Kingsway Tramway Subway

A guided walk in the former tramway subway and short walk above ground in Holborn and Aldwych

Google Map

1936 Map

In the late 1800s large areas of Holborn in London were regenerated with slum houses cleared and wide boulevards built. The opportunity was taken to link up tram networks in the south and north of London. The Kingsway Tramway Subway was based on examples built in America. It offered the advantage of giving the trams a clear route through the city traffic but was largely built to keep the trams used by the lower classes out of view in the gentrified Holborn district.

The subway ran from the intersection of Bloomsbury Way and Southampton Row to Waterloo Bridge. Originally it was intended to cross river here but in the end the tramway crossed Westminster Bridge, despite many politicians not wanting the rif raf passing parliament on their trams. 

The Subway had two intermediate stops. Holborn close to the north end of the subway and outside Holborn tube station and Aldwych. It opened in 1906, though for the first two years trams from the north terminated at Aldwych. Initially the tramway could only be used by single decker trams but after closure for nearly a year in 1930 it was dug deeper to allow double decker trams to use the subway. In 1937 the south entrance was also repositioned to the centre of the widened Waterloo Bridge instead of trams emerging on the west side of the bridge as they had previously done.

After the second world war London decided to close its tram network. The subway fell in to disuse in 1952 when the tram system was abandoned. In 1958 it was proposed to convert part of the subway to a one way road underpass to ease congestion at the junction of Waterloo Bridge and the Strand. Reconstruction began in 1962 and the Strand Underpass opened in 1964.

The north section of subway remained abandoned and was simply used by Camden Council to store street furniture. In recent years guided tours operated by the London Transport Museum have operated in the abandoned section of subway. I joined one of these tours and further explored the area above ground on foot.

More about the subway can be found on the Wikipedia article

More information about London Transport Museum's Hidden London tours

Below - The north entrance to the subway remains as it was when it closed, just with gates across the entrance at street level. Being on a guided tour I got to go through the gates rather than poking my camera through them as I had on a previous occasion. Note the slot between the two lines, in central London the trams drew their electricity from a contact in the grove rather than overhead wires, rather like the system used by Scalextric cars. A device known as a plough that ran in the grove was fitted beneath the tram, where the trams were switched from one system to the other "Ploughmen" disconnected the plough which would be run off on the rail to one side for use by a tram heading in to the central section. 

Below - Looking back towards Bloomsbury Way from the subway entrance.

Below - The entrance to the subway.

Below - The subway entrance seen from the back above ground.

Below - In the subway the tramway descends steeply to pass beneath the Fleet Sewer and climbs to Holborn subway station. The gradient before the station would have helped prevent trams overrunning the station after the descent in to the tunnel.

Below - Looking towards Holborn station. This area was used in recent years as part of construction of the Elizabeth Line as one of several sites where grout was pumped in to the surrounding ground to keep it stable as the tunnel was constructed beneath. The subway was returned to its original condition afterwards with just a little evidence of more recent concrete underfoot.

Below - Approaching Holborn the subway widens to accommodate a platform between the two tracks. Two staircases were provided from street level. The back of one of the staircases can be seen.

Below - At ground level the staircases would have been surrounded by railings on three sides and signage. Now they are just covered in metal grilles. The grill over the staircase next to Holborn tube station can be seen. It is possible to see the staircase through the grille.

Below - The northern staircase seen from the platform level.

Below - Looking back to the subway widening as the tram tracks pass either side of the staircases and platform.

Below - Looking along the platform of the former Holborn tramway subway station. This was built with glazed bricks and a marble platform to give it a bright environment. The platform could accommodate these trams at once. The site of the track on the other side has been filled to platform level and has been buried under stored (or dumped?) street furniture.

Below - The glazed bricks and places for pasting up posters can be seen.

Below - Site of the northbound track now buried under street furniture. The Union Street underground sign is from filming that took place at the former station shortly after closure.

Below - The southern staircase of Holborn station.

Below - The southern staircase seen from street level.

Below - Behind the southern staircase are the remains of a fire bucket point. Nearby a large box covered with a tarpaulin contains an automatic fire suppression system for nearby cable tunnels.

Below - Looking back towards Holborn station a crossover can be seen in the tracks to allow trams to be turned back at Holborn in case of breakdowns or other eventualities. The fire suppression system can be seen on the left. Note the height of the refuges in the side walls, this was a result of the work to increase the height of the subway to take double deck trams by digging it out deeper. 

Looking towards the end of the abandoned section. Beyond this it is partly filled to build a roadway ramp up to street level for the Strand Underpass.

Below - Above ground and facing the same direction a little further along, the Strand Underpass emerges from the former subway to street level. This is around the site of the Aldwych tram station but any trace of this was lost when it was rebuilt for road traffic.

Below - The roadway from Waterloo Bridge descends in to the former tramway subway next to Somerset House.

Below - The tramway used to emerge at road level beneath Waterloo Bridge. Though much of this last southern most stretch of subway was filled to build the roadway ramp from bridge height part of it is in use as a night club. Originally the south entrance was to the west of the bridge but was rebuilt with the rebuilding of the bridge.

Whilst in the area I decided to visit the above ground remains of the former Aldwych tube station. Aldwych, originally known as Strand station, got relegated to a branch line when proposals to extend the Picadilly line south under the river where abandoned in favour of a new line west diverging from the stop before at Holborn. With large parts of the station underground abandoned without even being completed it continued as the end of a short branch from Holborn until closure in 1994. The station has remained intact and occasionally used for filming. More information can be found about the station on the Wikipedia article

Below - The Aldwych branch on the tube map shortly before closure. Shown dotted to denote the limited peak time shuttle service that had operated on the line since the 1962.

Above ground the station is L shaped with a main entrance on Surrey Street and a side entrance on the Strand.

Google Map

Below - Sign in the main entrance to the former station.

Below - The former main entrance on Surrey Street.

Below - Former side entrance on the Strand.

Andrew Barclay's Caledonia Works, Kilmarnock

A short walk around the former Andrew Barclay works in Kilmarnock.

Google Map

1938 Map

Close to Kilmarnock station was once the Caledonia Works of Andrew Barclay & Sons. The firm went back to the 1840s as general engineers noted for gas lighting, mill machinery and winding engines for collieries, venturing in to locomotive production in 1859. It became a limited company in 1892 and Andrew Barclay himself was soon ousted. The firm continued until 1972 when it was acquired by the Hunslet Engine Co of Leeds. Subsequent owners included Brush and Wabtec. Under threat of closure by Wabtec the site was purchased by Brodie Engineering who continue to use the works for train refurbishment.

The Brodie works today is a more modern building than the original works best known for it's little industrial saddle tank steam locomotives. This was built in 1990 when the works operated under the Hunslet - Barclay name. Hunslet planned on concentrating on building narrow gauge locos at its Leeds works and standard gauge locos at the Barclay works along with undertaking more work for the mainline railways. Work at Kilmarnock included chassis for the class 143 pacer units, though some of these were made in kit form in Leeds. The later Hunslet - Barclay works occupies the former railway goods yard site. More about Andrew Barclay can be found in the Wikipedia page

Below - The modern works when it was still operated by Wabtec.

Below - The Hunslet - Barclay lettering could still be seen on the side of the building.

The old map above shows the tracks crossing West Langlands Street to enter the Caledonia Works from parts of the complex on the north of the street and the connection to the main line goods yard. The buildings on the north of the street were known as the Titchfield Foundry but were also part of Andrew Barclay's.The tracks can still be seen in the road. A window is now installed in the former office building where the railway in to the works passed under the corner of the building and a wooden gate would once be opened to allow locomotives to pass.

Below - Looking in the window one of Barclay's sadddle tank locomotives has been displayed.

Below - On the roof of the office building the name of the company is still displayed.

Below - Walking along West Langlands Road much of the block of buildings on the corner of West Langlands Road and North Hamilton Street survive in other uses.

The Britannia Engineering Works on the old map above was the works of Dick Kerr and Co whose former site in Preston I also visited. This site and that of Barclay's Titchfield Foundry are now occupied by a Morrisons supermarket.

 

Belfast's Titanic Quarter

A short walk around Belfast's Titanic Quarter

In recent years vacant land around Harland and Wolff's Belfast shipyard has been redeveloped. The redevelopment has been named after the most famous ship to leave the yards, the area is now known as the Titanic Quarter. Much more information about the history of the shipyards can be found on theyard.info website

For this visit we started at Titanic Quarter station. This station was originally named Bridge End and replaced the nearby Ballymacarrett station in 1977 when services on the Bangor line were diverted from the Queen's Quay terminus to the new Belfast Central station. The motorway we cross on a footbridge to reach the Titanic Quarter now occupies the former terminus site. At one time countless shipyard workers would have arrived by train here.

Below - The most well known Belfast landmarks, the pair of cranes at the part of the complex still in use with Harland and Wolff. Note the gateposts

Below - Two of the centrepieces of the Titanic Quarter are the Titanic Belfast museum and the SS Nomadic, the last surviving White Star Line ship. The SS Nomadic was used as a tender to ferry passengers from Cherbourg harbour to the Titanic and her sister ship Olympic which were too big to dock at the port. Tickets for entrance to the museum and ship are available from the ticket desk in the museum entrance. More information is also available on the Titanic Belfast website. Nomadic occupies the former Hamilton Graving Dock. In the photo below the hollow caisson from the dock entrance can be seen in front of the ship.

Below - 1912 map of the Belfast docks, the Titanic Quarter occupies the shipyards east of the River Lagan along the bottom of the map. The dry docks  and slipways were laid out diagonally towards the river and though some of these have been filled in now the layout can still be seen.

Below - The SS Nomadic in the former Hamilton Graving Dock.

After remaining in industrial use in Cherbourg until 1968 the Nomadic spent many years as a floating restaurant in Paris. In 2006 she was brought back to Belfast and cosmetically restored by Harland and Wolff on the same site at which she had been built.

Below - The steam powered anchor winch made by Clarke Chapman.

Below - The view from Nomadic's bridge with the Titanic Belfast museum and former Harland and Wolff offices.

Below - Nomadic's Harland and Wolff builders plate.

Nomadic was split in to first and second class areas and passengers would board through separate entrances. Access between the two sections is made through later doorways added to the bulkheads in the ship's later industrial use.

During restoration some original panelling and lino was uncovered and replicated to recreate the look of the ship during its days as a White Star Line tender.

Below - Second class accommodation.

Below - First class accommodation.

Below - Stairways for workers down in to the dry dock.

Below - The former Harland and Wolff offices, now a hotel.

Below - The former Harland and Wolff drawing offices, now the bar of the hotel that occupies the former offices.

Below - Interior of the former drawing offices, note the windows in the roof and the amount of light let in to the room. The drawing office consisted of two similar rooms, now the hotel bar and function room. Certainly worth 'having to' get a beer to check out the building.

Below - A model of the Titanic in the window of the former drawing office. 

The Titanic Belfast museum contains displays about Belfast and the development of the ship building industry as well as about the Titanic. It also features a ride through a reconstruction of a shipyard scene. The building is star shaped reminiscent of the White Star Line's logo. It occupies the site were Titanic and it's sisters Olympic and Britannic were assembled. 

Below - Behind the Titanic Belfast museum is used as an events venue known as the Slipways. Narrow gauge tracks can be seen running along the site.

We continued towards the Titanic's Dock and Pump House at the northern edge of the Titanic Quarter site along the waterfront. Though this part of the site is still in the process of redevelopment it did have a few more sights to see from the area's shipyard history.

One of the attractions is the Great Light, displaying a 130 year old set of lighthouse optics. More about this can be read on the Great Light website.

Remnants of some of the 5'3" gauge lines that ran within the shipyard can also be seen.

Below - Remnants of the shipyard sidings.

The former shipyard is also home to the HMS Caroline, a First World War Navy ship and sole survivor of the Battle of Jutland. At the time of our visit it was still closed to the public following the Covid 19 pandemic.

Below - The HMS Caroline 

The Titanic's Dock and Pump House was undergoing restoration but it was possible to have a walk around the site.

Below - Titanic's Dock and Pump House.

North of the pump house the site is in industrial use. We returned towards Belfast along Queen's Road. East of Queen's Road the site is still largely in industrial use. One of the large hangers had been repurposed as an exhibition centre. West of the road another hanger is now a film studio, best known for work on Game of Thrones.

Below - One of the famous cranes and a former shipyard building now in use as another metal working site. Behind the building the three Thomas Smith steam cranes can just be seen. Sometimes referred to as the cranes that built Titanic, though the Samson and Goliath cranes were built in the 1960s and the steam cranes were built in the 1940s.

Below - Remains of a rail connection in to one of the buildings.

Below - One of the cranes over a small part of the site still in use by Harland and Wolff.