024/270: #HeathrowTerminal123 – The Unreachable

ImageJanuary 19, 2017January 19, 2017Andy Carter 2 Comments

I’m never sure what to officially call this station, and now Terminal 1 has ceased to exist that’s been made even worse. Is it still Heathrow Terminal 1,2,3 or Heathrow Terminal 1,2&3 or Heathrow Terminal 2,3 or Heathrow Terminal 2&3??…

Well the roundels say 1,2,3 so let’s go with that. Terminal 1,2,3’s claim to fame is that it’s the only tube station not to be accessible by foot. And yes I suppose you could go back to my last post and say neither is Terminal 4 (023) as that’s only accessible through another building, but the building itself is accessible on foot. You could walk up to Terminal 4 and 5 stations from the outside world if you wanted to but that’s something you definitely can’t do here. The only way to access it (other than on the Piccadilly Line of course) would be to get a bus to the bus station or drive in and park via the Bath Road Tunnel.

Below I’m standing outside the Terminal 2 exit. The former Terminal 1 exit is seen through the ticket hall, now boarded up with advertising hoardings. Incidentally, is this the only station not to announce its own name on the entrance? It certainly used to be displayed here but I wonder if they haven’t got round to renaming it properly now Terminal 1 is shut… The ground level exit above is nothing to write home about either. But then it’s an airport isn’t it, functional and clear with no bells and whistles.

Image copyright A Carter – CallingAllStations.co.uk

023/270: #HeathrowTerminal4 – The Freebie

ImageJanuary 19, 2017January 19, 2017Andy Carter 2 Comments

It’s free to travel between the Heathrow Terminals and Hatton Cross (022) so the next few stations are on TfL. The stations in these parts are full of rarities and oddities. Terminal 4‘s quirks are it’s only one of four stations with only a single platform (the others being Mill Hill East, Olympia and Chesham) and of these four it is the only one to be uni-directional. It’s also the only station, that I can think of, that is only accessible through another building – with it’s only exit leading straight into the terminal. Of course you could be pedantic and argue that both Terminal 1,2,3 (024) and Terminal 5 (025) stations also act in this way, but the former definitely has a street level exit to a bus station, and the later is part of the general station complex of the terminal with it’s own street level exit. Either way, it’s pretty rare.

I expect not many people stop to appreciate the airport stations as I expect their minds are fully focused on not losing any small children, and remembering in which of the 6000 suitcase pockets the passport is located. This is a shame as the octagonal ticket hall is rather pleasant, almost as if it too were mimicking Holden design just like South Ealing (015) at the start of this trip. There’s also an art exhibition in there if you’re passing through (also free)…

Image copyright A Carter – CallingAllStations.co.uk

021/270: #HounslowWest – The Heptagonal

ImageJanuary 19, 2017February 25, 2017Andy Carter Leave a comment

Back to Holden ways, Hounslow West was the original terminus of the line until the extension to Hatton Cross (022) opened in 1975. It features this uniquely heptagonal shaped ticket hall, and yes there are roundels stained into the glass on each of the seven corners (with the obvious exception of the street facing one which instead caries a 3D roundel on a flag pole).

As you can see, it’s rather popular with the local pigeons.

Image copyright A Carter – CallingAllStations.co.uk

020/270: #HounslowCentral – The Cottage

ImageJanuary 19, 2017January 19, 2017Andy Carter Leave a comment

Ah that’s better. After Hounslow East (020) I need something a little more traditional. (After all we all know what’s coming at the end of the line…).

Hounslow Central to me looks like a cottage, all be it one that’s completely out of proportion with itself. And does it say Hounslow Central enough times on the frontage? Anyway, look out for this one in the up coming video diary, there’s some nice features about this station.

Image copyright A Carter – CallingAllStations.co.uk

019/270: #HounslowEast – The Millennial

ImageJanuary 19, 2017January 19, 2017Andy Carter 3 Comments

Oh. Well this is different. Warning, here come’s some opinion…

Curiously a Holden design for Hounslow East did exist and was even approved for construction by Frank Pick but for some reason it never got built. Instead the original 1909 Edwardian ticket hall remained here until 2002 when this gaudy monstrosity was built by Acanthus Lawrence and Wrightson Architects.

I’m not sure whether the use of black and white images for this project is making Hounslow East look worse than it actually is. Or alternatively whether it’s actually saving you from true horror of the copper green roof, dirty cream tiles and diagonal wooden beams. Yes, you did read that right, those V-shaped beams are made of oak – which I suppose at the very least is interesting and unusual for this period of design. I suppose it’s supposed to look like a tree? Naturally it doesn’t. This is dreadful.

The redeeming feature of this station is the interior ceiling which again is a surprising series of oak beams which wouldn’t look out of place in a high class theatre or concert venue.