King William Street (London Underground)
King William Street is the name of a closed station on the City and South London Railway (C & SLR), a forerunner of the Northern Line of the London Underground . The station was in operation from 1890 to 1900 and formed the northern end point of the C & SLR.
history
The station was opened on November 4, 1890 by the Prince of Wales , later King Edward VII , as the northern terminus of the CSLR, as part of the first commissioning of a so-called deep tube . The opening to the public took place a few weeks later on December 18th. The southern end point was Stockwell Station, which still exists today . The station is not far from the current bank and monument station complex . The original plan was to drive the train with a cable, similar to the cable cars in San Francisco .
Because of the original planning of the cable drive, both end stations only had to be planned as a single track to allow the train to change the cable. After the Patent Cable Tramway Corporation went bankrupt in 1888, which owned the patent for the cable drive from San Francisco for Great Britain, the CSLR decided to switch to electric traction. The plans for Stockwell station were changed to the effect that an island platform with two tracks and a transfer point was built in the exit. At the King William Street station, however, the C & SLR did not change the planning for reasons unknown today, so that the so-called Spanish solution was used here for the first time worldwide , as the passengers use the train that entered the individual track of the station left a platform while new passengers boarded from the platform on the other side.
In just six months, the station was rebuilt in 1895 with ongoing operations. However, since their overall length could not (or should not) be increased, the platforms were shortened so that there was still space for the transfer point in the station area. In addition, a new signal box was built here with a lever bank of 27 levers (22 used, five as a reserve). Despite the effort to expand the station to two platforms, it was considered inadequate and was unpopular with passengers.
The line also suffered from problems of a technical nature: the power feed took place at the opposite end of the line in Stockwell and the trains had great difficulty negotiating the northern part of the line because of the sharp curves, steep climbs and power loss. It often happened that the train stopped on the last ascent into the station, had to back up and start a new attempt. A second train also had to move out regularly to push the fully occupied train into the station.
In 1895, the C & SLR planned to expand the route north to Moorgate Street. Due to the numerous problems and the unfavorable location of the station in the east-west direction, they decided to build a new tunnel under the Thames and close the King William Street station. The new location of the tunnel also made it possible to connect to London Bridge Central Station . The old tunnel was closed on February 24, 1900. Despite the cramped conditions and the lack of storage space, the station could handle up to 440 trains per day at the end of its use.
Further use
During the Second World War , the station was converted into an air raid shelter . The above-ground access buildings fell victim to other construction work a long time ago. Today there is an office complex on the site that houses several IT companies. The tunnel systems are still partially used by them as ducts for laying fiber optic cables . Access to the station is now only possible via an entry hole in the basement of this building. In the station there are still posters from the days when it was an air raid shelter. In the meantime, however, the complex is partially flooded and no longer easily accessible.
See also
literature
- JE Connor: London's disused Underground stations . Capital Transport, London 2001, ISBN 1-85414-250-X , pp. 6-13 .
Web links
- Abandoned Tube Stations: King William Street
- Subterranea Britannica: King William Street
- Underground History: King William Street
- Frédéric Delaitre's Lost Subways: King William Street
- In the City & South London Railway tunnels
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Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 37 ″ N , 0 ° 5 ′ 13 ″ W.