The 270
054/270: #WalthamstowCentral – The Backup
Walthamstow Central is one of my backup stations. When the Central Line is broken, this or Blackhorse Road (014) is where I’ll be headed. We’re 27 days into the year and I’ve used both…
A station existed here for nearly 100 years before the Victoria Line showed up. If the signs didn’t tell you where it was, you’d be forgiven for completely missing the ticket hall which hides beneath the Overground tracks to Chingford.
Long before the concept of Zone 3 existed, this area would have once been surrounded by fields and open countryside. It’s a far cry from the shiny new flats and developments that now surround and dwarf the quaint Victorian era station building.
Image copyright A Carter – CallingAllStations.co.uk
053/270: #Holborn – The Door
Ever noticed the door? The boring white door at the entrance to the Northbound Piccadilly Line platform at Holborn?
You’ve probably walked past it a number of times not knowing what’s behind it.
A whole other world of Leslie Green tiles and long forgotten posters. Of rusty track and dusty walls. A world of abandoned platforms and the Aldwych branch is behind this door. Let me in.
Image copyright A Carter – CallingAllStations.co.uk
052/270: #LeicesterSquare – The Worst
Someone asked me not so long a go “What’s your favourite station?” That’s a very tough question, of which I’d struggle to answer without giving it some serious thought. “OK So what’s you’re least favourite station?”
Easy.
Leicester Square.
No doubt about it, didn’t even have to think.
Sorry tourists, I know you’re important to the economy of this city, but you are like a moth to a flame when it comes to Leicester Square. I know it’s supposedly the heart of the West End, but really, could you not think of anywhere more imaginative to go than Aberdeen Angus Steak House?…
The station always feels cramped and overcrowded and the streets above are no better. You’ll get knocked into, walked in front of and squeezed into claustrophobic spaces. I feel like there’s never any escape. Every bit of dislike and anxiety towards the Piccadilly Line is rooted in this station.
Leicester Square you are the worst.
Image copyright A Carter – CallingAllStations.co.uk
051/270: #Pimlico – The Exception To The Rule
Pimlico is the only station on the Victoria Line not to offer an interchange with another railway or tube line. This in some ways is an often neglected attribute of the Victoria Line, it’s a transport hub of hubs if you will. It’s an exceptionally clever piece of urban planning that to this day makes the Victoria Line one of the most efficient lines in the city. Naturally there has to be an exception to the rule, and that exception is Pimlico.
Different too are the backlit roundels, which used to be a feature of all the stations on the Victoria Line. For whatever reason they were replaced with basic enamel ones, except of course at Pimlico.
Image copyright A Carter – CallingAllStations.co.uk
Calling All Stations 