Archive

Metropolitan line

7. The viaduct at Kilburn

25 March 2012
Architecture, Jubilee line, Metropolitan line, Numbers 1-25, Zone 2
2 Comments

98 not outCarrying the Underground high over what was once the Roman thoroughfare of Watling Street, and which now boasts a dual identity as both the A5 and Kilburn High Road, is a construction you can only really appreciate when you’re under rather than on top of the tracks – and preferably standing in the middle of a road:

Yes, a photographer always has right of wayWhat was once an enormous slice of self-aggrandisement on the part of the Metropolitan Railway is nowadays an enormous boon to an area that deals mostly in grime and grey.

It’s as if someone has smeared a palate of primary colours right across this monochrome municipal landscape.

Bridge of sighsThe viaduct was built when the Metropolitan line was going through one of its many muscle-flexing phases; in this instance, a quarupling of the number of tracks all the way from Finchley Road up to Wembley Park.

I love the shamelessness of the design and the fact the company had ultimately no scruples in turning the edifice into a massive piece of self-promotion – albeit one of sparklingly bold and bright ambition.

Making tracksBy any measure – conception, intent, size, appearance – it’s a triumph.

Hi, road

2. The steps at Wembley Park

1 March 2012
Architecture, Jubilee line, Metropolitan line, Numbers 1-25, Zone 4
2 Comments

And cue the orchestra...If anyone were to ever write a musical about the Underground, and were that musical then turned into a big budget film, this would be where the opening number would unquestionably have to take place.

If Wembley is England’s national stadium, then this is England’s national staircase:

Shuffle, hop, stepIt was finished in 2007. I’ve no memory of what was here before, having moved to London in 2006 and only first visited the station soon after the refurbishment was complete. I believe some sort of temporary staircase was thrown up in time for Euro 96, the kind of “temporary” that turns into “10-year residency”.

The Euro 96 connection was rekindled when David Seaman joined Ken Livingstone to officially open the reshaped station building. I love this quote from the former England goalkeeper:

“It’s great to see the Wembley Park Tube station in action today… Wembley Park will certainly be a fans’ favourite.”

There’s no doubt the steps help contribute to an exciting prelude of emotion for anyone heading to a sporting event at the stadium:

This way to national heartache

For those beating a retreat in the opposite direction, however, there’s another treat for the eye: a mammoth, brilliant-white, conical turret soaring high above the steps and into the sky:

Proving a pointIt’s almost enough to turn me into a sports fan.