Fire at Primrose Hill (near Euston) 30/01/26

[ChiefPlanner]

Watford is terrible as the subway is tiny.

Agreed - as an ex manager based there , and still recall the the handling of passenger flows after the 1996 collision south of the station. Very hard work indeed , but the DC line performed admirably over the weekend with extra workings and the odd 6 car service , plus extended hours !

We put a 3 car DMU onto the Abbey line and guided as many as we could that way , but interestingly there were very few takers for a bus shuttle to Watford Met !

Some slight amusement when a passenger turned up with a canoe ! - however it was slid into a 313 via the end drivers door and laid on the floor - I am sure we told Euston about it !

Watford still awaits a "proper" capacity enhancement after all these years - that subway in particular !

 

[NickBucks]

I was party to the fun last Friday going against the flow of passengers in the subway, as I was trying to get to the Southern service to Kensington Olympia.

I have to say the staff were first class; plenty on the scene directing passengers to the Overground platforms and no fuss at all. Plenty of useful, loud and clear announcements as well.

Good job all round.

 

[Recessio]

Some slight amusement when a passenger turned up with a canoe ! - however it was slid into a 313 via the end drivers door and laid on the floor - I am sure we told Euston about it !

I once saw two people (presumably students) at Falmer trying to lift an armchair onto a 313 - I think a canoe beats that though!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Feb 2026 ==

For info, the station building was auctioned off into private ownership many years ago

Do you know if Network Rail are still the freeholders, or was it sold as a freehold? (or retained by BRB Residuary or something else? )

 

[andyjhatton]

Surely it would be extremely complicated to sell it off freehold.

I'd assume the "best" they could offer would be a flying-freehold, seeing as the building is suspended above NR infrastructire (I think)

 

[Russel]

Not the best photo, but it looks like the building is coming down, taken this morning, Sat 7th.

 

[Tilting007]

Surely it would be extremely complicated to sell it off freehold.

I'd assume the "best" they could offer would be a flying-freehold, seeing as the building is suspended above NR infrastructire (I think)

It is (was?) owned by Network Rail Commercial Properties team.

 

[Class15]

Amazed to see the lines appear to have been reopened yet the work has evidently not been finished. Is there a temporary fix?

 

[AndrewP]

Do you know if Network Rail are still the freeholders, or was it sold as a freehold? (or retained by BRB Residuary or something else? )

I honestly can't remember but know it was late 90s or early 00s as I looked at it for residential conversion but too difficult and expensive

 

[edwin_m]

Amazed to see the lines appear to have been reopened yet the work has evidently not been finished. Is there a temporary fix?

Probably they've removed whatever might fall and endanger the line. Either the rest of the work will continue with the railway open (for example if the supporting slab provides enough protection), or they will come back to finish it when a routine possession is available.

 

[DelW]

Amazed to see the lines appear to have been reopened yet the work has evidently not been finished. Is there a temporary fix?

Probably they've removed whatever might fall and endanger the line. Either the rest of the work will continue with the railway open (for example if the supporting slab provides enough protection), or they will come back to finish it when a routine possession is available.

Purely guesswork here, but the roof structure would have tied the tops of the walls together, providing lateral restraint to the brickwork. With the roof gone, the stability of the brick walls would be dependent on the ability of the mortar to resist tension. With a designed-mix mortar to known standards, that can be calculated, but it's an unknown and possibly negligible value in an old structure like this. So the likelihood is that the walls have been taken down to low level, or completely.