Grimmest, most dismal approach to a station?

[yorksrob]

I agree with your points entirely, though this thread is for the views (or lack of) when approaching:- and Charing Cross has lovely views of the Thames!

The trip through the rooftops between London Bridge and Charing Cross is rather good as well.

 

[chris89]

The yellow seating/paneling is getting removed from Queen Street LL & is getting replaced by this:

Thank you and damn :/ That is a massive shame they are doing that. I did see they were taking it down at Central LL as well last time when was in Glasgow to.

Guess will make it uniform with the other stations. But gave those two stations a bit of character.

Chris

 

[Strathclyder]

Thank you and damn :/ That is a massive shame they are doing that. I did see they were taking it down at Central LL as well last time when was in Glasgow to.

Guess will make it uniform with the other stations. But gave those two stations a bit of character.

Chris

Not to mention a huge loss in seating capacity.

 

[leytongabriel]

Ever been past Dagenham Dock to Rainham on LT &S? From simply industrial to plain depressing, yards of rotting buses, piles of old tyres and the odd forlorn bit of council housing in between to remind you there people still live there.

 

[fowler9]

Not entirely sure I would include stations at the end of cuttings in this such as Lime Street. If they are included then I would include the entire Merseyrail Northern Line from Hunts Cross to Blundellsands and Crosby when heading in to Liverpool.

 

[Midland2F]

The approach to London Euston left a lot to be desired, its not so much the scenery as how run down it all looks.

 

[sarahj]

Ever been past Dagenham Dock to Rainham on LT &S? From simply industrial to plain depressing, yards of rotting buses, piles of old tyres and the odd forlorn bit of council housing in between to remind you there people still live there.

I used to live near there, new flats overlooking the container depot. Dagenham Dock was very grim. They have done it up with the HSL1 a bit, but still grimm. Power stations, 'car' factories, scrap yards. This is the place where containers go to die. But it seems Rainham mud flats etc still have an air of decay. A grim appraoch for those coming in on eurostar, mainly glad your going to fast to realy see too much.

One of the grimmest used to be coming into Newcastle from the west when you used to go via Blaydon. Bad estates, loads of overgrown sidings, rubble, ruins.

Then it got moved to via Dunston and that was grim, passing slag heaps#, stations that were rubble*. It was quite refreshing to come out of the tunnel and turn to go over the KE bridge. Going the other way Blaydon station seems run down, not serving anything but a main road, but once passed that things improved so much.

# Now the Metro centre. An improvment over piles of slag and mud?
* Now Dunston station

 

[frodshamfella]

Not entirely sure I would include stations at the end of cuttings in this such as Lime Street. If they are included then I would include the entire Merseyrail Northern Line from Hunts Cross to Blundellsands and Crosby when heading in to Liverpool.

although Cressington Park is rather nice

 

[Mex]

The yellow seating/paneling is getting removed from Queen Street LL & is getting replaced by this:

Thanks, you did better than I could have with the pictures (no camera).

Did you also notice the painting that was on the structure that's on the island? It was a diagram of the line & stations - in a 30s style. Destroyed as well.

 

[reb0118]

Dundee from the South or Dalmeny from the North must figure somewhere? Especially if you are thalassophobic or gephyrophobic.

 

[Midland2F]

The approach to London Euston was a bit grim, just untidy and run down but that seems to be the case for the majority of large station approaches. It doesn't help when the buildings nearby look shabby either.

 

[Bodiddly]

Arriving from the North or even the South into Corrour station is just nasty! All those mountains, desolation and lack of commuters makes the area truly horrible!
(Tongue placed very firmly in cheek)!

 

[syorksdeano]

Another vote for Birmingham New Street from any approach.......but then again I'm having to travel through it more and more often and it's depressing me

 

[muddythefish]

I don't know what the fuss is about - I love industrial landscapes, and only wish the factories and steelworks were still there and working hard like they used to be in the 1960s.

The best surely must be the line out from Middlesbrough to Saltburn past the giant furnaces on South Bank. Absolutely awe-inspiring - or they were until Mrs Thatcher did her worst in the 1980s.

Far more depressing to me is travelling around the rail network and seeing decaying sidings and vast yards overgrown and derelict and devoid of traffic. Newton Abbot, Bristol and Taunton is awful, York (Dringhouses) the same, while passing Severn Tunnel brings tears to my eyes.

On my old home patch Blackburn, Preston and Bolton were bustling with freight yards even in the 1970s. All now long gone.

 

[mr williams]

Avonmouth to Severn Beach

 

[HowardGWR]

Avonmouth to Severn Beach

Well which bit? Sea Mills is nice.

 

[Wavertreelad]

I don't know what the fuss is about - I love industrial landscapes, and only wish the factories and steelworks were still there and working hard like they used to be in the 1960s.

Far more depressing to me is travelling around the rail network and seeing decaying sidings and vast yards overgrown and derelict and devoid of traffic. .

Totally agree, surely part of the benefits of rail travel is the ability to view all these sights from an angle that is not available by any other means, although the site of overgrown railway particularly alongside working railway does not help the public perception of the industry.

 

[D6975]

Well which bit? Sea Mills is nice.

Sea Mills isn't between Avonmouth and Severn Beach.

 

[nottinghamcity]

I vote Wolverhampton, especially from the Birmingham direction. Stuck there yesterday, endless unloved waste land, little industrial units, dank looking canals and very little sign of life. Must be awful working there.

My daily commute. Luckily I get to escape at Dudley Port! Funnily enough I only had to read the title to think the W word

 

[HowardGWR]

Sea Mills isn't between Avonmouth and Severn Beach.

Didn't read it properly. Agree with OP. I got stuck at St Andrews Road once on a cold February morning in 1958 and froze. Good for watching the shunting though.

 

[Kite159]

Agreed with the Severn Beach line, until it pulls clear of the industrial part and you get views of the channel & crossing

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd....7_10152418386220041_6522232424603430317_o.jpg)

 

[Howardh]

After travelling through the Lakes, Penrith and Carlisle are very disappointing. Not grim though, it's just the comparison!!

 

[185143]

Warrington BQ is grim, with Crosfield's soap works (Unilever) dominating the view to the west, and terraced housing/run-down hotel/freight yards to the east.
A great pity the LNWR rebuilt the station south of the Liverpool Road bridge to form a high level/low level interchange in 1868 - pointless now.

Oi! Maybe you just don't like Pendolinos

 

[BLS]

Ardwick and both directions in and out of Victoria immediately spring to mind

 

[bewildered]

Coming into Leeds from the east is rather grim. It's ok upto Crossgates, but then it's just back to backs and 60s council estates as far as the eye can see, although it's interspersed by Neville Hill but then the dark cutting along the side of east end park is grim. Gets better then though once you get to Gotham City building. The run in from Hunslett is also a bit grim too after Freightliners depot until you get into the city.

I've never liked the run into Darlington from either end. Especially on no grey miserable day it just seems such a sad a depressing surrounding.

 

[HowardGWR]

Originally Posted by LNW-GW Joint
Warrington BQ is grim, with Crosfield's soap works (Unilever) dominating the view to the west, and terraced housing/run-down hotel/freight yards to the east.
A great pity the LNWR rebuilt the station south of the Liverpool Road bridge to form a high level/low level interchange in 1868 - pointless now.

I had a look at the low level line petering out beyond Wilderspool Causeway (with Street View). The rails were shiny so what function do these long sidings perform now? I also noticed, following the line west, that Widnes appears not have a station. Is that right?

 

[fowler9]

I had a look at the low level line petering out beyond Wilderspool Causeway (with Street View). The rails were shiny so what function do these long sidings perform now? I also noticed, following the line west, that Widnes appears not have a station. Is that right?

The coal trains from Fiddlers Ferry reverse on that line out beyond Wilderspool Causeway to get on to the WCML. There are no stations on the line west anymore, it eventually links up with the Liverpool to London route at Ditton.

 

[edwin_m]

There were numerous stations in Widnes in the past, but the only surviving one with that name is on the CLC route which carries the Liverpool-Warrington-Manchester passenger service.

 

[Tio Terry]

For me it has to be Liverpool Street. That dark, gloomy high walled route under Bishopsgate is dirty and dark. Spent too much time there waiting a platform - and walking through there on occasions! It's a horrible place to be.

Having said that, Birmingham New Street is a close second.

 

[fowler9]

Nothing against the midlands but most routes in to Birmingham are grim for a good few miles before you arrive. I quite like the post industrial landscapes of the north east but for some reason Birmingham has never done it for me.