Kings Cross

[Flamingo]

Not KX but a little good news for Euston.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... river.html

Yes good news indeed. Would be even better if they were to rebuild the Great Hall which BR vandalised ( sorry, should read demolished, obliterated, razed to the ground...) also as part of the 1960s Euston rebuilding.

[manna]

G'Day Gents
'Supermac' use to say ' you've never had it so good' should read ' you've never lost so much'
manna

[StevieG]

.... " What happened to the Great Northern Hotel, it use to face south east now face's north west and looks to me to have been moved 200yds south ?? "....

Been travelling through the main station at 'the Cross' for about 40 years, and pretty sure that during that time it hasn't moved an inch, though with everything around it gone or dramatically changed (apart from the main station''s West Side Offices, and Pancras Road/St.P itself), perhaps photographs could give a 'moved' impression.

[StevieG]

http://richard2890.fotopic.net/p46637184.html

It looks like the up road signals were colourlight by the time this diagram was in use however the down main and slow distants look like beasts..

At the time of your photo those distants were both motor-operated. With nothing else obviously looking like having changed since Welwyn North box took over Digswell box's function in the 1930s, we could postulate that these two had been electric right from that time.

[StevieG]

That is good news, thanks for sharing. I haven't been in the area for many years, but what in hades is that hideous blue box to the left of the twin arches? Did someone actually spend years in getting an archtectural degree to come up with that? It looks like, and I hope it is, some kind of temporary structure.

Oh, I just had a read of the "memories" thread in Railway Chat and this quote from 'hq1hitchin' may explain it:

. . . "It was the bit of the West side offices above the old booking office. When the bombs fell, they hit the RTO, a military travel office, and killed ten soldiers, I think. The missing offices were never replaced, until recently, I believe". Could this be it?

The blue box looks from outside like a well-fitted out 'temporary'. It is currently (from new) the B.T. Police's offices - presumably those persons previously occupying part of the W.Side offices near the footbridge. We could hope they will ultimately be accommodated somewhere in the new setup, and that this blue box (haven't noticed a 'Blue Lamp' though) will disappear, as part of the whole plan to open- piazza-ise the area in front of the original trainsheds.
The 'missing' part of the W.Side offices (between the 'old' booking office and the yard outside the suburban station) has so far had a multi-floored (I think, with 1st & 2nd floor levels) concrete skeleton constructed in it, up to what looks like the original's height.

[third-rail]

there an even bigger tempory blue box by the gas works tunnels

[61070]

Here's an area of Kings Cross seen in June 1961 from, I suspect, a not-very-often-photographed viewpoint: a train approaching St Pancras. I think part of the roof of King's Cross passenger station can be glimpsed on the skyline at far right - and is that the rear wall of the Goods Depot is on the left (in faded paintwork, at the top of the gable ends, can be seen the words 'RAILWAY' and 'KINGS CROSS')?

I don't know what the other buildings in the centre/right background are, though. Can anyone identify them? It looks like the chimney stacks could belong to the same buildings that are visible at download/file.php?id=2884&mode=view . Is this correct?

[hq1hitchin]

A nice picture, the view seen by tens of thousands as they arrived into London. The other end of the building in the middle foreground (still standing, I think) used to say 'GREAT NORTHERN' even at the end of that decade. You are quite right about the view of KX passenger station on the skyline and the nearer buildings are all part of the Kings Cross Goods complex which, incredibly, used to employ 1000 people at one time but, sadly, I don't have the detailed knowledge to say what the buildings were. As far as I am aware, nobody has ever written a book about 'The Goods Yard', a bit of a shame as the place is now just a memory, like Somers Town next door. Since the Eurostar link out of St Pancras went in, no part of the former GN site is now rail connected, and it's doubtful if it ever could be again.

[StevieG]

.... " As far as I am aware, nobody has ever written a book about 'The Goods Yard', a bit of a shame as the place is now just a memory, like Somers Town next door. Since the Eurostar link out of St Pancras went in, no part of the former GN site is now rail connected, and it's doubtful if it ever could be again. "

The west abutment of the CTRL line bridge over the GN at Belle Isle, has impinged greatly across the part of 'the Goods Yard's 'throat' which remained after some its eastern side was lowered for the mid-1970s forming of the new track alignment for the current Slow lines from the western bore of Gasworks Tunnel to connect with the former Goods lines (west) bore of Copenhagen Tunnel.
From passing trains now, it looks as if there remains just enough width of the original track formation between the CTRL bridge abutment and the retaining wall by the Down Slow, for perhaps two tracks, so, although the 'north yard' and Top Shed's site must have been virtually obliterated, the original GY site could be rail-connected once more.
However from roughly this same point, by the south edge of the bridge abutment, and constructed along with the other CTRL works, a two-track width of ground turning to the S.W. was lowered to form an inclined approach to a new tunnel (also built then) leading to an intending junction with the 'Thameslink' lines just N. of St.Panc. International's Thameslink platforms. This incline is currently fenced off, with the tunnel beyond (commencing roughly where the York Way road viaduct stood) awaiting its first service trains with the planned link up of First Capital Connect's GN route with its Thameslink line.
With this intended use, rail connection branching off to a part of the 'Goods Yard' site might still remain possible, subject to PWay track geometry difficulties, but freight use would probably not be welcomed by the passenger train companies.

[third-rail]

most of this site is being redeveloped for the university the buildings are subject to english heritage approval however there has been or is still ongoing a archeoligist dig which has found buried at least 2no wagon turntables which are to preserved insitu.the bridge from goods wagon way???into the site over the canel has been removed,it was lifted out by a very large crane ,there is a video of it somewhere on the net [youtube?????????]

[R. pike]

Here are the signalled bits of the goods yard entrance....

Goods and Mineral
http://richard2890.fotopic.net/p55233855.html
and Five Arch Bridge
http://richard2890.fotopic.net/p55233854.html

[hq1hitchin]

An architect correspondent tells us: 'Although this looks like the return of the Dunkirk Armada, the clue is on the retaining wall on the far side of the canal identifying this spot as the St Pancras Basin. The buildings on the right hand side are the ‘Coal and Fish’ offices (still there) and the glimpse of the roof in the distance on the far right is of Kings Cross station. The buildings on the other side of the canal are flanking the old coal drops. The photograph is taken from the bridge at the throat of St Pancras and this may now have changed during the remodelling.' I have found somebody still around who worked at KX Goods and also asked him for any info he may have

[third-rail]

Here's an area of Kings Cross seen in June 1961 from, I suspect, a not-very-often-photographed viewpoint: a train approaching St Pancras. I think part of the roof of King's Cross passenger station can be glimpsed on the skyline at far right - and is that the rear wall of the Goods Depot is on the left (in faded paintwork, at the top of the gable ends, can be seen the words 'RAILWAY' and 'KINGS CROSS')?

I don't know what the other buildings in the centre/right background are, though. Can anyone identify them? It looks like the chimney stacks could belong to the same buildings that are visible at download/file.php?id=2884&mode=view . Is this correct?

nice picture, can anyone tell me what the overhead like catenary was used for, it is on the right of the picture above the 16t coal wagon and ends at the brick built cabin.

[52D]

ISTR that the overhead line powered a traverser for the coal drops.

[61070]

Thanks for the information everyone. With the benefit of your insights I've been looking at some of the detail in the photo again, and it's a case of the more you know the more you see. For example, I hadn't noticed the steel mineral wagon, loaded with coal, that you can just see the top of over the bridge parapet, far right. Presumably it's on a track that led over the canal from KX Goods Yard via the lattice girder bridge (part of which can be seen to the left of the small flat-roofed brick building with the stovepipe chimney), this being, presumably, the bridge referred to by third-rail

Then there are those swan-necked columns above the wagon, which look like they are supporting some form of overhead traction wiring???

Down the sloping ground to the left of the flat-roofed building there seems to be a well-tended garden - complete with pergola - amid this stark industrial landscape! Perhaps it was the colourful contrast of this that attracted my father to record the scene, even if in black and white.

Trying (and failing, so far) to find the film on YouTube recommended by third-rail, I came across a 1924 film called 'Barging Through London': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jZWDVrHk3k . It has short, tantalising glimpses of LNER interest, particularly at 4:07 for a few seconds and 08:10 to 08:35.