Points of interest in tunnels

[Sad Sprinter]

You forgot Goodge St and on the Central line Chancery Lane.


Re the connection at Charing Cross it is still there and in more than one place if you know where to look.


You are right about various safety reasons and all that but there is a tunnel at Charing Cross. Before Westminster was rebuilt there was a connection from the EB platform to the old Scotland yard.


The only secret ones are either the ones you don't know about or the ones you don't have keys for and I don't mean signal rooms.

Are you suggesting you might have they keys?!

 

[Ex LT]

Are you suggesting you might have they keys?!

No I don't have any keys station staff at Charing cross would have keys for the door from the station but it would not get you very far. As far as I can remember the station fire plans used to have the entrance marked on it used to say Whitehall tunnel but I suspect they may have removed this. Just after the Jubilee line opened there was some furniture brought to the station it was for those behind the closed doors when they tried to get it through it was too big for obvious reasons if you know the door I'm talking about. It was never tried again.

 

[Lockwood]

Talking about secret doors and stuff...

That door that is labelled for Private Rod. Is that his locker? Does it go to his lodgings? Will he ever make lance corporal?

 

[Basil Jet]

You forgot Goodge St and on the Central line Chancery Lane.

I didn't forget them, I was replying to a question about the southern end of the Northern Line. You however forgot Belsize Park and Camden Town.

 

[Ex LT]

Talking about secret doors and stuff...

That door that is labelled for Private Rod. Is that his locker? Does it go to his lodgings? Will he ever make lance corporal?

The amount of doors on lots of stations have those markings Private ROD if you know what ROD means you might get promotion!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The amount of doors on lots of stations have those markings Private ROD if you know what ROD means you might get promotion!

Railway Operating Division...?

...or is that too obvious?

 

[Ex LT]

I didn't forget them, I was replying to a question about the southern end of the Northern Line. You however forgot Belsize Park and Camden Town.

No I did not forget them I deliberately left them out to see if you would notice. We won't mention Oval as they never finished not much really done.

Railway Operating Division...?

...or is that too obvious?

Railway Operating Department.

 

[Ken H]

During WW2 they put in waterproof doors where tube lines went under the Thames. Think the risk was a bomb exploding in the river causing water ingress into the tunnels. Are they still there, are they still working, and can you notice them from a train? Think the 2 Northern line branches and the Bakerloo had them installed. Also, I think, there were some measures taken where the District/Circle line ran under the embankment.

 

[Basil Jet]

No I did not forget them I deliberately left them out to see if you would notice. We won't mention Oval as they never finished not much really done.

I know where one or both round surface buildings are at all of the Northern Line ones... but were any round buildings built at Oval, and were any built at Chancery Lane?

 

[Roger1973]

I'd thought it meant 'Rarely Opened Door'...

 

[edwin_m]

During WW2 they put in waterproof doors where tube lines went under the Thames. Think the risk was a bomb exploding in the river causing water ingress into the tunnels. Are they still there, are they still working, and can you notice them from a train? Think the 2 Northern line branches and the Bakerloo had them installed. Also, I think, there were some measures taken where the District/Circle line ran under the embankment.

Several of them featured in the "Secrets of the London Underground" TV series and/or the "Hidden London Hangouts" videos. All, as far as I recall, were inactive or just remains of doors that had been removed.

 

[bramling]

I know where one or both round surface buildings are at all of the Northern Line ones... but were any round buildings built at Oval, and were any built at Chancery Lane?

Chancery Lane has always been somewhat mysterious due to its conversion to Kingsway hardened telephone exchange. My understanding is the entrance was always through the original Central Line station buildings, but I’m less clear about what existed at the other end.

Oval was started. The northern access shaft survives to this day, once the shelter project was abandoned it subsequently found use being converted to act as a draught-relief shaft for the station. As such it can clearly be seen on the surface. My belief is the southern shaft was commenced as well, but was backfilled after abandonment.

 

[Ex LT]

I know where one or both round surface buildings are at all of the Northern Line ones... but were any round buildings built at Oval, and were any built at Chancery Lane?

At the Oval no round buildings as such but they did make use of a shaft for ventilation purposes Across from the station is the triangle bit you will see a sort of circular building. At Chancery Lane you can see one of the buildings but it does not look like the Northern line ones a lifting device hangs above the door the last time I was there, it is located in Furnival St.

I'd thought it meant 'Rarely Opened Door'...

To some staff that is correct did not want to get their hands dirty!

Chancery Lane has always been somewhat mysterious due to its conversion to Kingsway hardened telephone exchange. My understanding is the entrance was always through the original Central Line station buildings, but I’m less clear about what existed at the other end.

Oval was started. The northern access shaft survives to this day, once the shelter project was abandoned it subsequently found use being converted to act as a draught-relief shaft for the station. As such it can clearly be seen on the surface. My belief is the southern shaft was commenced as well, but was backfilled after abandonment.

I have just posted where the other location is. The one you say by the station and after conversion to a telephone exchange access was through a door which most people knew about. Oval was as you say one shaft used the other backfilled.

 

[Mawkie]

During WW2 they put in waterproof doors where tube lines went under the Thames.

There's a couple on the Piccadilly line - eastbound between Holborn and Russell Sq, and westbound between Piccadilly Circus and Green Park. I doubt you could see them from the carriage. They are decommissioned.


The image shows a flood gate.

 

[Ex LT]

There's a couple on the Piccadilly line - eastbound between Holborn and Russell Sq, and westbound between Piccadilly Circus and Green Park. I doubt you could see them from the carriage. They are decommissioned.

View attachment 152783
The image shows a flood gate.

I'm sure there are two at each of those locations what is called entrance and exit gates. As you say decommissioned I seem to remember that the signals have now been renumbered fairly recently.

 

[thomalex]

There's a couple on the Piccadilly line - eastbound between Holborn and Russell Sq, and westbound between Piccadilly Circus and Green Park. I doubt you could see them from the carriage. They are decommissioned.

View attachment 152783
The image shows a flood gate.

Curious why they are on the Piccadilly line given it doesn't go under the Thames. All I can think of is they were afraid of a hit on say the Northern line under the Thames and this would flood the interchange at Leicester Square.

 

[Dstock7080]

Yes, Bakerloo and Northern Lines connect to others lines below river level, therefore station connections and tunnels were protected.
South Kensington (District) floodgate prevented flooding of the station and lift shaft down to Piccadilly Line

 

[smashing68]

Metro

A collection of places not normally seen or accessed by the public.

web.archive.org

This is an archived site that might help answer peoples' queries about what's down there. It's not my site so I'm not getting into the whys and wherefores of whether this person should have been where they were. I did enjoy their photos especially British Museum station and siding.

 

[sh24]

Metro

A collection of places not normally seen or accessed by the public.

web.archive.org

This is an archived site that might help answer peoples' queries about what's down there. It's not my site so I'm not getting into the whys and wherefores of whether this person should have been where they were. I did enjoy their photos especially British Museum station and siding.

That is an interesting site - and agree the images of British Museum are striking.