h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What a lot of people don't know is that there are lots of stations that don't appear on any tube map, because they're not in use any more. One example is British Museum, and I think there's also one by Downing Street.

Also, I seem to remember something about the Post Office having it's own private underground (or maybe using disused portions of the underground) as a way of transferring mail in London. Not sure whether this is true or if I'm just dreaming it.

Can anybody confirm or deny??


AndyF
Who may be dreaming at work, but maybe not...I'm confused

Ghost stations, from the Ex-York Encyclopedia Morningtonia. I can't take credit.
Brompton Road (closed 1934) : Picadilly line, somewhere.
British Museum (cl. 1933) : Central line, between Tottenham Court Road & Holborn.
White City (cl. 1959) : Metropolitan line, between Shepherd's Bush & Latimer Road.
Uxbridge Road (cl. 1947) : Metropolitan line segment between Latimer Road & Kensington (Olympia); line segment also closed 1947.
Lords, and Marlborough Road (both cl. 1939) : Metropolitan line between Baker Street & Finchley Road.
St Mary's (Whitechapel Road) (cl. 1938) : Metropolitan line between Whitechapel & Aldgate East.
South Kentish Town (cl. 1924) : Northern line between Kentish Town & Camden Town.
City Road (cl. 1922) : Northern line between Angel & Old Street.
York Road (cl. 1932) : Piccadilly line between King's Cross & Caledonian Road.
Down Street (cl. 1932) : Piccadilly line between Green Park & Hyde Park Corner.
South Acton (cl. 1959) : District line segment was closed - station still serves the North London line.
Aldwych (cl. 1994) : Piccadilly line, peak-hours shuttle from Holborn.
Ongar and North Weald (cl. 1994) : Central line peak-hours shuttle from Epping.
Blake Hall (cl. 1983) : Central line between the ex-North Weald and Ongar.
Information garnered by Tony Kent (using Douglas Rose's 'The London Underground - A Diagrammatic History'), and The Cheesecake Man.

(Got this from someone else)

The Post Office does have it's own underground system. Thr trains are driverless and about the same size as the miniature railways you get at theme parks etc. The system links the four/five main sorting depots around London.

Okay, okay I know this discussion has been dead for six months but I only just got here.

Anyway, as I understand it Kings College are using Aldwych Station (and any unused tunnels attached to it) for storage, this comes from my mole at Kings!

Wouldn't surprise me. The SAS have also allegedly blown up some old trains there, for some exercise or other. Plus it's the only one kept in decentish condition for filming purposes, etc.

What a lot of people don't know is that there's a closed station that has been shut and lurking underground now for exactly 100 years - the original King William Street terminus of the Northern Line.

Can you see these missing stations? Is there any way of telling if you're on a train and you go past them? Are the original buildings still there above ground, or have they been taken over by someone else?

It's possible to see a fair few of them both above and underground - the station buildings to Down Street, York Road and Aldwych are still there (amongst others), and it's easy to see many of them (or at least where they are) at track level - you've just got to know where to look. For example, you only have to watch the right-hand side of the Piccadilly line going from Piccadilly Circus to Gloucester Road to see the brick walls where Brompton Road and Down Street platforms once were.

Too much information to repeat here (lest I get round to writing a proper entry about these things), but follow this link if you're interested in these things..

http://www.deja.com/[LBURL=_LBHTwww.h2g2.com_LBFS,LBT,ST_rn=ps]/threadmsg_ct.xp?AN=568897840

Yes! I saw the back of Brompton Road station just today. I was walking from the Imperial College Prince's Gardens halls down to Knightsbridge, there's a building just as you join Knightsbridge that has the classic red tiles on the back. I thought, "that's Brompton Road tube station".

but surely there must be loads of mutants and giant blind rats crawling around these places. do they just abandon the stations? or seal them off? can i go visit them?

i'll get the giant mutant blind rat gun!

and spiders the size of small sheep!

London Underground sometimes organise tours of Aldwych and Down Street, but the tickets are in heavy demand. Some are kept in visitable condition, others aren't..

Why.... I'm not sure I want to know

I can't confirm or deny on the subject of Post Office rail, but I must say I also thought this existed.
Hope

Do you know how anybody could find out about getting tickets on one of these tours.

Also - the most recently disused platforms on the Jubilee Line at Charing Cross should still be visitable if you dodge through the barriers. Risky, but might be worth it.

There is at least one private line, connecting Whitechapel sorting office with Mount Pleasant, but I don't know of any others.

I dunno about others but if you look on the correct side in the right place on the Piccadilly between Cally Road + King's Cross you see a large gap where York Road used to be. It's also visible on the 10 bus route - after you go under the bridge adjacent to the Kings + rail lines look left and you'll see the big building with 'York Road' on it, boarded up.

The disused stations are pobably homes for rats and mice, as well as Tott. Ct. Rd. (Northern Line)

The post office tunnel train thingy is described in further detail at:

http://www.karslake.co.uk/mailrail/index.html

South Kentish Town can be seen between Camden + Kentish Town northbound on the Northern Barnet branch. Look right (that's the side with all the orange cables) after leaving Camden Town and you'll see a large gap where the platform is.

Aldwych station is also in use as a hirable venue, and has been used by record companies for album launches.

old sections of track are widely used for archive storage, esp for film and magnetic media as they're temperature controlled and highly secure.

Aldwych also masquerades as other stations when TV or movies need to be shot on the Underground. It should guest star in Harry Potter.