Travelling to London by train
The main stations in London you will arrive at are: Paddington, Kings
Cross, Euston and Victoria> This varies
according to where you're coming from and whether all stations are available
(For instance recently Euston was closed for maintenance and trains from
Manchester were diverted to another station). If you're being met on arrival
then it might be a good idea to doublecheck which station it is you're due
at.
Euston - Euston Station was designed by Philip Hardwick
and built in 1838 for the London & Birmingham Railway. Built at Euston
Grove, the station was for many years the only north-bound railway exit
from London. Euston
station was completely rebuilt in conjunction with the electrification
of the West Coast Main Line between 1963 and 1968. An
interesting map showing bus routes and numbers form Euston Station is here.
This is a flash based map. Or you can visit
network rail site and download their pdf file of info about the station
layout at Euston.- . Train services into Euston are run by Virgin Trains
and Silverlink, with Scotrail overnight sleeper train services to Scotland.
Charing Cross station
Charing Cross was opened in 1864 and was the product of the Southern Eastern
Railway's need to extend westward from London Bridge to get its passengers
from Kent right into the heart of London. Network rail page about Charing
Cross including pdf about layout and facilities at Charing Cross Station.
Fenchurch Street station
Fenchurch Street was built in 1854 for London and Blackwall Railway and
was the first station to be built in the City.The station building comprises
a two storey building with tall serried windows located between grey stock
brick pilasters with stone embellishments. The façade is terminated
at each end with rusticated quoins.
Beneath the station, in Crutched Friars Street, is a three storey warehouse,
the top of which was used as railway offices. Visit
Network rail page for more info on Fenchurch Street Station . A character
in Douglas Adams' So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish was named after
Fenchurch Street station.
King's Cross -
King's Cross is the London terminus for the east coast
main line. Visit
King's Cross page at Network Rail for more info on the history of the station. According
to legend it is built either on the site of Boudicca's final battle, or
that her body is buried under one of the platforms at King's Cross.
Kings Cross features in the Harry Potter books of J. K. Rowling, as the
location from which the Hogwarts Express train departs, although the location
used in the earlier films is actually Marylebone Station. In Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Hogwarts Express does leave from Kings
Cross, with a GNER train clearly visible in the background. A cast iron
sign has been erected on a wall of the secondary building housing platforms
9-11 marking the claimed entrance to 'Platform 9 ¾'. This snippet
from wiki of london train info
Liverpool Street station
Built in 1874, Liverpool Street station benefited from a
major redevelopment in the late 1980s. It is the London terminus of the
former Great Eastern Railway, originally providing routes to Norwich
via Ipswich and Kings Lynn via Cambridge. Network Rail page is available
for lIverpool street station which gives info on its history
Paddington station
The station was first opened in 1854 and has recently benefited from a
major redevelopment. This has included a new customer information system,
new platform surfaces and a new shopping, eating and waiting area called "The
Lawn".
"
The Railway Station" (1862) by Frith illustrates passengers
boarding a train at Paddington station. The detailing of Brunel’s
roof and Digby Wyatt’s ornamentation is exceptionally clear and has
assisted in recent restoration works. Paddington's
Network Rail page gives more info. Paddington Bear - children's story
character was supposedly found at this station with a label attached to
his duffle coat saying "Please look after this bear"
ST PANCRAS - Gets a mention in Adrain Mole - The Wilderness
Years - where his girlffriend Bianca admires the roof as "one of the largest
unsupported
arch structures in the whole world". St Pancras Station was designed by
Gilbert Scott.Built
in 1868 the ribs of the Gothic shaped roof continue in an unbroken line
from platform level to the ridge at the top. The building is 243 ft. wide,
600 ft. long and the point of the arch is 100 ft. above rail level. St
Pancras is a Grade 1 listed building, currently being restored and modernised
to provide both a national and international terminal due for full completion
in 2007
We've tried to include references to the stations from books and stories
as we think these snippets are interesting.
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