The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Post WW2 Railway Station Architecture

[whole diary]

[Bmblbzzz]

Bristol Parkway is windswept and an unpleasant place to wait on anything other than a warm day. Gloucester and Swindon are okay but nothing particularly attractive.

[ChrisB]

Euston is my favourite post WW2 large station, rather spoiled by growing clutter but still impressive.

Not beenn recently then? Clutter removed mostly....

[johnneyw]

Derby - Not the present one - the post war rebuild that fell apart and had a scaffolding inner footbridge for over 30 years and later a shroud of netting to stop bits of concrete falling on people. 

Blinkin' flip!

[stuving]

Wokingham's new station building - its third (WS3) - is certainly an improvement on WS2. But WS2 was of course post-war too. I wasn't here when it was built, but by the 90s it was looking scruffy, unloved, and unvlovely. I looked for pictures of it when new, but didn't find any of the front and few of its platform side. I wonder why!

It was built (I find) in 1972-3, one of many similar system-built (CLASP) replacements for stations on this line. The first proposal by BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) for Wokingham was refused by Berskhsire CC (though I'm not sure how much planning control they really had in this case). BR used the money to "improve" Virginia Water and Sunnindale instead. The assorted councils all seem to have accepted the old building should be replaced; they just didn't like "bus shelter on steroids" look of what was (in fact) built soon after.

The Wokingham Society, of course, was even less impressed - "We don't want a nasty modern station. The existing one may not be a splendid piece of architecture, but it is rather charming." Another report said "A Southern reagion spokesman described it as an 'attractive modern type section built building.' A waiting shelter only will be provided on the other side of the line." Now that's something that was not improved with WS3!

[CyclingSid]

In the case of Wokingham, is it a case that the platform that makes the most revenue gets the most spent. I assume that the Up line to Waterloo possibly makes more than the rest put together. Also there is restricted space on the Down side.

[Noggin]

St Pancras rebuild was a lovely job - so much nicer than Gare du Nord or Brussels Midi.

Reading Station also an amazing job considering that it was built around one of the busiest (and oldest) bits of railway in the world.

 

[Bmblbzzz]

Agree Reading now looks pretty good. Best wait and see how it fares once the sheen's worn off though!

[Oxonhutch]

Reading Station also an amazing job considering that it was built around one of the busiest (and oldest) bits of railway in the world.

Old Reading in the rain - still just as common - was a lot more comfortable place to be. Edwardians knew something about canopy design and climate; something that our late Elizabethan architects seem to have forgotten.

Looks pretty in the sunshine though ...

[eightf48544]

Although I like the new Reading, certainly operationally it seems to work well. I also agree with Oxenhutch that it's not the plaec to be in wind and rain.l

Although as posted elsewhere finding which of the 14 platforms your trian goes from is quite tricky and can be quite along walk if changing trains.

[johnneyw]

Stumbled upon this history of Birmingham New Street right up to it's latest rebuild. Interesting pictures and video too.

https://www.birminghamupdates.com/the-history-of-birmingham-new-street-station/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=Statusbrew&utm_content=Brew1b61f3ea1a42483e964320b27015101e&fbclid=IwAR3ZEwRuHpqDXXl4pPk-3vCyyrxnC3gYDejbdaTkfTC3WgICwrmLsqYwTdY

[Witham Bobby]

I quite like the 1958 bits of Banbury Station - the newer bits, not so much.  Banbury as rebuilt in 1958 is a bit utilitarian, but it seems both competent and confident.

1970s or 1980s revamp of High Wycombe is horrid

Not sure what to say about the various post-war alterations at Taunton.  The bits they've done have taken much away from the 1930s Art-Deco classic.

[SandTEngineer]

Further to my nomination for the 1960s Euston below, I found the attached document: http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/BRBDocuments/EustonStation.pdf

[Electric train]

The 1960s rebuild of Euston as a good example of "Modernisation" thinking (However, ruined since by RT/NR^» (Network Rail - home page) by installing a sub-deck and losing the air of openness ).

https://youtu.be/10Gj6yYBuu4

I agree, however Euston was designed at the time of diminishing passenger numbers, this has changed in the last decade or so space need to be freed up on the concourse, even no after the mezzanine has been installed the concourse gets filled quickly.  There were / are plans to convert to old parcels / Royal Mail deck into a retail / additional concourse which will be needed as the HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) construction eats up the western platforms of the station

[Oxonhutch]

From photos within the Great Hall and also the Euston Arch we have been robbed of some superb architecture in the name of progress.  I am sure if the remodelling were to happen today, these classic features would have been incorporated into the redesign rather like Brunel's building at Reading. I did find it interesting to see where the Euston buildings were in respect of the present station. The National Library of Scotland georeferenced map of Euston shows just how far into the current station these were. Use the transparency slider at the bottom of the menu on the left.

[Robin Summerhill]

From photos within the Great Hall and also the Euston Arch we have been robbed of some superb architecture in the name of progress.  I am sure if the remodelling were to happen today, these classic features would have been incorporated into the redesign rather like Brunel's building at Reading.

Not exactly a carbon copy, but very similar architecture exists at the other end of the London & Birmingham Railway at Curzon Street station in Brum.

The site to the rear (east) of it is currently being cleared as it is planned to reuse the station for HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))

Linking a Google Maps image doesn't appear to work for me this afternoon but if you enter Curzon Street station into Street View you can see it under renovation