Canary Wharf station is one of several on the JLE using an `open box' design and reaches 24 metres below pavement level at its deepest. Inside the structure, which measures 280 metres long and 32 metres wide, a total of 20 escalators and three passenger lifts have been built. Curving glass canopies protect the two entrances, often described as `thumb-nail' shaped. The canopies allow light to diffuse into the ticket hall below, where spaces have been provided for a parade of shops. For the time being, only the `west' entrance is open to the public and thus only 11 of the 20 escalators are in passenger service. The `west' entrance to Canary Wharf is probably closer to the Docklands Light Railway station of Heron Quays, that at Canary Wharf being a slightly longer walk. At the west end a subway to Canada Tower is under construction, scheduled to open soon. The `east' end of Canary Wharf station complex is, however, complete but has been `mothballed' until development at that end is sufficiently advanced. The station's mezzanine level concrete slab is suspended from the roof by individual concrete hangers, which leaves the public space below uncluttered by engineering structures. The roof of the station, between the two thumb-nail canopies, has been covered by landscaped parkland. In constructing the station, a dry dock was built by installing twin wall cofferdams and draining West India Quay and reclaiming part of the dock, where around 160,000 tonnes of water were pumped out of this isolated dock to create the working platform at the dock bed. The lower half of the station was then built by installing 148 T-shaped diaphragm walls in trenches 25 metres below the dock level, which form the permanent station walls between the ticket hall and track level. To prevent the drainbed dock from flooding, `de-watering' wells were sunk 55 metres into the underlying chalk. Some 163 bored piles were drilled into the chalk to a depth of 25 metres below track level, which will act as tension anchors, which are connected to the base slab of the station. This was necessary because when the watering wells are turned off, the rising ground water will try to float the station out of the ground! Canary Wharf is probably the Jubilee Line's most spacious station, with its enormous mezzanine and wide island platform, with high ceilings in both. A total of 23 UTS gates (Nos.57-79) span the width of the `west' ticket hall. Those at the present unopened `east' end are numbered 40-53 and are already in position. One of the more striking features is the bank of five escalators leading up from the large ticket hall to the curved glass canopy at street level.
Canary Wharf station is one of several on the JLE using an `open box' design and reaches 24 metres below pavement level at its deepest. Inside the structure, which measures 280 metres long and 32 metres wide, a total of 20 escalators and three passenger lifts have been built. Curving glass canopies protect the two entrances, often described as `thumb-nail' shaped. The canopies allow light to diffuse into the ticket hall below, where spaces have been provided for a parade of shops. For the time being, only the `west' entrance is open to the public and thus only 11 of the 20 escalators are in passenger service. The `west' entrance to Canary Wharf is probably closer to the Docklands Light Railway station of Heron Quays, that at Canary Wharf being a slightly longer walk. At the west end a subway to Canada Tower is under construction, scheduled to open soon. The `east' end of Canary Wharf station complex is, however, complete but has been `mothballed' until development at that end is sufficiently advanced.
The station's mezzanine level concrete slab is suspended from the roof by individual concrete hangers, which leaves the public space below uncluttered by engineering structures. The roof of the station, between the two thumb-nail canopies, has been covered by landscaped parkland. In constructing the station, a dry dock was built by installing twin wall cofferdams and draining West India Quay and reclaiming part of the dock, where around 160,000 tonnes of water were pumped out of this isolated dock to create the working platform at the dock bed. The lower half of the station was then built by installing 148 T-shaped diaphragm walls in trenches 25 metres below the dock level, which form the permanent station walls between the ticket hall and track level.
To prevent the drainbed dock from flooding, `de-watering' wells were sunk 55 metres into the underlying chalk. Some 163 bored piles were drilled into the chalk to a depth of 25 metres below track level, which will act as tension anchors, which are connected to the base slab of the station. This was necessary because when the watering wells are turned off, the rising ground water will try to float the station out of the ground!
Canary Wharf is probably the Jubilee Line's most spacious station, with its enormous mezzanine and wide island platform, with high ceilings in both. A total of 23 UTS gates (Nos.57-79) span the width of the `west' ticket hall. Those at the present unopened `east' end are numbered 40-53 and are already in position. One of the more striking features is the bank of five escalators leading up from the large ticket hall to the curved glass canopy at street level.
The Fosters web site has some "move through" graphics but these are some of the ordinary ones. As you can see, from above the station exits resemble horse-shoe crabs or a computer mouse
The exit escalators look good in the day from the inside
And at night. To the right of the escalators is an elevator for disabled access which spoils the symmetry of the design a little
The main ticket hall and entrance rather resembles the inside os a vast whale with its ribbing
The line of machines are the automatic ticket gates but you do not get a true sense of scale until you get human figures.
Do you have some pictures of the old main stations, too? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
First (literally) there is Paddington designed by IK Brunel which has a central "nave" and two side "chapels". The station has been restored and modernised in parts with the typical glass retail areas but the original cast iron roof remains.
I could not find a picture of the outside of Paddington but here is the main entrance of Charing Cross. As with many of the older London termini, the road frontage is dominated by a hotel built by the railway company. The spire-like sructure on the left of the picture is a victorian copy of the last of 12 "Eleanor Crosses" These were erected by King Edward I to make the places where the coffin of his wife rested overnight on its journey from Nottinghamshire, where Eleanor died, to Westminster Abbey. The cross is the point from which distances to London are measured. The station is fairly small with only 6 platforms and trains pass through London Bridge and Waterloo East on their way there. The glass roof at the ends of the platforms were destroyed in WWII and not rebuilt even though the butress walls remained. An office block has been built over the ends of the platform within these walls.
Waterloo station is best interpreted from this aerial shot. The London Bridge/Charing Cross tracks snake down the left of the picture, Waterloo East is about one third of the way down, by the redbrick coloured office block. The road that cuts off the top left corner of the picture also has The Old Vic theatre at about one third in from the left and one third down the picture.
The main 1920s station building fronts that road and is the dark roofed/cream fronted strip going up the picture from the tall bock in the bottom left corner. To the left in the picture is the roof to the concorse joining the canopies over the platforms at right angles. The long roof at the bottom of the picture is Waterloo International- the current Eurostar terminal.
A slightly lower angle that makes it a bit clearer how the station office buildings rise above the canopies.
Although it looks yellow in the above picture the 1920s building is in portland stone. The entrance is designed as a memorial arch to the workers of the then Southern Railway Company who died in WWI. The memorial plaque is on the right hand wall here.
This picture is of the main concorse with its fairly standard range of kiosks and shops selling books and snacks. On the right of the picture is a low wall and rail that overlooks the Eurostar departure area at a lower level, the escalators are not visible in this shot. At the far end from where this shot is taken there used to be a cartoon cinema that has long since closed.
The Eurostar entrance, as you can see they use automatic barriers to read the tickets.
The pitched glass roofs running accross the platforms contrast with the noble arches at Paddington.
The structure is visible from the outside at the southern side where there is a slip road used by vehicles (mostly taxis) serving the station.
Incidentally, the railway lines at the London termini around the river are usually on high viaducts to avoid dip and to combat the soft ground. I used to work in County Hall which is very close to Waterloo and used to walk through a road that cuts through the very tall arches of the viaduct and leads to this back slip road. The arches were occupied by various businesses including a large bonded (alcohol) warehouse. This gave the road its nickname of "Whiskey Alley".
However, an EuroTrib public anouncement: next time, please resize images wider than 600 pixels. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
It might be better to use a percentage width (say, 75%) than a pixel width (say, 400), actually. Does prrcentage width work well with the indentation and browser window resizing, or not, and if so is 100% appropriate? guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
*Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
You can't see the one I posted? I can... possibly you had a time-out. (The original size image is enormous.) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
