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St Pancras railway station is a railway station in the St Pancras area of central London, between the British Library building to the west and King's Cross station to the east. It is the southern terminus of the Midland Main Line, and is the main departure point from London for services to the East Midlands, via Leicester to Sheffield and other parts of Yorkshire. It has been the London terminus for Eurostar services to continental Europe since November 2007 and the terminus for Southeastern domestic high speed services since December 2009.
St Pancras is termed as the "Cathedral of the railways" and includes two of the most celebrated structures built in Britain in the Victorian era. The main trainshed (completed 1868), by the engineer William Henry Barlow, was the largest single-span structure built up to that time. In front of it is St Pancras Chambers, formerly the Midland Grand Hotel (1868-77), one of the most impressive examples of Victorian gothic architecture. Designed by architect George Gilbert Scott, the building initially appears to be in a polychromatic Italian Gothic style - inspired by John Ruskin's Stones of Venice - but on a closer viewing, it incorporates features from a variety of periods and countries. From such an eclectic approach Scott anticipated that a new genre would emerge. Access to the spectacular interiors of the former hotel is by tour only. (Full article...)
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William Henry Barlow FRS FRSE FICE MIMechE (10 May 1812 – 12 November 1902) was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway engineering projects. Barlow was born in Woolwich, the son of mathematician and physist Professor Peter Barlow, who taught at the Royal Military Academy.
From the mid 1840s until 1857, Barlow was chief engineer for the Midland Railway, after which he set up his on consultancy in London. Between 1862 and 1869 he was the consultant engineer on the Midland Railway's extension from Bedford to London, designing St Pancras station and the 240-foot (73 m) wide cast iron and glass train shed roof over the platforms, the widest unsupported arch in the world at the time.
Barlow was also engineer on the completion of Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol and sat on the committee which investigated the causes of the Tay Bridge disaster in 1879. He designed the replacement Tay Bridge completed in 1887. In 1880, he was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. (Full article...)
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- ...that Sir Jacob Epstein's statute Day on the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway caused controversy when it was unveiled due to the length of the penis on one of the figures? Epstein later reduced the length.
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Image 1Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 2London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 3Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 4London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
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Image 5Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 655 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
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Image 8The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 9Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 10Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 11Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 12The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 14Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 16Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 17Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 20Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 21A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 22Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 23Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 24Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 25Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 27View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 28Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
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Image 31The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 32The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 33Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 35TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 36The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 37Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 38Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 40Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 41Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 42The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 43Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
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Image 45The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 46"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 47Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 48London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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