Slashdot Mirror
Ghost Stations of the London Underground
PinchDuck writes "Check out this site to get a tour of London Underground stations that have been abandoned during the century+ history of the commuter system. You can apparently still get to some of them! (though not by taking the Tube, obviously). I wish I had found this site 2 weeks ago, when I went to London, but now my geeky explorations must wait until my next visit (having just flown back in to Detroit today)."
The Tube has nearly 256 miles of track and, per the following link, nearly 40 old ghost stations that are no longer in service.
/. article was just posted.
I found this old article on The Tube's Web site that really gives a nice overview of things. I actually read that a few weeks ago, so it's kind of ironic that this
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
Apparently, the TTC has more than one phantom station too. I think the Tea Party filmed a video on a closed off Bay statioon level (?). There's at least one more, but I can't think of it/them offhand.
Honestly... Urban decay is a fascinating subject, really imagine what New York City would look like after no human inhabitants had been there for five hundred years or more... Or even what would be left of this civilization in three or four thousand years when no-one remembers who the presidents of the United States of America were, or what wars were fought and why... Even more interesting are the conclusions about our society that would be made from the inferences that future researchers may take from any possible small piece of evidence...
For more of the same, here's a great web site about abandoned stations in the New York City subway system, including a just gorgeous station directly underneath City Hall that sadly cannot be returned to service due to some minor technical issues (in addition to it being considered a security risk in this day and age).
If you're interested in urban decay and the subterranian life of NYC, I'd highly recommend the documentary Dark Days by Marc Singer. It's truly a wonderfully done documentary of the underworld of poverty and despair in the abandoned and not abandoned NYC subway tunnels.
Some of these London stations are used to great effect in Neil Gaiman's book "Neverwhere".
Very cool book, IMHO
I visited it in 2000 when I was in Berlin. I took the "guided tour" of the area.
Ostbahnhof was a station on a line that started in West Berlin, ducked into East Berlin for a little bit, through one station and then went back into West Berlin. The U-Bahn did not stop at Ostbahnhof while the city was divided. However, that did not stop some East Berliners from trying to use that train to escape East Berlin - which resulted in some fatalities until the East German government wised up.
Later, West Berliners taking the train would be able to see a "ghost" station as the train sped by Ostbahnhof with armed guards patrolling the station to prevent East Berliners from trying to escape.
Mmmm.. Donuts
I think we should really give the US audience a chance to get the hang, and use the simplified version for now...
I live on Watling Street, so that amendment stands too. Or indeed the playstation 2 version, considering the media of this discussion...
sig:- (wit >= sarcasm)
I know of one abandoned station on the "T" -- the old Harvard stop -- and think there may be another. It's an odd thing to glimpse in the tunnels. I can only imagine how much dirt, dust, and grime collects over the years. The bus-like Green line, which is a bit like an amusement park ride as it winds it's way under the city, has some very interesting views when, as often happens, the driver has to jump out the door to kick some ancient signal over that's preventing passage.
:) (A couple of those bridges, for example.)
Speaking of relics, the big dig (multibillion $ replacement of the main artery with tunnels) brought up all sort of oddities, such as hollowed-out tree trunks used as sewers in the 18th century. The mysteries that stir beneath.
Surely the Chicago L, Paris Metro, and so on share these features. And, given the nature of the web where one person's trivia is another's lifelong obsession, I'm sure the info is out there, somewhere.
Thanks for the NYC cite. NYC has all sorts of interesting things buried there.... And I can't help but say there are a lot of public works in the city that are not abandoned -- and should be.
A few years ago, I went on a tour of some of the ghost stations in the Boston Subway. It was a great experience and a litle spooky too. Many of these stations are excatly like they were when they were open...they just locked the doors and turned out the lights. I believe that you can take a tour of the Ghost Stations of the New York subway too. Of course, with all the paranoia of: 'Homeland Insecurity', maybe not.... Here are a couple of links: Boston: Http://members.aol.com/eddanamta/abandoned/abansta s.html
New York: http://www.cc.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/
Repository of all kinds of interesting stuff like this: http://www.deathrock.net/ariadne/ruins.html
In 1983 I was in Berlin and a reponsible adult (?) took us out on the S-Bahn and for whatever reason on that night the train took a spin through (under) East Berlin and through 3 stations that had been closed for 40 years.
It was wierd as hell, the stations looked... well... bombed out and there was debris everywhere. At each station there was a lone bare bulb and a lone polizei with an AK-47. The air was extremly stale too. The train wasn't allowed to stop, it just slowed.
Like a litle tram trip through the Twilight Zone.
I can only assume that all that is a memory and those stations have been re-built now and are operational, no? Any Berliners care to comment?
Beneath columbia university and the surrounding area in new york there is a system of tunnels that span several square blocks. Originally I was under the impression that the university just used a few of them for maintenance and hiding the work men from tour groups, however one evening after getting a little stoned a few of us embarked on an expedition to chart them.
Seems the tunnels do connect a number of Columbia and buildings, but it also links up to the 116th street train station and a number of other non columbia facilities. Whats really odd is the total lack of security and the equipment being housed.
Most of the power generatos and phone switches for columbia seem to be located down there, and there isnt much keeping one from going from the ny subway system into the tunnels housing Columbia's equipment.
There are four of those east of Denver that lie in land that was leased from ranchers when they were dug, and reverted to the ranchers when the Air Force shut them down. They're a continual problem for the county sheriff, because teenagers break into them and hold clandestine parties with predictable results. The ranchers have gone to a lot of trouble to seal them up, but the kids have been remarkably resourceful in defeating them. Cutting torches and hydraulic jacks have been employed at times.
There was a promoter who claimed to be working up a plan to turn the silos into upscale underground homes for people with off-center tastes in housing, but that never got anywhere. I haven't heard about them in four or five years now, so maybe they've just been filled in.
rj
I have gone down many old gold mines and caves in Colorado. Just wish we had taken a camera, not that they had digital ones back in the day.
/.ing on a adsl! and great story and pictures. Its just more fun actually doing the exploration with a friend. So now when we are doing a trip, I guess we will do a little net exploration first, to narrow down the candiates.
But while the sites are impressive. (taking a good
On other stations there is also a station at parliment as well, that is only for use in war situations, that i've seen from time to time. And when they refurbed Embankment i'm sure i notice a line that is not used today. But this seems the best time to find things, when they have to close stations for varying reasons. Take this year when flooding closed large areas of the network in early september. I got to use stairwells that obviously had not seen the human foot of the normal passenger in some time.
--+> Life, is there any?
I'm extremely skeptical that the Columbia tunnels connect to the subway tunnels. Please provide a few more details. I, um, i mean my friend spent an awful lot of time looking for the fabled "Broadway Passage" that would connect Columbia to Barnard, and the closest i (i mean he) came was finding a pipe that disappeared into a block of concrete with a sign next to it reading "Sulzberger"
My friend has a very good map of the tunnels. You should email him if you want a copy. See also this excellent site.
--
Mod up a post Rob doesn't like and you'll never mod again