Leeds Station subway

jf · Post by jf » Wed 21 Mar, 2007 7:52 pm

Back in the 80's they re-opened an old subway at Bristol Temple Meads station (can't quite remember exactly why). This still had all the old railway posters from years before advertising days out at the seaside etc. I remember pictures of these appearing in the local paper. I wonder if anything similar exists in Leeds?

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Wed 21 Mar, 2007 7:56 pm

Good way of thinking J.F. Marsh lane station platforms still exist. If you look down by the garages under the arches on Railway st there's a fortified entrance in there. I wouldn't mind some old railwayana pics myself. There's still a lot of stuff lying in the undergrowth that should have dissapeared in the 50's. There's about 10' of Holbeck high level platform still left would you believe?

Squatch_11 · Post by **Squatch_11** » Wed 21 Mar, 2007 9:33 pm

I can't remember whether there were any posters in the subway in Leeds station. As Phill_d mentioned earlier, there were the blokes toilets down there (hope they cleaned them before sealing them up).Very interesting about the remains of the Holbeck stations. I always wondered as a kid, going past that bricked up arch on the no. 90 into town, what it led to.Do you reckon it's completely blocked, or just the entrance? Is the other end of the entrance is open?

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 10:10 am

You mean the one under Whitehall road bridge? That was the entrance to Holbeck low level. It closed in 1958. Believe it or not they only just filled in this bit of subway when they remodelled the station in the 90's, The other end vanished in the 60's. Another place just missed. The other end is blocked off too. It's not easy to see were it is. Holbeck high level was the staion that ran in the opposite direction directly above it.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 10:40 am

Behind every blocked off entrance there was always something. The long dark narrow Low level subway went under two running lines. You can see the top of the Whitehall road bridge next to the signal box in the distance. It was closed in 1958. I always like to see pics inside places as they were. You can easily discredit any secret tunnels if there's nothing to proof them out there i always say. :-0

Squatch_11 · Post by **Squatch_11** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 7:11 pm

That's the one. Did it used to have a rickty old wooden gate on instead of being bricked up?

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Fri 23 Mar, 2007 12:37 pm

mmm. Not sure about the gate! I'm still of tender years Squatch. It closed in 1958 & i know it was still open in 1968 cos this fella has a superb shot from the low level station here http://flickr.com/photos/loose_grip_99/262846068/

Squatch_11 · Post by **Squatch_11** » Fri 23 Mar, 2007 11:23 pm

Sorry - didn't mean in the 50's and 60's, I was meaning in the late 80's, when it was shut but before it was bricked up. Sure I remember some shoddy wooden gate (and now I think about it, a load of rubble behind it)Will have a look through that guys photos though, seem to be some interesting ones there.....

chris 90 · Post by **chris 90** » Tue 27 Mar, 2007 9:16 pm

Squatch_11 wrote: Sorry - didn't mean in the 50's and 60's, I was meaning in the late 80's, when it was shut but before it was bricked up. Sure I remember some shoddy wooden gate (and now I think about it, a load of rubble behind it)Will have a look through that guys photos though, seem to be some interesting ones there..... I think your right I do seem to remember that old gate/fence when passing by in the car and my dad pointing it out once or twice. It would still have been there in the mid to late 90's and I would expect that it was blocked up towards the end of the 90's early thousands as some preliminary work started before Leeds station was remodelled.

rikj · Post by **rikj** » Wed 28 Mar, 2007 11:19 pm

If you look at the floor in the station now you can see where the new screeding where the old subway entrances used to be, It looks very much to me like the subway void has been used to house the machinery/electrics for the escalators. They seem to sit pretty much exactly where the subway exits were.In engineering terms it would make things a lot easier to use the existing underfloor spaces for the machinery.P.S. I think a platform ticket is only 20p still so go have a look!