On arrival at the London Transport Museum (located in Covent Garden in the heart of Theatreland) we were greeted by London Transport staff who provided refreshments in the museum cafe overlooking some of the exhibits. We were split into two groups - one would tour Aldwych whilst the other looked round the museum, before they moved on to Aldwych and we looked round the museum. I was in the first Aldwych group.
Aldwych is located on the Strand, with a side entrance on another street, not too far from the current Temple station. Aldwych was built on the site of an old theatre and is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of an actor. It opened as Strand, part of the Piccadilly Railway, before receiving its permanant name. The Strand name was later used on Charing Cross. Aldwych was a small branch of the Piccadilly from Holborn and was open in peak theatre hours. The death knell for the station came when it was clear that the lifts were no longer in good order, and it was considered more economical to close the station rather than pay alot to upgrade the lifts when very few people used it.
The entrance of Aldwych was very well kept, and I made alot of video in here. The photos, with the exception of one, were very dim.
The old booking area in the entrance of Aldwych.
The station is now used for testing lighting designs, and posters and also, it seemed, as a general dumping ground, as there was an Edgware Road sign propped on the wall.
Whilst the entrance was nicely kept, the stairs were peeling paint. We walked down to the platform, where a train is always standing. It was possible to go into the train. Aldwych had a very short platform, and so the full length trains did not stop here because passengers would not be able to get in and out of a full length one on that short platform. We were shown round here by a London Transport employee and a volunteer guide from the Transport Museum.
I really enjoyed my visit to Aldwych, and would love to go in there again sometime!
The second part of the tour consisted of the guided tour of the London Transport Museum. This is housed in a flower market of Covent Garden, and opened in 1980. I remember going in the early days and it was far superior on my latter visit! Old buses, trams, trolleybuses and tube trains were displayed. There were horse drawn buses, escalators, posters, a tube train sim (good fun!) and some of the carriages and things could be inspected closely.
Tram.
Bus.
The history of London's transport system is absorbing, as so much is tied up to the rapid growth of London.
The final part of the visit consisted of a lunch. Canapes and sandwiches were provided, and I had turkey and cranberry sandwich, smoked salmon and cream cheese and chicken curry on a stick. It was very good.
I can recommend anyone to visit the London Transport Museum. For more info click here http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk.
For more info on Aldwych and other disused Underground stations click here http://www.starfury.demon.co.uk/uground/index.html.
The only low part of that day was an unpleasant incident regarding a Routemaster bus on the way back to Paddington. I have never been on one of those buses since.
