A perennial and fairly meaningless question that is often asked is ‘what are the origins …
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Sailing the Political Wind: A look at the 2012 Mayoral Manifestos
The day of the London Mayoral elections may seem a strange point to stop and look at the key candidate manifestos. Not only will many LR readers have likely voted already, but the elections been covered very effectively by the likes of the Guardian, Londonist and our other friends in the Capital’s active online sphere. Our interest in the Manifestos, however, is more in where they agree than where they disagree…
Continue readingPolitics and London Transport
At London Reconnections we tend not to be introspective. After all it is transport you are interested in, not us. Amongst other things we try to maintain our reputation (and our readers) by being objective …
Continue readingNot Stopping Here: (Gimmie) Deep Level Shelter
Through the Blitz and beyond, the part the Underground played in World War Two was a complex one. Nowhere was this more true than the role it played in sheltering the civilian populace from aerial attack. The part platforms at places like Aldwych played, and the tragedy at Bethnal Green are now relatively well known. What is perhaps less well known, however, is the role played by the Deep Level Shelters – the remains of which can still be seen at street level.
Continue readingCrossrail From the Air
We’ve looked at various elements of London’s transport infrastructure from the air before – now it’s Crossrail’s turn. With the exception of the Connaught Tunnel approach, the photos below broadly divide into tunnelling portals and …
Continue readingA Brief Trip to Blackfriars
With Kings Cross drawing the eye to the north, it is easy to forget that work is still underway at Blackfriars. We last covered Blackfriars in detail at the beginning of last year when we …
Continue readingIn Pictures: TGV at St Pancras
St Pancras welcomes its first TGV – No. 951 ‘La Poste’, a postal/freight unit. The visit was both a test ad a PR exercise, carried out by freight consortium EuroCarex to demonstrate the viability of freight services through the tunnel and onto HS1 itself.
Continue readingNot Stopping Here: Crystal Palace High Level
Opened by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway in 1865, the branch line to Crystal Palace High Level station was built to serve the Crystal Palace. The destruction of Paxton’s glass wonder saw a serious decline in traffic and the branch line finally closed in 1954, but some elements still remain if you know where to look.
Continue readingThe London Terminals: Kings Cross
With the Overground, Crossrail and the London Underground upgrades having dominated the Capital’s transport scene, it’s easy to forget that the next few years will see major changes for its surface terminals as well. We start our look at London’s Terminals with Kings Cross, where a major redevelopment project that arguably started almost fifteen years ago is now close to completion. It is a project that will reach an important milestone on Monday 18th March, when the new Western Concourse will officially open to passengers for the first time.
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 3: A Quart Into a Pint Pot
This is the final part of our look at how freight may become the Achilles’ heel for rail planners in London. The first article provided some context, looking at the various strategies, the national flows …
Continue readingIntermission: The Angle and Wangle at Farringdon
Some readers have spotted that we have not reported on the developing situation at Farringdon for a while. It’s nice to know you noticed and care and we are sorry to have kept you waiting. The general approach we were/are taking with Thameslink is almost on the basis of an “annual review,” and Spring is always a good time to review new works (the “then” and “now” scenario provides a handy hook upon which an article can be based). We’ll be starting that review this year with London Bridge, but in the meantime here are a couple of teasers with regards to Farringdon.
Continue readingIn Pictures: Crossrail’s TBMs at Westbourne Park
We last saw Crossrail’s Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) in Germany last year. The first two – out of eight that the project will need in total – are now at New Paddington Yard and will begin tunnelling shortly. It thus seems a good time to take a final look at these, and the Royal Oak Portal itself, before they begin their journey beneath the capital.
Continue readingSite Tweaks and Changes, 2012 Edition
As you may have noticed already, we’ve made some layout changes to the way the homepage now works on the site. By default (the key word there being “default”), it now no longer lists out …
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 2: The Freight Must Flow
The more we looked at rail freight in London the more we realised the significant challenges it poses, including to TfL’s aspirations for the Overground and its ‘strategic interchanges’. As the network in London reaches …
Continue readingSteam at Edgware Road and Earl’s Court
Following on from yesterday’s article, which included photos of the steam test at Baker Street on Sunday morning, below are a selection of photos of the same Special Train at Edgware Road and Earl’s Court. …
Continue readingA Late Night Steam Run on the Metropolitan
Last night, at 0100, a special train left Lillie Bridge depot. Bracketed by L24 and L26, it was a very different configuration from that normally seen by passengers (not least because it included Sarah Siddons, …
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