The next station we will visit at as part of our series on London’s major mainline stations will be Farringdon. Farringdon is a deceptively complex station, one with both a long history and a bright future. It’s surrounds contain an enormous amount of railway infrastructure, both with regards to passengers and goods, both past, present and future.
If the extensive goods yards beneath the likes of Smithfields market are the past, and the new Thameslink station is the present, then the future is most definitely Crossrail – for which Farringdon will prove a key station. As with the Connaught Tunnel (photos of which you can find here), Crossrail’s presence at Farringdon meant a potential opportunity to get a closer look at some railway infrastructure that is normally inaccessible to the public. In this case that infrastructure was the City Widened Lines, east of Farringdon where they pass beneath Smithfield Market, which were closed in 2009 to allow the platforms at Farringdon to be extended. These will eventually be reworked into much-needed city sidings for London Underground’s S7 and S8 stock on the subsurface lines, for which current stabling in the area is too short. There are currently occupied by Crossrail, however, who will shortly begin subsurface ground stabilisation work there ahead of their TBMs passing beneath on their way to Liverpool Street.
As with the Connaught Tunnel, Crossrail were kind enough to grant us the opportunity to take a look at the Widened Lines before work begins there in earnest, and so ahead of our more detailed look at Farringdon itself, you can find some photos of the Widened Lines below.
The image below shows the view back from above the Widened Lines looking back east towards Barbican. Barbican itself, and the path the lines previously took, is clearly visible through the arch.
Looking back at Barbican
Beginning our journey (on which we will be heading east to west) we start on the down line. Blocked up on the left is the down access to the extensive Smithfield Market goods depot, which has now been largely reworked into multi-level car park space for the market. For context, this photo was taken in the left hand tunnel of this earlier photo by fridgemonkey.
The Down line
Looking back towards Barbican after entering, the ramp on the the left wall of the arch is a short extension from Barbican Up platform. Two sidings between the current Metropolitan Line and the Widened Lines are out of shot to the left (the entrance to which is visible in fridgemonkey’s photo above).
Looking east
Heading below ground proper, the remains of a small office can be found to the north away from the Crossrail works. It seems possible this is the remains of the sidings staff office, although the level of debris present unfortunately prevented much in the way of exploration.
This photo highlights the lack of light available
Debris in the office, with flash
Looking through into a narrow work space
Beyond the workspace the sidings appear to be accessible
One thing that the set of photos below should hopefully convey is the sheer amount of space present within these tunnels. A DLR extension to Farringdon is something not infrequently mentioned within London railway circles, and it is easy to see why the Widened Lines often feature prominently in such discussions. Indeed the space would have originally been even more open – the wall visible in the distance in the first photo is a relatively new addition, behind which lies the old Smithfield Depot.
The Market in the distance
Looking back towards Barbican
Looking south west, the pillars have been reinforced and fireproofed
Looking west, possibly in part of the siding
Looking north from the Up line
Heading onwards, we follow the curve of the Up line. The ironwork is a temporary addition. Gradient posts mark the route.
Looking west along the Up line
A gradient post
Looking back east, having moved to the Down line
Further in, we reach the junction with Junction with the East Curve to Snow Hill (the wall on right shows the alignment widening). No track (or lighting) remains on the curve, and the surface is in a far worse condition. Additional support pillars also dot the area that would previously have held track. Following the course of the curve as far as possible, we reach a bricked in arch. This is either the blocked up portal to the East Curve down to Snow Hill, or possibly a view south onto the portal of the westbound road from GW Smithfield goods depot.
The curve begins
looking back east, the rough surface is clearer
Additional pillar works
The bricked up arch
As we near the Farringdon end of the line, the conical nature of the tunnel at this point is because this is the western junction with the GW Smithfield Goods depot, the track to which disappears off the the left and crossed the East Curve to Snow Hill on the level. The photographer is standing on the site of the Down from Moorgate. The presence of the Farringdon ramp in the final picture should hopefully help anyone unfamiliar with the location of this section of line get their bearings.
Connecting passage between Down and Up lines – complete with spooky disembodied deer head
Looking west along the Up
North lies the Met siding
Looking out from the Widened Lines, with Farringdon ramp on the left
We will look at Farringdon proper in more detail shortly.
What happened to the tunnels that ame up to Kingscross ie Yorkway on the east side of Kings cross and the hotel curve or platform 16.
I understand the new Northern ticket hall has encroached on the (northbound) Hotel Curve. I don’t know whether the (southbound) York Way curve is intact.
The southbound curve under York Way does remain intact and now contains electrification plant for Thameslink. I did hear a while ago that it is even accessible by vehicles from the north end, no idea if that means reversing out afterwards. With an original connection westwards to the Met that made a flat crossing with the Hotel curve there may well be some quite large spaces underground in the relevant area.
You can actually look down into the southbound curve (covered by a mesh grille) as it is accessible from the Regent Quarter alley way (adjacent to “Camino”) on the north side of Pentonville Road.
The Grille covered section is easily visible on google maps etc too:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5311486,-0.1218562,99m/data=!3m1!1e3
There are some recent pictures here (scroll down to the bottom for the recent pictures).
As a onetime secondman at Kings Cross between April 1974-Sept 1975 i would occasionally be rostered with a driver on either Welwyn Garden City or Hertford North diagrams over the Widened lines to Moorgate either during the ‘morning peak’ or the ‘evening peak’ and always on a Brush type 2 (class 31) hauling non-corridor ‘block ender’ stock. On arriving at Kings Cross York Road station it was the duty of the secondman to leave the cab and climb down to track level to ‘put the banjo down’ (trip cock) to work over the Widened lines to Moorgate. My question is does anyone have any information about the onetime Granville signal box (or any rare photographs of this box?) that apparently was located inbetween an 11 yards gap between two tunnels about midway between Kings Cross L.T. station and Farringdon station and stood on the south side of the running lines and was in operation sometime between about 1890 & possibly the early 1920s?. Granville signal box is also mentioned in a small number of official railway accident reports that took place in 1891, 1900, 1907 & 1913.
Michael: have you tried http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/k/kings_cross_york_road/index.shtml ?
[This does not seem to me to have any reference to signal boxes, but I have left the comment in place in case it is helpful in some way. Malcolm]
Michael: (and Malcolm) there is a reference to it here [1] from 1913 that puts the Granville Signal box 980m west of Farringdon on the City Widened Lines and 420m from “Kings Cross C Signal”.
That’s just under the link between Granville Square and Gwynne Place, the stairs behind the Travelodge Farringdon.
[1] http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_FarringdonSt1913.pdf
Very interesting to read the account posted above by Briantist of the collision between the Great Northern passenger train and the rear of the Midland goods train. Most of the witnesses agree that the visibility was very poor due to steam and smoke hanging in the air. Although I believe that condensing apparatus had to be fitted to any locomotive using the Widened Lines, it may be that crews disliked actually using it thereby making a bad situation even worse.
I too read the report with some fascination. I suspect that Michael has already seen it, as he referred to an accident report in his initial query. What he would like is pictures.
But if we are going on to discuss the accident (subject to another mod saying we shouldn’t!), I don’t think it was caused by the steam. The Granville signalman got off very lightly, since the rules are quite clear, if you cannot see the red light, act as if it is not there. It also shows the difficulties faced by any signalman in a traditional box, of having to deal with two directions of travel at the same time, on which Sodde’s law often arranges simultaneous events. Also interesting to see a recommendation of track circuiting being made as early as that.
Hi Malcolm & Brian thanks for your replies and yes i’ve already read that 1913 official accident report Malcolm but thanks again for posting it for other’s to read. I presume to gain entry to Granville signal box the signalman would have to desend from street level via a spiral staircase to the box below?. The conditions at this box must have been quite trying for any signalman on duty with constant loco smoke hanging around in the atmosphere in the tunnels day & night and working in continous oil or gas lighting 24/7 as well all in all not very good for the signalman’s health in the medium or long term i would guess?.
Not Granville,I know,but interesting anyhow,same line and not far away (and perhaps news to some readers?)…
http://forum.signalbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2316
Yeah thanks Slugabed i nearly mentioned st Pancras Tunnel box but didn’t although i have been aware of this box for many years now that was located underneath st Pancras station but i’ve only just recently become aware of this Granville box mind you i’m not over familiar with the Widened lines even though i did once travel over them quite regular as a secondman (as previously posted) at Kings Cross back around the 1974-75 period on the Welwyn Garden City or Hertford North-Moorgate workings and the Moorgate-Hertford North or Welwyn Garden City workings on Brush type 2s (class 31) diesel locos hauling Inner suburban non-corridor ‘block ender’ stock. Also of a minor interest to some is something that sticks in my mind from the 1974-75 era about a signalman who worked at Kings Cross L.T. box located in a porta type cabin building on the far end of the Westbound dissued Kings Cross Widened lines station platform that one of the signalmen who worked at that box was an american person i can’t remember how i came to know this either i was told it by a driver or i may have spoken to him the signalman himself via a SPT (Signal Post Telephone) and picked up his accent over the phone anyway i can’t remember how i came to know this but it’s in the very back of my mind still 40 years later.
Michael…it’s possible that posting your original question (Granville) on the forum I linked to,may get results?
Do any of you fellows have any pictures, or links, of Smithfield Goods in the post war until closure. I do recall seeing WR 97XX condensing panniers working to that location.
In his post on 12th Sept Michael mentions an 11 yard gap in the City W/L tunnels, I think I’ve found it but unfortunately it isn’t so clear on Google Maps or Google Earth.
However if anyone has Apple maps, there is a good clear image of a suitable rectangular gap (with an OHLE gantry in the picture) between the very west corner of Granville Square and the back of Wharton St, immediately above where the LU lines are visible.
If you’ll see there is no building in the exact corner of the square, there’s a space behind it that looks like a small garden, and then another rectangular gap immediately behind that?
There appear to be a load of location boxes down there on the up side, perhaps there was room on the down side for a small signal box?
Hope this is of interest.
Paul
This 1896 OS map http://maps.nls.uk/view/101201529 shows a SB and SP in the position you describe
More specifically here.
I was a fireman at Hornsey depot in the early seventies. One of our duties was known as the “snow hill shunt”. We used to wait on a spur for southbound freight trains, then assist them up snow hill by pushing from the rear. We also ran freight trains to Hither Green goods yard, from Hornsey.
Robert Cooke: Are you sure about the dates? I think the tracks were lifted in Snow Hill tunnel in about 1971. (They were put back later, of course). (I do understand that the term “fireman” was used for the second man on diesel locos long after the end of steam).
Looking south from Snow Hill Tunnel in 1972, shortly after the track was lifted.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/snow_hill/index55.shtml
The “Disused Stations” website (linked to above) says regular services through Snow Hill ceased in 1969 and the track was lifted in 1971. But there may have been a few special services in the (very) early seventies
@timbeau – I have an early 1971 London Transport Traffic Circular reporting the removal of track circuits through Snow Hill, so the line was definitely being abandoned at that time.