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Morning all,
I was lucky enough to bag myself a ticket last September for a tour in Feb this year to this abandoned tube station, closed 1994.
History from google,
Aldwych is a closed station on the London Underground, located in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was opened in 1907 with the name Strand, after the street on which it is located, and was the terminus of the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The station building is close to the Strand's junction with Surrey Street, near Aldwych. During its lifetime, the branch was the subject of a number of unrealised extension proposals that would have seen the tunnels through the station extended southwards, usually to Waterloo.
Served mostly by a shuttle train and suffering from low passenger numbers, the station and branch were considered for closure several times. Service was offered only during weekday peak hours from 1962 and finally discontinued altogether in 1994, when the cost of replacing the lifts was considered too high for the income generated.
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. The station has long been popular as a filming location and has appeared as itself and as other London Underground stations in a number of films. In recognition of its historical significance, the station is a Grade II listed building.
After looking at photos of this place, which seems like forever, i couldnt wait to actually go down there myself. Yes, you go down with around 30 people, but i made sure to hang back to take the photos i wanted, and the staff there were ok with that.
On with the pics:
1. The original lifts, one of the reasons it actually closed
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
2.Inside the lift
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
3. At the bottom of the staircase
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
4. One of the old walkways to the platform
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
5. Decay
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
6. Aldwych Station sign
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
7. Tunnel towards Holborn
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
8. Dead end
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
9. Orignal track from 1907
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
10. Underground
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
11. Inside the carriage
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
12.That famous corridor
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
13. Way out
Aldwych Station by Dirty Jigsaw, on Flickr
Thanks for looking in. I really enjoyed my hour down there, and i look forward to the next one (I got Charing Cross tour in April)![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
DJ
I was lucky enough to bag myself a ticket last September for a tour in Feb this year to this abandoned tube station, closed 1994.
History from google,
Aldwych is a closed station on the London Underground, located in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was opened in 1907 with the name Strand, after the street on which it is located, and was the terminus of the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The station building is close to the Strand's junction with Surrey Street, near Aldwych. During its lifetime, the branch was the subject of a number of unrealised extension proposals that would have seen the tunnels through the station extended southwards, usually to Waterloo.
Served mostly by a shuttle train and suffering from low passenger numbers, the station and branch were considered for closure several times. Service was offered only during weekday peak hours from 1962 and finally discontinued altogether in 1994, when the cost of replacing the lifts was considered too high for the income generated.
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. The station has long been popular as a filming location and has appeared as itself and as other London Underground stations in a number of films. In recognition of its historical significance, the station is a Grade II listed building.
After looking at photos of this place, which seems like forever, i couldnt wait to actually go down there myself. Yes, you go down with around 30 people, but i made sure to hang back to take the photos i wanted, and the staff there were ok with that.
On with the pics:
1. The original lifts, one of the reasons it actually closed
![24802643696_fc2c14b781_b.jpg 24802643696_fc2c14b781_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196489-24802643696-fc2c14b781-b.jpg)
2.Inside the lift
![24828918115_2930c11c4d_b.jpg 24828918115_2930c11c4d_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196490-24828918115-2930c11c4d-b.jpg)
3. At the bottom of the staircase
![24828918255_e6886daf20_b.jpg 24828918255_e6886daf20_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196491-24828918255-e6886daf20-b.jpg)
4. One of the old walkways to the platform
![24735438861_1c273238e0_b.jpg 24735438861_1c273238e0_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196492-24735438861-1c273238e0-b.jpg)
5. Decay
![24735437111_8e5d27abd1_b.jpg 24735437111_8e5d27abd1_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196493-24735437111-8e5d27abd1-b.jpg)
6. Aldwych Station sign
![24202065953_2021a2e4fe_b.jpg 24202065953_2021a2e4fe_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196494-24202065953-2021a2e4fe-b.jpg)
7. Tunnel towards Holborn
![24711049492_8937cd98ce_b.jpg 24711049492_8937cd98ce_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196495-24711049492-8937cd98ce-b.jpg)
8. Dead end
![24533386380_1ff1f25a85_b.jpg 24533386380_1ff1f25a85_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196496-24533386380-1ff1f25a85-b.jpg)
9. Orignal track from 1907
![24828912855_24b7a77232_b.jpg 24828912855_24b7a77232_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196497-24828912855-24b7a77232-b.jpg)
10. Underground
![24735448171_1a28bf27c7_b.jpg 24735448171_1a28bf27c7_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196498-24735448171-1a28bf27c7-b.jpg)
11. Inside the carriage
![24202076493_ab38889583_b.jpg 24202076493_ab38889583_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196499-24202076493-ab38889583-b.jpg)
12.That famous corridor
![24200741244_4ca4abeabe_b.jpg 24200741244_4ca4abeabe_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196500-24200741244-4ca4abeabe-b.jpg)
13. Way out
![24200733794_a9561b9836_b.jpg 24200733794_a9561b9836_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/196/196501-24200733794-a9561b9836-b.jpg)
Thanks for looking in. I really enjoyed my hour down there, and i look forward to the next one (I got Charing Cross tour in April)
DJ