England's Best Stations

Not much of a train fan but I love a good station – English Heritage have published a list of their favourites and I thought some of the railway/architecture fans might be interested:
http://heritagecalling.com/2014/12/04/10-great-english-railway-stations/



I reckon I’d have put York and Brighton in there – probably Ribblehead too though for different reason.

Love a good station me…

ps. There bmust be some great scottish and welsh stations too – I only really know edinburgh waverley and glasgow cetral.

At least one of the ones in the list (Wolferton, Norfolk) isn’t even a station any more – it’s somebody’s* house!

* a very nice man, actually – ended up chatting with him once for most of a lazy afternoon!!

Rachel

Mornington Crescent?

I’ve spent a lot of time working below Paddington. The NR refurbishment works to Arches 1-3 should transform the stations appearance from what it is currently.

Stalybridge and Sheffield. For the bars.

Manchester Oxford Road is a bit different from the more traditional, but still rather nice. Bit tatty nowadays, but then thats got a certain charm

I like the new roof in KingsX and the way they have opened up the front of the station.

st pancras for me.
the place is a cathedral.

I forgot Oxford Road completely. Definitely a good shout.

Nice to see Huddersfield in that list- the station area is by far the nicest bit of the town centre and lifts the whole of the centre from being a bit grim to reasonably pleasant. Which takes some doing.

May I commend to the forum one of the finest remaining pieces of post-Stalinist architecture in the country? Stafford(ski) station:

You can actually rent the apartment in that tower at St Pancras…!!!
Its on one of those holiday let sites.
My boys would love it.

Oooh… one more I’d forgotten is Birmingham Moor Street

St Pancras is one of our contracts.
The apartment in the clock tower is part of the Renaissance Hotel – £1k per night.
The penthouse in the tower above the entrance is privately owned with a custom woven carpet including his name, fibre optics, lights, etc – got £10M?

Not read the link but York HAS to be there. Its epic and has load of varied trains running through it.

No thread on here would be without a mention of Hebden Bridge. As you might expect, its like a station on a preserved railway line. Doubt its changed much in 40/50 years. Even has interesting train patterns sometimes – odd goods train, specials and theres a Leeds train which terminates at Hebden and has to switch platforms. Exciting stuff :S

Another couple purely because of their location – Dawlish and Ryde Pier.

Are we allows preserved railways? Havenstreet on the Isle of Wight is an ace little station.

Nowhere near the same scale as some of those above, but Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway, built in 1984, is a great copy of a GWR station.

http://www.kfriends.org.uk/

Can I nominate that Bradford Interchange doesn’t appear anywhere on the list as well.

Awful place, awful staff who spend most of their time outside smoking when I think their job is the ‘man’ the ‘automatic’ gates (I did ask them to explain that to me once…), unreliable trains… I spend far too much of my life there waiting for non-existant trains.

Do ex-stations count?

Not bad for an old shipyard halt:

Monkwearmouth Edit: ooh I see it made their list!

@Digga, ah yes the old BR Brutalist movement. We have one of those up here:
Sunderland

Worldwide, this is pretty much my favorite. Total bonkers Calatrava extravagance.
Lyon Satolas TGV Interchange

I like this place..

Wemyss

King’s Cross and Birmingham aswell, never seen that one.
Anyway, why limit to England?
Glasgow central

..and another for Wemyss

Stafford is an architectural wonder next to Harlow Town Station…

And it’s a listed building to boot.

A serious suggestion, from my old manor…

Anyway, why limit to England?

Not much of a train fan but I love a good station – English Heritage have published a list of their favourites and I thought some of the railway/architecture fans might be interested:

ps. There must be some great scottish and welsh stations too – I only really know edinburgh waverley and glasgow central.

😉

D’ya know, Hot_Fiat, you may have just completed a circle in my head. I have a picture I use a lot of a yellow Fiat van in front of a weird building – always kinda assumed it was Italian – and I think you just nailed the location.

Now I can look like an architecture geek and not just some nutter who knows a bit about van insurance.

Ta v much!

Nowt to add to the station thread, BTW. New Pudsey?

hot fiat
I will see your harsh Sunderland ,and give you this moon station effort from Dundee.

Never mind,at least they got rid of this eyesore 🙄

As with most things in Warrington, the station is a thing of beauty and wonder….

Dundee is one of the most miserable stations ever to have existed.

I can’t wait to see Manchester Vctoria when it’s finished.

For me it’s got to be the perfect little station at Kirkby Stephen, especially since it sheltered a very grateful me and my son at the end of a horribly wet and windswept ride out from Settle, as we waited for the train back.

Internationally – Milan Central

and Venice (hmmm, three straight lines should do it, now what’s for lunch?)

Dundee – 😯

Yay for Huddersfield station (and a couple of the buildings in the vicinity too, not in the pic)

lemonysam – Member

Anyway, why limit to England?
And why not read the posts? D’oh 😳

I’ve known Dundee station for 30 years and I can never remember a time when it didn’t look old and tired, but the piss stinking bridge to the car park on the other side of the road has gone so it’s not all bad!

Good call Globalti. I’m looking forward to seeing it finished. Always loved this

joshvegas

The new station should be a lot bit better. 🙂

TBF ,I think Binners has topped the ugly list with Warrington 😉

Not read the link but York HAS to be there. Its epic and has load of varied trains running through it.

Apparently it’s not on there because York and Newcastle are essentially in the same style, and the consensus on the railway forums is that Newcastle has the edge. I’m with you though, I think it’s great and I’d have put it on there. That and St Pancras are my favourite big stations.

hot_fiat – Member

@Digga, ah yes the old BR Brutalist movement. We have one of those up here:
Sunderland

That looks positively cheerful – welcomes you in off the high street, like some of the other Tyneside metro stations.

Stafford’s station is much darker. The town had quite a lot of dire concrete turds dumped upon it during the 60s and 70s. Growing up, their broad, soulless corridors and walkways were great places to be chased through by gangs of kids from the other end of town wanting to break your nose because you’re going out with the fittest girl in their school. Happy days.

chakaping – Member
Stafford is an architectural wonder next to Harlow Town Station…

I think you’re right, Harlow clearly take things to the next, desperate, bleak level. Respect.

Apparently it’s not on there because York and Newcastle are essentially in the same style, and the consensus on the railway forums is that Newcastle has the edge.

Beautiful as York is, especially inside, the Neville Street frontage (along with the Royal Station Hotel) is pretty damned spectacular.

No. 2 from the mighty NE.

And it looks better now with the new concessions in it too.