| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Secret tunnels of Chiswick (and Hyde Park Corner!!) | |
| Posted by: | Richard Jennings | |
| Date/Time: | 31/01/08 00:14:00 |
| "Between Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner and Green Park on the Underground, you will have noticed that Piccadilly Line trains start to ziz-zag their way around bends for some reason or other." There aren't any particularly sharp bends between Knightsbridge and Green Park, just minor alignment changes to leave room for the platforms at the stations, including the disused station at Down Street between Hyde Park Corner and Green Park. This was closed in 1932, but was used as a deep-level office during the Second World War by railway management and even Winston Churchill. As you pass through the site today on the Piccadilly Line you can still see the brickwork where the edges of the platforms were bricked up. Your reference to zig-zag bends may perhaps refer to the two sharp S-bends (20 mph speed limit) between South Kensington station and Brompton Road station (another surplus station closed in 1934). The odd layout here is because the Piccadilly Line in this area was cobbled together by joining the Brompton & Piccadilly Circus Railway with part of the Deep Level District (a planned tube railway underneath the District Line). Joining the two was a bit tricky to achieve without passing underneath buildings, hence the sharp curves. More information and photos about the closed stations are at Hywel Williams's site http://underground-history.co.uk/deeplevel.php |