# Aldwych Station (Permission Visit)



## UrbanX (Jun 3, 2014)

There are 2 ways to access Aldwych station: 

Where the line splits to Aldwych is only 400m from Holborn station. There’s approximately two minutes of clear air between trains. So you jump off the station at Holborn and run like mad down the line (Harder than you think trying to avoid the middle rail carrying 630volts) There’s not enough room to press yourself to the edges either, those trains are a tight fit. 400m in 2 minutes should normally be quite easy, but twist your ankle now and your dead. If you do make it but get caught, you can be held for up to 42 days without charge while they rant terror laws at you…

Or you can ring them up and ask for a mooch…













Aldwych is probably the best known closed station on the London Underground. It was opened in 1907 with the name Strand, after the street on which it is located, and was the terminus and only station on the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. 







It had always suffered low passenger numbers (peaked at 450 passengers per day), and the services were cut to peak times, on weekdays only, right up until 1994. In 1994 the lifts needed replacing at a cost of £150k, which just wasn’t worth it for 450 people a day. 

Inside one of the lozenge shaped lifts:



Controls: 



Old phone numbers on the side of a phone box in the Entrance lobby:









Disused parts of the station and the running tunnels were used during both World Wars to shelter artworks from London's public galleries and museums from bombing. Most famously it housed the silverware from Buckingham palace, as well as the Elgin marbles. These would have been separated from the general population by a safe door with an armed guard. 



_Photo taken during the Blitz in 1940_




Ironically the posters / signs which look the oldest are generally the newest! But there are still a fair few original posters from the 70’s: 















Fake posters:









Quite a lot has been filmed down here, among my favourites being: Superman 4, The Krays, 28 Weeks Later, and of course this: 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmin5WkOuPw[/ame]

Recent ‘Station Closed’ poster for filming purposes. Although interestingly you can see the original “strand” sign behind:








New Aldwych sign, for filming: The ‘tiles’ are actually just printed onto MDF. 



Another new sign, most of these had been ‘aged’ but this one was looking very new: 



There’s a train permanently moored on this platform. It’s an actual Northern line car from 1972. It is in working order, and can be driven up and down this stretch of track for filming:



_ Inside the cab_ 



_To Holborn _ 

Aldwych has been used to trial a lot of underground related product / try new ideas etc. This now happens on the disused platforms at Holborn - ironically the platform for trains to Aldwych, which has been rather quiet since 1994… Here are a few designs used at other stations: 


Another ‘Strand’ sign destroyed by testing tile adhesives:









Thanks to TfL for letting me have a mooch and thank you for looking:


----------



## PCWOX (Jun 3, 2014)

Nice photos. So this wasn't on one of the official Open Days?


----------



## UrbanX (Jun 3, 2014)

It was a private group visit. 
I think there are some public tours starting this Thursday?


----------



## Stealthstar79 (Jun 3, 2014)

Fascinating stuff!
A permission visit seems quite tame for you! I would have thought running like mad up the line was more your thing!


----------



## rectory-rat (Jun 3, 2014)

Gorgeous stuff! Although the offer to 'eat, drink and look pretty downstairs' sounds somewhat interesting...  

~RR


----------



## flyboys90 (Jun 3, 2014)

Really enjoyed this post & ace photos.


----------



## DirtyJigsaw (Jun 3, 2014)

LOVING THIS! Always wanted to do a London Underground Station. Might have to look into this. Thanks for sharing this. Awesomeshots, esp of the tunnel


----------



## billygroat (Jun 3, 2014)

I CANT tell you just how jealous I am right now!!!

Have you seen "Creep"? Eversince I have been so very hungry to get into the old, unused underground stations, preferably the ones where disfigured orphans live who grow up and up feed unsuspecting visitors their canibal siblings and have bottles of carefully preserved body parts!

Thank you


----------



## Mikeymutt (Jun 3, 2014)

Loving this report..I love how you explained the two ways of doing it.from the long first one to the oh so simple one sentence second one.that made me smile to myself.cracking pics.


----------



## The Wombat (Jun 3, 2014)

Excellent report mate. Especially the old adverts, im a sucker for them
I did the new york subway museum once, that had some old rolling stock with fake, but interesting old adverts.
any idea why the signs for the Bakerloo line? Not nearby
Creep was a gruesome film!


----------



## Ninja Kitten (Jun 4, 2014)

i could cry im so jealous!!!!!! brilliant lee


----------



## Cachewoo (Jun 4, 2014)

Real nice fella love the posters


----------



## MD (Jun 4, 2014)

some nice pictures there mate 
some nice details ive not seen before too


----------



## chazman (Jun 4, 2014)

you done tops. captured all the good stuff. done anti terror training days there in the past. well done again


----------



## Goldie87 (Jun 5, 2014)

Very nice stuff, was gonna go on one of the tours coming up, but never got around to booking it in the end


----------



## old goat (Jun 5, 2014)

Great post, I can remember the lifts !


----------



## LittleOz (Jun 10, 2014)

That's really nice. Now where's the 'addiction' vid of you running the tracks???


----------



## Whiteknight841 (Jun 11, 2014)

Quality pics, I bet it was weird seeing a platform empty like that


----------

