SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Hi all - new to the site, but remember a few discussions on the BBC Leeds site about the cinema etc. Well done for setting this site up, hope it is successful!!!By question was discussed in a little "quiz" on another thread, which ended up about films.I was wondering whether the subway in Leeds station still exists, and is just boarded over, or whether it was poperly filled in. O the concourse just out of the ticket barriers, then seems to be some hatches in the floor, but I guess they could be for owt.Cheers, Matt

Hi squatch. Yeah the subway is still there. It's not easy to see from underneath-but possible.. It was a very complex piece of engineering when you think about it. Remember the old toilets too? It had to be strong without weaking the dark arches structure. The top was just covered over but the subway itself would still be as it was if only you could get in. They wouldnt have filled it-that would have put far to much weight on the arches. I think it could house electrical gear perhaps. There's lots of places simply covered over & left as a sealed up timewarp. The older people who remember them are not usually p.c literate & all the old places are becoming forgotten about. You'd be quite suprised whats under your feet when your in town.

Thanks for the reply Phill_d - I did my work experience at the station in the despatch office in 1990, so found my way round quite a lot of places that I wouldn't normally have. I seem to recall an old good lift down into a storage area at the dark arches level, probably where the back of the short stay car park is these days, but it was the back of the old post yard when I was there. That was a bit of a scary, but interesting, trip down a couple of hundred feet for a 15 year old in his first job!!!

I envy you there mate! I used to get around the old parcels place when it was still there. I'd like to get under the old Wellington bit now. Wellington & city were 2 seperate stations built slightly higher. It's a pity you can't get down these days!

Yeah, it was a pretty good laugh as well - it's changed so much in there recently - I was sat in the concourse the other Friday night after "one or two" beers and was telling my mate that I used to park in there when it was a first class ticket holders car park. He didn't believe me, but I seem to recall that you drove in through what is now Starbucks.There's apparently loads of tunnels under the old Wellington Street station. I used to work for YE, and was in the Safety team as a clerk when we were building a new office on Whitehall Road, next to the big substation and the old "Yorkshire Electric Power Works" building (whose facade we had to preserve I believe, I wonder where that is now), anyway, when they were digging the foundations etc, some of the team had to go inspect them, and said the tunnels seemed to go off in all directions, and they weren't somewhere you'd want to be wandering off on your own. But I wasn't allowed with them, being only a clerk at the time. Boo!Just having a look through your photos on your Flickr site, very impressive. Some of those tunnel mouths look a bit dangerous!!!!!

Cheers! Nah there only baby tunnels them. My mate Rik & i have a load of stuff hid away yet. If you have a look at this thread i put down what some of those old tunnels under the station were mate. http://www.secretleeds.com/forum/Messag ... hreadID=19 There are more tho..

Look forward to seeing it. Just working my way over the Holbeck viaduct at the minute!

SHHHH!

Yes, err, sorry!!!!