Bleakest UK Station (Trivia)

[Mcr Warrior]

I actually liked the old Victoria, it clearly wasn't in a good state, but it was very atmospheric!

Think @sh24 has already hit the nail on the head with "Unrestrained post Victorian decrepitude".

 

[yorksrob]

I actually liked the old Victoria, it clearly wasn't in a good state, but it was very atmospheric!

I sadly missed it - was confined to the Southern Region in those days.

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Think @sh24 has already hit the nail on the head with "Unrestrained post Victorian decrepitude".

I note from the photographs that one of the through island platforms had a buffet - which is more than can be said for today....

 

[Russel]

I sadly missed it - was confined to the Southern Region in those days.

I only used it a couple of times, I'm sure if I used it on a regular basis then my opinion would be somewhat different!

 

[yorksrob]

I only used it a couple of times, I'm sure if I used it on a regular basis then my opinion would be somewhat different!

I saw it in the Railway Magazine as the exotic "up North". It still can't have been as bleak as Salford Crescent though !

 

[35B]

I saw it in the Railway Magazine as the exotic "up North". It still can't have been as bleak as Salford Crescent though !

Differently bleak, and I'd definitely saw that Man Vic was the worse of the two. Salford Crescent is just a grotty island platform in a wide shallow cutting. The old Manchester Victoria was a rusty shadow of what it once was, leaking, wet, grim and smelling of brewery exhaust - and that was on a hot sunny day (the first time I went up there was June 1990, to get the Summer Saturday class 31 diagram to Llandudno, which also did the Halton curve).

 

[Peeled Apples]

Rugeley Trent Valley back in the 153 days on a dark evening waiting for the last train seeing the B station still working and then realising the service was a no show so scrambled on the Brum one and connect. Is different now with the Rugeley bypass housing estate distributor road now built by the station

It was even more dismal back in the 304 days with dereliction and hardly any passengers. It certainly is very different nowadays.

 

[Russel]

It was even more dismal back in the 304 days with dereliction and hardly any passengers. It certainly is very different nowadays.

A few of the Trent Valley stations could be described the same, back in those days!

 

[Peeled Apples]

A few of the Trent Valley stations could be described the same, back in those days!

I did have some fun bouncing along on those 304s though!

 

[yorksrob]

Differently bleak, and I'd definitely saw that Man Vic was the worse of the two. Salford Crescent is just a grotty island platform in a wide shallow cutting. The old Manchester Victoria was a rusty shadow of what it once was, leaking, wet, grim and smelling of brewery exhaust - and that was on a hot sunny day (the first time I went up there was June 1990, to get the Summer Saturday class 31 diagram to Llandudno, which also did the Halton curve).

Do you not find that whiff of industrial decay exhilarating ?

I remember using the old StPancreas and I still found it magnificent.

Plus the buffet !

 

[The Foghorn]

Whilst I'll second the nomination for Darnall, I'd like to nominate New Clee which is closer to the fish dock than Grimsby Fish Docks.

 

[Tracked]

Thought I'd posted on here already, but it was another thread about Newhaven Harbour, a few that are local to me;

Hatfield and Stainforth - situated near the old pit, old station building boarded up, a long walk down a grim path brings you out in a grim town

Pontefract Monkhill - two ways of walking into town, neither of which I'd fancy doing on a dark evening. Could probably add Knottingley and Pontefract Baghill, but I haven't gotten off at either ...

Retford Low Level - it feels more remote - and not just from the high level platforms - than it actually is, at least now they've added a bit of protection from the elements to the path between them

 

[bishdunster]

Not having been there for over 20 years, but is Pokesdown still "rundown" ?

 

[GoneSouth]

Newbury did that a few years ago, and Swindon has only just done so. To be sure both bus stations were in great need of renovation, but the distance from the station of the new one at Newbury (maybe a 10 minute walk that isn't particularly obvious) says all that needs to be said about integrated public transport in England today....

Swindon station as viewed from the street has to be in a contest for bleakness. A disused office block over the entrance area with many boarded up windows. Less ugly a building that the street side part of Crawley station though, which is modernity done wrong

Swindon itself is truly horrible. I don’t think you can call what they’ve done with the buses an actual bus station. It’s a series of shelters along a newly resurfaced road with new lighting. It’s an appalling substitution for a bus station, but at least it’s cleaner. It just goes against any thinking of accessible integrated transport and whoever dreamt it up shouldn’t be let near transport infrastructure planning ever again.

The rail station is pretty horrible too with that office building looming over you with its broken windows and general air of dilapidation. A truly miserable town centre in every category!

 

[Sealink]

That’s a bit harsh. North Camp is staffed for part of the day at least and has a pleasant waiting room for trains in the Reading direction. There is also a pub right next door.

Just looked it up on Google Streetview and it does look lovely. Especially the pub!


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As you might expect, Gainsborough Central feels a bit bleak. The path up from Trinity Street isn't brilliant either.

 

[faltskog36abba]

The old Manchester Victoria was very atmospheric but also pretty bleak. Unrestrained post Victorian decrepitude.

The closest on today’s railway is Perth but it’s not really bleak. Just echoing and empty.

I remember going through Perth on the way to Inverness 6 years ago, The weather was awful and Perth looked so desolate . I liked the old Manchester Victoria- But it was neglected considering how many trains used it prior to Downscaling.

 

[styles]

Altnabreac, due to the grade A weapons who live next to it and the convicted sex trafficker who live in the next nearest residential property.

 

[0161]

I remember going through Perth on the way to Inverness 6 years ago, The weather was awful and Perth looked so desolate . I liked the old Manchester Victoria- But it was neglected considering how many trains used it prior to Downscaling.

You don't really see much of Perth if you're travelling South from Inverness. It takes in a couple of council estates and a retail park, then if you're travelling South from Perth, you have the South Inch park, the Prison, Tesco, then straight into the Moncreiffe tunnel.

Significantly better view travelling from Perth to Dundee.

The station itself seems a shadow of its former self. I remember it being bustling and busier in the '80s, but it probably was just my young mind which thought so!

 

[Tracked]

Swindon itself is truly horrible. I don’t think you can call what they’ve done with the buses an actual bus station. It’s a series of shelters along a newly resurfaced road with new lighting. It’s an appalling substitution for a bus station, but at least it’s cleaner. It just goes against any thinking of accessible integrated transport and whoever dreamt it up shouldn’t be let near transport infrastructure planning ever again.

The rail station is pretty horrible too with that office building looming over you with its broken windows and general air of dilapidation. A truly miserable town centre in every category!

Was there the other day, the railway village is nice (and The Glue Pot is a great pub), but after getting off the bus from stand L the nearest street that looks like it's part of the town centre was a bit where all the nightclubs and fast food joints were. Bit similar to getting off the train at Norwich, only most of them were closed and looked to have been for some time.

The grim little subway under the station needs mentioning too, and the constant announcements were annoying;

"please take care on the stairs, always use the handrail and avoid using a mobile phone"

was playing on a constant loop, it played on the stairs of the platform I was on, but then you could hear it doing so on the stairs to the other platforms straight after, before it came straight back and did the whole thing again.

 

[Purple Train]

I've used Swindon station a lot in the past and it's never struck me as being particularly bleak, just a bit on the characterless side - there's nothing it does very well (although the facilities are pretty good), and very little it does very badly (trying to find the car park is a nightmare). Admittedly I haven't explored the town centre at all.

 

[GoneSouth]

Was there the other day, the railway village is nice (and The Glue Pot is a great pub), but after getting off the bus from stand L the nearest street that looks like it's part of the town centre was a bit where all the nightclubs and fast food joints were. Bit similar to getting off the train at Norwich, only most of them were closed and looked to have been for some time.

The grim little subway under the station needs mentioning too, and the constant announcements were annoying;

"please take care on the stairs, always use the handrail and avoid using a mobile phone"

was playing on a constant loop, it played on the stairs of the platform I was on, but then you could hear it doing so on the stairs to the other platforms straight after, before it came straight back and did the whole thing again.

I’ll check the railway village next time I’m passing through, sounds like a big improvement on the rest of the place.

The street you mentioned with clubs etc was mostly boarded up last time I was there and looked very sad. There was a time Swindon was a thriving town with great shops, good job opportunities and less than an hour from London. Sad to see it decline so badly (although the train to London is actually quicker now so maybe everybody made their escape )

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I've used Swindon station a lot in the past and it's never struck me as being particularly bleak, just a bit on the characterless side - there's nothing it does very well (although the facilities are pretty good), and very little it does very badly (trying to find the car park is a nightmare). Admittedly I haven't explored the town centre at all.

It’s grim having to go up the stairs at the end of the dilapidated office building to find a taxi, but the rest of the place just looks dreary rather than bleak. Like you say it’s got everything you need, toilets, ticket office, lifts, coffee shop etc, it just reflects the sad nature of the town.

 

[sh24]

While not a whole station, the subway connecting the old St Pancras to the southern tube ticket hall was impressively bleak and creepy. I wonder if it is still there in any form?

 

[LowLevel]

Trafford Park and Humphrey Park always seem particularly bleak, as do most of the other smaller stations on the "CLC" route via Warrington. Not very pleasant areas, few facilities and sadly hotspots for incidents on the line.

Longport too, post industrial decay, not very nice area, buildings are a bit better than they were with the station adopters making some use of some of them.

 

[Highlander1]

Perth has to be up there. Largely derelict buildings, poor lighting, rusting bridges and walkways, weeds growing between the cracked paving. It's far to large and has nowhere near the passenger levels of it's hay day. Walking around late in the evening is a eerie experience

 

[GoneSouth]

While not a whole station, the subway connecting the old St Pancras to the southern tube ticket hall was impressively bleak and creepy. I wonder if it is still there in any form?

Now I think about it the old St Pancras of the late 80s and early 90s was a desperate place. I remember calling into the bar whilst waiting for a train to Nottingham and even back then there were beggars and prostitutes hanging around annoying folk.

It’s lovely now though thank goodness.

 

[Deepgreen]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but on any properly measurable scale, I would have thought Corrour would win, based on temperature, windiness, wetness and exposure (and nearby entertainment options!). I love the place, but (and because) it is the definition of bleak for me!

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Altnabreac, owing to the grade A weapons who live next to it and the convicted sex trafficker who live in the next nearest residential property.

Perhaps, but people are unlikely to be there for the foreseeable future as it remains closed!

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I actually liked the old Victoria, it clearly wasn't in a good state, but it was very atmospheric!

It was far less depressing than the current low-ceilinged concrete dungeon!

 

[Bob55G]

Not having been there for over 20 years, but is Pokesdown still "rundown" ?

 

[Russel]

One I've just thought about, South Kenton, for an urban area, the station it's self feels quite isolated, next to the WCML, only one way in and out via a subway, platform being taken over by weeds and situated on one of the more run down parts of the Underground.

 

[Steddenm]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but on any properly measurable scale, I would have thought Corrour would win, based on temperature, windiness, wetness and exposure (and nearby entertainment options!). I love the place, but (and because) it is the definition of bleak for me!

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Perhaps, but people are unlikely to be there for the foreseeable future as it remains closed!

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It was far less depressing than the current low-ceilinged concrete dungeon!

Altnabrec is open and ScotRail do call there

 

[Penmorfa]

Victoria may have been rundown and neglected but you seldom had a signal check or waited for a platform. Today's awful 'station' manages to have its bay platforms miles away at Rochdale and Stalybridge. What a mess.

 

[Bevan Price]

Differently bleak, and I'd definitely saw that Man Vic was the worse of the two. Salford Crescent is just a grotty island platform in a wide shallow cutting. The old Manchester Victoria was a rusty shadow of what it once was, leaking, wet, grim and smelling of brewery exhaust - and that was on a hot sunny day (the first time I went up there was June 1990, to get the Summer Saturday class 31 diagram to Llandudno, which also did the Halton curve).

Man Vic suffered from some WW2 bomb damage that was never properly repaired. Parts could look neglected, but nowhere was as grim as the current Platforms 4-6.