Leeds Railway Station's 'Lost World'

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Sat 20 Mar, 2010 9:20 pm

jim wrote: I'm up for that,and am free most days.I'd appreciate a prior meeting or chat to discuss protocols if that can be arranged? I suggest 'No fancy dress'.

jim · Post by **jim** » Sun 21 Mar, 2010 6:06 pm

In our last exciting episode we left Arthur,Ford,and Eccentrica...........Sorry wrong site,I'll have to remember that when they issued memories,I got a forgettory.Whilst scrabbling through the Pre-Cambrian levels of the research store caverns looking for old Duchess of York gig posters (failed I'm afraid) I came across a map roll I had completely forgotten about (see,I told you).In it is an 1889 revised 1909 1:500 map of the station and surrounding area.It gives me a clear,measurable sight of the full length of the weir,so my next project will be an attempt to measure arch widths and a chance to check if my maths O-level has expired.The dimension I scale for the weir is 220 feet. To other matters:I forgot,whilst describing the Granary Arches area,to mention an insignificant area alongside the canal towpath, opposite Office Lock,once home to a good friend of mine (R.I.P. P.R.)There were and are several quite short arches here,now closed off,one of which contained an iron ladder up which access to the surface via a trap-door (shades of the Demon King).The plot above was the Motive Power Area,where locomotives were prepared for their next duty.It contained a turntable,ash pit,water facilities,short sidings,and the station compressor house,the only surviving memory of the pre-1967 provision.The ladder,needless to say,served a number of purposes,some of which were approved by management.There was also,back against the short wall,what was probably the most disgusting messing and washing facility I came across in 38 years on the Railway,and that is saying something. Anyone with a stronger candidate,please post.Back to Sandford Street.........(well a song needs a chorus..) At the far end,looking up to the right again from the gate and bars,a little way up on the right is an opening.This is the entrance to the Queens Hotel cellars and undercroft which fills the majority of the remaining space I referred to in a previous post.Not being a member of hotel staff it isn't an area where I had "roaming rights",although I did go in on a number of occasions for (legitimate) reasons which now escape me.I do remember heating boilers,fuel stores,and lots of kitchens and associated storage rooms and the like.Somewhere inserted amongst this maelstrom were inserted two interesting areas which concerned my job and with which I was familiar........To be continued.

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 5:29 pm

Todays expedition involved highly technical (OK,read suspect....) measurements of the width of the arches at both north and south end,the results of which agree with a figure of 35ft for each arch plus one adjacent pier.This,with a measurement of 220ft for the weir ties in closely with a total of SIX arches at the north,which,from the south end,can be identified as:- First arch,not seen,channelled into second arch at north end. Second,third,fourth,and fifth arches,those seen as clearly seen as passing right through. Sixth arch,identifiable as the Queens Hotel access arch,which has either been at some point in time been blanked off,both at the north end and at the point where it for some reason bifurcated,just south of Sandford Street,or the access arch has had a "floor" created,to allow the river to continue to run underneath.The split arches remain for us to see entering arch five from the east at the Granary Wharf bridge. So well and good,it still leaves a major problem:what on earth happened to the rest of the arches shown in the picture number 13 left on this site by Cardiarms last week?I must own up to complete puzzlement.I am confident that my arch measurements,rough and ready as they are,cannot be so far out as to admit of more (or,indeed,less) arches,and hope that the mighty combined intellect of the site's readers will work it out!

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 8:41 pm

Jim, highly churlish on my part and I certainly wouldn't want to deter your excellent content but could I please make the polite request that you insert a couple of (hard) returns occasionally to start a new paragraph. As excellent a read as it is, it is hard work when it is one continuous block of text.Keep up the good work and no offence meant.regardstyke

Post by **chameleon** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 9:02 pm

tyke bhoy wrote: Jim, highly churlish on my part and I certainly wouldn't want to deter your excellent content but could I please make the polite request that you insert a couple of (hard) returns occasionally to start a new paragraph. As excellent a read as it is, it is hard work when it is one continuous block of text.Keep up the good work and no offence meant.regardstyke He just thinks faster than we can read tyke bhoyWonderful stuff isn't it?

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 9:24 pm

chameleon wrote: Wonderful stuff isn't it? Couldn't agree more which is why I was very tentative about even making the suggestion

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 10:10 pm

sorry guys............(adopts sheepish and crestfallen pose).I'll try to be good.To be honest,I'm very much a computer novice........and to be even more honest I've sometimes been told I often talk like that........Absolutely no offence taken,and I'll even try to remember to proof-read myself to hopefully reduce the number of typos.

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Mon 22 Mar, 2010 11:01 pm

jim wrote: (adopts sheepish and crestfallen pose). Please no sheepish or crestfallen pose, stand proud its wonderful stuff.

BIG N · Post by **BIG N** » Tue 23 Mar, 2010 1:37 am

Jim - I have found this stuff facinating over the last couple of weeks and what started as a thread about one persons photographic work has thrown up many new and interesting items for us to peruse, also lots of new questions to be answered like for example - the missing arches you are looking for, the original water course prior to the new build of the station etc, the use of the big beam over the canal tunnel etc etc.One thing still puzzles me though and if you could just re-wind slightly for me (I have a feeling I missed this answer somewhere) could you explain to me exsactly where the subway that was in the original pictures at the beginning is, and also what its use was, as in - was it public then became service or was it only ever a service subway ??Sorry to come across as thick but its just that I'm thick LOL

jim · Post by **jim** » Tue 23 Mar, 2010 9:35 am

Sorry Big N,as you and others will have noticed I have a tendency to get carried away by the exuberance of my own verbosity!The subway was a service tunnel and was in general not for public use. Exceptions were made for people with mobility problems, heavy luggage, prams and the like. Access was only granted under the care of station staff, as was the case with the 1967-1990s lifts. All were officially classified as "goods lifts", and had differing conditions of use as far as Inspectorate requirements were concerned.Under present Health and Safety rules the hydraulic lifts would be condemned instantly. They had no sides or roof, just being an iron framed wooden platform with a directly coupled ram underneath. The control was a long chain fastened to a rimmed wheel coupled to the control valve, and the great iron gates rose and fell with the lift and were counterbalanced by weights on other chains.Looking back they were extremely dangerous, and all new apprentices taken to work on them first spent time being apprised of their unfortunate predecessor who had been decapitated by the platform 12/13 lift.More verbosity, but hopefully answers your question and gives more insight into the station's past,