long after the 2010 election (the Late May Bank holiday weekend about 3 weeks after the election) and we were heading up to Scotland. My kids started climbing over something they probably should not have been climbing on and who joins them but Gordon Brown's kids. Sarah Brown's attempts to get the kids to sit down and behave were about as successful as ours.

I was stationed at Lossiemouth in the early eighties and coming from Gloucestershire, was always torn between Kings Cross for the west coast main line or Euston for the east coast main line. ...in the days when travelling by train was fun.

@rayfisher3921

Жыл бұрын

You must have been torn. It's Kings Cross for the east coast main line, Euston for the west.

My dad used to take me to Euston to watch trains when I was about 8...1956, and what a beautiful station it was then. So depressing to see how little the "modern world" cared for it. Its reconstruction would be welcomed, even though it would be a poignant reminder of how many other wonderful features of the early railways have been destroyed.

‘Hey whatever man’ the Architectural ethos of the modern world of concrete glass and steel. The arch was from a time when folk had pride in what they made and they would make it beautiful, completely pointlessly, just because they could. I love your work Mr Hazzard Sir. I may have mentioned this before.

For Ian Kemp~ Ian, Dr Beeching’s legacy is this: huge areas of the UK are now devoid of railways , and there was no logic to the recommendations for closures on the super scale. So many towns lost railway connections. The most efficient railway route, the Great Central, from Marylebone to Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield, etc., got the chop while Barney Arms in Norfolk (population c 0) is still around. Railwaymen by the hundred thousand lost their careers. As so many people now know, Beeching and Ernest Marples (the worst ever Transport Minister) worked together. I have never met anyone who thought that Beeching was good for the railway industry and the country. One could say far more, but I think that you and I are in opposite corners on this subject.

@jackiespeel6343

Жыл бұрын

And Ernest Marples did a bunk.

Now that was interesting I have heard so many people tell me about Euston’s arch throughout my life I’ve read plenty more Ernest Marples and the short sighted politics that went on back then have severely affected this country’s railways The thought of the Doric arch being reinstated is absolutely amazing As part of a new station fantastic! I personally would be happy to see the current one flattened As you comment no one seems to be upset about it possibly going From a tourist point of view London is about its historic buildings and architecture Let’s put right what was done wrong 😊

Our much awarded architects over the years since 1945 have much to answer for in their destruction of many fine buildings. The cry was and is still ringing in my ears: ‘off with the old and on with the new’. And this was echoed by many in the lower ranks of society within a particular political party. Everything that was modern is better.

I think I’m finally fully caught up. Time to start rewatching 🚂 🚆 🚞

Birmingham Curzon Street Station Arch is the only bit of the terminus station in Brum left. The area is also going through big changes due to HS2. With the Arch being a part of the development.

"Railways are outdated and wasteful." -British Railways.

Jago - I don’t know if I’ve already told you this. On my father’s side of the family was Lionel Banes of Ealing Studios. He was one of the film cameramen for the film “Train of Events.” This shows several interior views of the old Euston, c1948/9.

This is very interesting, I worked for the railway for 10 years, I never really thought about the history of the stations

I was born 18 years after Penn Station in NYC was town down and I still lament it.

@JagoHazzard

4 жыл бұрын

That was a gorgeous station.

I used to work in the office building the station is hiding behind, and given that I rarely take trains north, if I didn’t work there I probably wouldn’t know the station was there despite living in London for 20 years!

Wow, I didn’t really know about the history of Euston, but when I did spend some time there in 1997 when I took a trip to Liverpool, I figured it was different.

Barring Heathrow Airport, Euston station is the most unpleasant travel experience I have ever had. Being glared at by rifle-totimg policemen whilst scrambling through the melee to get up or down the stairs to the tube is not something I want to repeat any time soon.

They should definitely build that beautiful Arch again 🤞 Great video, I'm actually inside Kings Cross St. Pancras right now 😊😂 Watching this video inside, sipping a hot tea from Kings Cross Pret 😊

The original Euston arc, looks like the Brandenburg Gate

I would like to see the arch rebuilt. It is funny how the station was demolished at about the same time as New York's Pennsylvania Station, a true crime against the city. I have been in Euston many times on my trips to London and on the lawn are pieces of the arch that were found in a canal. At least the two little buildings buildings that flanked the arch are now excellent pubs but I wish they had larger toilets. One toilet in a pub is just inadequate and the ventilation could be improved throughout but the beer selection is excellent.

Ernest Marples, whose line of business let us not forget, was road construction, and a crook of the first order. And Beeching? Don't get me started. I do remember reading that there was a meeting at BR., with Beeching and rank and file BR employees, most of whom were due to lose their livelihoods. One man was asked: "What do you want from Dr. Beeching?" The man's reply was short, but perfect: "His testicles in an eggcup."

Over here in the US,there is a movement to rebuild Penn Station (NY),in its original form. Because of the original station's demolition,and subsequently twice rebuilding,it is now considered an eyesore,and is really in need of an overhaul! Also the tunnels into and out of the station were severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy,those also need to be replaced entirely! Back to the future! Remember trams,they're back too!Ha,lol!!

I think given the current state of the west coast mainline, Euston fulfills its job of warning travellers "This station is evil and if you try and catch a train from here there's a 50/50 chance of you reaching your destination" really well

Yes, I would like the arch rebuilt

I like the look of the arch. It definitely make Euston stand out more amongst beautiful station facades around London. Considering that it was the station of the LNWR, who called themselves the “premier line”, you’d think such a station would be grand and impressive.

Brilliant video

I'm told that technically its a Propylaeum. The proposed plans to rebuild it as part of the Euston redevelopment for HS2 seem to have all gone quiet. Anyone heard any more about this? There was an article recently posted about rebuilding Euston on HS2's Facebook page but it mentioned nothing about the arch.

So would it be correct to describe Ernest Marples as the arch nemesis of the old Euston station ?!! 😎😱😱

Ernie Marples family owned a major construction company, with government contracts to build, guess what?, yeah, motorways.........

@DrWhoFanUK

4 жыл бұрын

When it was pointed out to him that there might be a teeny bit of a conflict of interests however, he divested all his shares in the construction company....to his wife.

@robtyman4281

4 жыл бұрын

I'd happily tear down any statue to this villain. I doubt there are any though!

Dan Cruickshank has long searched for the Arch, some of which was recovered from the Thames. There are at least 3 KZread videos about his search and yes, I too would like to see that arch rebuilt.

I love that pun in your video!

I seem to remember that there was a (?BBC) documentary on the Euston Arch. Some of its pieces ( column pieces with fluting), ended up in the demolition business owner's back garden. If they were to rebuild the arch perhaps they could re-incorporate these pieces.

What I can’t understand is why ,at the time they couldn’t simply have buried the dismantled arch for future generations to rebuild - like now. There would have been enough places to put it and it wouldn’t have incurred much extra cost to do so. But then, I suppose if Ernest Marples had a hand in it, the arch was doomed.

I suppose this is our Penn station; a beautiful building torn down, and replaced with what the 1960s regarded as ‘architecture’- I suppose it’s the sacrifice that saved so many others, like st Pancras, and Grand central in the states. like you say in the video, it taught us to appreciate our historical landmarks

@rayfisher3921

Жыл бұрын

You can't think of Euston as equivalent to Penn station. The old Euston was a mess, much of it decidedly unimpressive, such as the departure platforms. I think it had a unique character but was still a mess.

Victoria will always be my favourite station. It was where I arrived when I moved to London back in 2000, and I have a very clear memory of standing in the large station hall with my suitcase, waiting for that guy I'd only been on two dates with but for whom I had moved to a different country. (I mean, who doesn't bring a suitcase on a third date, right?)

@rayfisher3921

Жыл бұрын

Victoria is two stations that only became joined when a hole in the dividing wall between them was made soon after they came under common ownership in 1923. Hence the famous Oscar Wilde reference to "the Brighton line".

Shocking that Marylebone kings cross. And all their beautiful architecture could have been lost forever . In Ashford in Surrey they demolished the much loved college, before. Anything was final , to build flats r us .in its place . One idea would have been to build the flats ( not as many ) a green and a folly of the old building . Which would have been great , sadly our beloved county. Council robbed us of our little bit of Quirky history . It’s so 😂😂😂😂. Long live the Arch .

It's shown on one of the old Basil Rathbone films at the beginning. Think the film is called Dressed to Kill.

Good episode!

Happy 1 year anniversary to this video!

Euston to Kings Cross, Where you can get a northbound victoria line running the same direction as a southbound northern line.

I love London Waterloo Station. The main reason for this is that it's my main London Terminal station from the town I live in near the South Coast.

The last time I was at Euston, the statue of Rbt Stephenson was looking quite forlorn, as off to one side. Geo Stephenson has a much grander edifice in Newcastle.

I agree that the US has some marvelous stations and Denver must be one of them . Looks like a set from a 30's film,full of character

Where was the arch situated? There's a good BBC doc by Dan Cruickshank about finding the stones from the arch in the bottom of a canal. As you mention they were rescued and a rebuild has been proposed. Hope it does as so far HS2 has destroyed so much.

My favourite terminus is Kings Cross which felt more like a railway station than St Pancras.

The gradient goes up from Euston to Camden.

Thank you

Another thing- HS2 caused the closure of one of the best pubs in which I've ever had a pint of real ale in all of the U.K. - the Bree Louise. Casks on hand-pump, cask on stillage- it was a real ale paradise!

Indeed yes, Ernest Marples was replaced by Tom Frazer who sacked Beeching. Best thing for the railways and for John Betjeman who masterminded the preservation/restoration of St Pancras, Kings Cross and Liverpool Street (Do not confuse with Liverpool Lime Street)

@rayfisher3921

Жыл бұрын

You just need to remember that one's in London, the other in Liverpool.

I love the nearby Midland Renaissance hotel. It is so fabulously over-the-top. Two American tourists once asked my daughter about it as they passed " What is that place ? A cathedral ? " :D

@JagoHazzard

3 жыл бұрын

Apparently the design was originally intended to be the Foreign Office.

@paulkirkland3263

3 жыл бұрын

@@JagoHazzard I didn't know that. Thanks!

Had the pleasure of using the station few times in various modes of transport (ironically, not on the mainline) and I must say that Euston station is an absurd hub of transport links: bad looks, non-intuitive layout; it is simultaneously congested and spacious (how is that even possible?); everything thrown together, yet you add miles upon miles to your daily step count when you interchange; you can't tell for sure where it starts and where it ends, because it tries to be too many things at once. Hopefully the redevelopment will make this mess into something usable or at least pretty.

the 2 buildings next to the arch is now a pub called the euston tap

@JagoHazzard

4 жыл бұрын

I’m glad those survive and they found a use for them.

Marylebone is and always will be my favourite terminus. I sometimes imagine if the Great Central was saved and electrified ,channel tunnel trains would split into two lines in north London sharing between St Pancras / Marylebone International. To make the Great Central main line worth preserving, close the Midland line north of Kettering and take the Corby route to Nottingham instead as it's main line.

@JagoHazzard

4 жыл бұрын

It’s a station with a lot of charm, I think. It’s not super-grand like St Pancras or King’s Cross, but that’s not a bad thing in its surroundings. It reminds me of a country mansion.

@sirsamfay99

4 жыл бұрын

@@JagoHazzard My understanding is the company ran out of money hence the modest structure. It reminds me of a library more than a station that's why I love it.

@JagoHazzard

4 жыл бұрын

Sounds about right. When it’s easier to get around stations again, I’d like to look at some of these termini in more detail.

@jozg44

4 жыл бұрын

@@JagoHazzard Marylebone is my favourite London terminus too - I like its strange mix of high quality, 'impressive' architecture but on a modest scale. John Betjeman described it as "'a public library from Nottingham which has unexpectedly found itself in London". Then there are the weird corners (that L-shaped concourse) and wistful sense of unfinished business you get from it only having six (originally four) of the intended ten platforms, and the way it's overshadowed by the huge wedding-cake of a hotel right across the street. I also like that it's the only London terminus to still have open, unimpeded access straight from the street to the platforms, as in the days when hansom cabs and parcel carts would roll straight up to the trains. You can walk up Great Central (!) Street and see straight through the entrance arch to trains on the platform.

@highpath4776

4 жыл бұрын

@@JagoHazzard If you look at the passenger trains timetabled by the GC into Marylebone and compare to Chiltern now, Chiltern run far more departures out.

Reminds me of the uproar in New York when Penn Station was demolished. Penn remains wholly terrible, in large part because most of it was demolished, but it led to the Landmarks Commission being established, which has been so influential to the city. And Euston in its current form still looks way more spacious than Penn!