Ugly railway stations

[Blumf]

Anyway, we are straying off the topic of ugly stations (I'm sure we had a Brutalism thread in the recent past?) Consider the vision of cheap cladding and corrugated roof sheeting that is Warrington Bank Quay:

At least it blends into it's surroundings.

Seriously, at first glance I thought it was part of the factory behind it.

[dr beat]

Good call on 'WBQ' as I like to call it.  Opposite there's a very bleak hotel/bar.

[canadagoose]

Kind of an aside, but: what were those "Blue Zone", "Orange Zone", "Purple Zone", etc. signs for? I remember they used to have them at Carlisle Citadel station in the '90s and I used to wonder what purpose they served.

[buzby]

Kind of an aside, but: what were those "Blue Zone", "Orange Zone", "Purple Zone", etc. signs for? I remember they used to have them at Carlisle Citadel station in the '90s and I used to wonder what purpose they served.

They were originated during the BR InterCity era as a way to help passengers identify the part of the platform their carriage would be stopping at - there would be an announcement or message on the information screens  like "First Class is in the Gold Zone, the Buffet is in the Blue Zone, Standard Class is in the Purple and Orange Zones". In privatisation Virgin and a couple of the other TOCs carried on using it, but it's rare to see nowadays as they usually just say First Class is at the fornt or rear of the train.

[canadagoose]

They were originated during the BR InterCity era as a way to help passengers identify the part of the platform their carriage would be stopping at - there would be an announcement or message on the information screens  like "First Class is in the Gold Zone, the Buffet is in the Blue Zone, Standard Class is in the Purple and Orange Zones". In privatisation Virgin and a couple of the other TOCs carried on using it, but it's rare to see nowadays as they usually just say First Class is at the fornt or rear of the train.

I see! I had no idea. Thanks for the info.

[Replies From View]

In privatisation Virgin and a couple of the other TOCs carried on using it, but it's rare to see nowadays as they usually just say First Class is at the fornt or rear of the train.

"We can't be fucked to tell you where the Quiet Carriage is."

[Paul Calf]

"We can't be fucked to tell you where the Quiet Carriage is."

Just listen for the sound of tutting.

[greenman]

The cheap, system-building techniques developed by civil engineering and construction companies that were used for blocks thrown up by councils between the mid 60s and mid 70s aren't particularly Brutalist, despite usually being made of rough-cast concrete

Ultimately though the same argument could be made for pretty much any style, that only the most ambitious and successful examples represent the "real" examples of it.

[Paul Calf]

Yeah. And it's too easy to overlook the fact that even the good examples  of the style were horrible to live in (take your pick) incredibly elitist and exclusive ( The Barbican) or both (the disastrous Trellick Tower, horrible, uncomfortable, unliveable by design but highly sought after by people who want to live in a monument for some reason).

If you want to see what happens when people preserve their brutalist legacy, visit the inner suburbs of Bratislava or Brno.

I can see the charms of brutalism but for all its pretentions to socialist utopia, like all non-vernacular architecture, it's essentially an elitist movement.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Ah, interesting Bratislava got namechecked in only the last post! I have just passed Bratislava Predmestie station this morning and encountered a post-apocalyptic scene as a crumbling vandalised concrete mess emerged from the mist.

Apparently locals are well aware of it:

http://www.pluska.sk/regiony/bratislava/bratislava-predmestie-stanica-ako-z-hororu.html?forward=sk_mobil2014_clanok.jsp&forcemobile=true

Been a while since seeing anything quite that scary.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

P.S -It's not particularly ugly, but should see the size of Leopoldov station building and platforms. For a population of 4,000 it's built as though the Pope's coming to town. 1 person boarded this train heading to Trencin and Zilina.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

? (summat went wrong).

[BlodwynPig]

Has Coventry been given a mention yet?

Edit: page 1, naturally

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Ugly?

Very soon you think: Coventry

[gabrielconroy]

I know this is the opposite (or not, depending on your view) of the point of the thread, but the steam train station at Corfe Castle in Dorset is quite lovely. If you'll excuse the over the top instagram effects I got carried away with, here's a photo I took of it:

[Cuellar]

Baine BERRY

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

There's a nice railway stations thread btw

[purlieu]

Coleshill Parkway.

[studpuppet]

My local used to look like this. When I moved here in 2004 the buildings on the left were still there, but the main station house had been replaced by a metal box.



Then they refurbished the station. Oh great, thought I. They're going to use the old buildings and create something nice and sympathetic, yet modern next to them...




A little further out of London is Harlow Town station - built to service the New Town, so all Brave New World light airiness:



Even if modernism isn't your thing it's obviously been executed well (it's Grade II listed), but it has suffered from a two-pronged attack of not ageing well (stained concrete, lack of maintenance), plus being covered extra bits of street furniture (eg the sign over the doors that actually covers the windows letting light in, and the canopy) that ruin the lines of the original design.

[ToneLa]

Good call on 'WBQ' as I like to call it.  Opposite there's a very bleak hotel/bar.

Used to work a short stroll from Wazza Bankey, as only I call it, right now. As train holes go, it's a deep one.

Aye. Terrible sort of half hotel boozer innit. Like stepping into a Peter Kay routine. Sandwich shop down the road that's on, closed by most lunchtimes.

Went the opposite way once. Into what I suppose is the town square? Fully grown man in a purple tracksuit with two doddery oldies trailing him, assumed his parents or dad and aunt aka parents, as he strode by, shouting abuse at them, along the lines of 'you've fuckin ruined my life you bastards, you selfish fucking bastards'.

And that's how I met the Mayor of Warrington.

[Lost Oliver]

Only thing I know about Wazza Bankey is that business men in Wigan would apparently ask for their acquaintaincies to be picked up from WBQ because they didn't want prospective business associates seeing Wigan Town Centre.

[Nelson]

You can smell the detergent from the Unilever factory at wbq

[Mr Eggs]

You can smell the detergent from the Unilever factory at wbq

And what a fucking lovely smell it is. When the Arpley landfill site was in full operation, them fumes were the only thing keeping the population of Sankey Bridges alive.

[ToneLa]

Only thing I know about Wazza Bankey is that business men in Wigan would apparently ask for their acquaintaincies to be picked up from WBQ because they didn't want prospective business associates seeing Wigan Town Centre.

Christ. Just how bleak is Wigtown TC? Black and white Syria or what? Banjaxed 2: Beyond Banjaxed?

When Wazza Bankey is the superior visual option your business is riding on a wee bit more than mere luck! Satan's personal Faustian curse, perhaps.


Edit: wanted to say Banjaxed

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

I've not read the whole thread but Sunderland station is a depressing dump





They're crying out for a revamp and I'm almost hoping that brexit money problems will put the kibosh on that so they can suffer for a good while longer.

[ToneLa]

Revamp?

Christ, that looks like it could use a vamp

[Ferris]

Unpopular opinion - I really like those "unfinished" back walls in underground train stations. Feels like you've seen the unvarnished underbelly of the city. The bowels of it all. No sanitized swimming pool tiles - this is the real station, yeah?

Birmingham New Street used to look like that and I thought it was great. I understand it is all done up nice now.

[Captain Crunch]

Sunderland has a nice trippy light wall thing now which is very attractive:

[Captain Crunch]

Personally I really like the scary Giant Eyeborg of New Street:



You can imagine it firing lasers at people dropping litter or booming out the local headlines on the hour. 

Not so sure about the current obsession with putting the name of the building up in horrible capital letters though.  More of an East London thing?

[flotemysost]

Train stations near hospitals always seem bleak, don't they?

Basildon is a good example:



It's flanked by a bingo hall and a strip club, just to up the desolation quota, so by the time you've walked to the hospital you're really pumped up to visit that dying relative or whatever (the hospital itself was the inspiration for Darkplace Hospital, apparently).