British Rail-Last Night of Broad Street Station, London 27 June 1986

[@philclennell]

I used to travel on this line for work purposes in the late 70s between Broad Street and Dalston Junction. The rattly trains with bars across the windows, plus the general state of dereliction, were something to behold. Fortunately though the line was built on a viaduct and therefore was too expensive to dismantle and found a later life as the ELL.

[@Mounhas]

I’d seen other EMU’s with bars across the windows, out of Euston I believe. On the SR we didn’t have bars!

[@wgcameraman4650]

I would just like to say that this is an extraordinary piece of film you have in your possession, as are the other two North London Line videos, and thank you so much for sharing them with us!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Hi, i'm pleased you like them! They ahve been hiden away for too long, time to share with other people interested in the history of our wonderful transport system. In the 1980s the NLL was very run down, just look at it today-thriving! And to think Beeching wanted to close it! I have a ast amount of rail & bus videos, i'll get more as & when i can, thanks for viewing, Rich

[@philaypeephilippotter6532]

You might like 'I Am A Litter Basket', a film made in 1959 at Broad Street Station. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3nEdJh9oJd_q9k

[@Mgameing123]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Doubt Beeching would. It has always been thriving not with passenger traffic but freight traffic!

[@davidbull7210]

That notice must have been one of the first under the NSEast banner, having just been launched that month. Extraordinary, yet depressing footage of a long-gone London. Were you an employee or did you request permission to film?

[@brucewilliams8714]

On a visit to Britain in 1983 I made the journey from Richmond to Broad Street. My rail atlas showed that we crossed all the major routes out of London, except those from Victoria, Waterloo and London Bridge. (I think). The splendid station building was still intact and I had a good look around. Thanks for this sad, memorable video

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

It also didn't cross the lines out of Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street but it did cross a fair few......

[@brucewilliams8714]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Thanks. I was a bit doubtful. Now I know.

[@johnmurray8428]

I have not lived in London since 1969, nor worked there since 1972 and left the UK in 1975. I was back on business in 1992 and had to go to Bishopsgate for a meeting, my plan Park rental car at Canonbury and take train to Broadstreet. Did I get a sad awakening. Thank you for this video, I missed a lot of this in the 1980s.

[@srfurley]

I was on the last train. When the main building was still there I sometimes used it on a Sunsay to take a ride to Richmond and back. Never saw in in the days when DMUs Oe even steam heated loco hauled trains used it to Great Northern destinations. There were some long closed buildings on the West side of the concourse; I think one had been toilets and another a buffet. This still had stickers on the windows with the Festival of Britain logo. The station had long outlived its usefulness.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Interesting memories, thank you......

[@andrewhotston983]

Gosh, what a mess. My great grandfather was a driver on the North London Railway. He wouldn't have believed what happened to Broad Street.

[@richardthurston9077]

Thanks for sharing this - this is a good historical record of the last days of Broad Street Station - once London’s third busiest!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

I didn't know that! On this, the very last night there were probably no more than one to two hundred passengers all evening, what a come down!

[@srfurley]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I was there, but didn’t see myself on this video.

[@marknpm]

I used Broad Street in the early 80s, and it was already becoming (delibarately) run down: I think there were only three or four platforms still in use, and the roof leaked really badly whenever it rained. The only entrance was through a decayed archway almost hidden among the shops which had taken over the station frontage, leading to an open-air staircase that climbed up to the side of the train-shed. It was really creepy at night: ill-lit and largely deserted. They were still using the old Watford electrics with three bars on the slam-door windows (to stop people leaning out and getting decapitated by the narrow clearances on parts of the North London) which always made me feel I was on some sort of prison-train. But it was a useful and surprisingly quick way of getting across London while avoiding the congested centre.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Hi Mark, yes i know what you mean. I first went there in the late 70s with my father and it was a ghost station then-but right in the heart of London! When you think of how busy Liverpool Street was right next door and this was an oasis of calm. I recall the booking office was a concrete hut type building near the buffer stops of the left hand side platforms and the tickets issued were those pink bus ticket type from a bus conductors type machine. The whole experience was of an out of the way provincial station!

[@borderlands6606]

I remember Broad Street in the mid-1970s, and it was very quiet then. The station never recovered from WW2 bombing, and as most of the line ran to unfashionable suburbs in what was an era of declining rail use, little effort was made in modernising the place. Shots from the 50s still show it as a thriving commuter terminus, but is was a backwater for it's final decades. Fascinating footage all the same.

[@leonardssenkindu8445]

I’m glad you said when you said to get across London quickly like the North London line, they should have not knocked it down

[@marknpm]

@@leonardssenkindu8445 The short spur from Dalston Junction to Broad Street apart, it's pretty much all still there as part of the London Overground 😊.

[@leonardssenkindu8445]

@@marknpm I know I’ve seen it, I did not release when I was between old street and Shoreditch, I can see kind a bridge, I’ve been on the bridge on the overground shoreditch area

[@RobCCTV]

Its a very valuable documentary bit of footage. Well done for preserving this sad end to a once-fine station.

[@APOTwixx]

Wonderful piece of history. Thank you for sharing.

[@harrybond9282]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING THIS RARE CLIP. SADLEY ITS GONE I TRAVEL FEW TIMES FROM HERE TO STONEBRIDGE PARK NEAR WEMBLEY

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My pleasure.... i was lucky to get any video of this place.....

[@nutsnproud6932]

Thanks for the video. My best part was seeing inside the signal box. Best wishes.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Thank you....it was my Dad who chatted to the signalman and he allowed us in as long as i kept him off the video!.......

[@srfurley]

I seem to remember that Broad Street had two signal boxes. It was pretty much two stations originally, with two separate booking offices, but by the time I knew the station in the early ‘70s, the main station facilities had been closed, replaced by a small pre-fab building on the concourse and an early self-service ticket machine. There were some disused rooms on the west side of the concourse which I think had originally been toilets and a buffet, the windows of which still displayed a sticker for the Festival of Britain, over twenty years previously. Just look at those signal levers, almost all of them are white, that should tell you all you need to know.

[@BibtheBoulder]

What a sad end for a station that was once the third busiest in London...

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

An amazing downfall for a central London terminus!

[@lordsplonge8147]

I was the driver on the 3rd from last train that day. I'd forgotten how really run down and basic it all was at the end. After the closure we started running into Liverpool Street via the Graham road curve. From one extreme to the other. Thank you for posting this.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My pleasure...... i was on guards training for the Underground this night and had to sneak off to film it!

[@Ass_Burgers_Syndrome]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus It was easy to skive off back in those days!

[@ianhelps3749]

Thanks for this interesting film. I didn't know class 313s ever came to Broad Street. I slways associated the station with the class 501 "Watford" units. I travelled on the North London line a few times in the 1970s. The last time was in 1978 when I went to Cambridge to be interviewed for a place at the university. As I had plenty of time ( the interview would be the following day) I took the train from Bracknell to Richmond, then over the NLL to Broad Street, which was quite a journey in itself. Finally crossing to Liverpool Street ( still the old station) I took a Cambridge train which iirc was class 31 hauled. Well in the end I didn't get into Cambridge, but it was one of many memorable train journeys from back in the day.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

That's a great, if long, way to go! When the North London Line was diverted to North Woolwich the Southern EPBs took over the line and the 501s withdrawn. The Watford to Euston DC lines had already gone over to 313 operation although a few 501s lingered on due to power issues with the 313s. By then the only trains to Broad Street were the peak hour Watford services. When the NLL got so busy the 2 car EPBs couldn't cope, BR used 317s to replace 313s on peak hour services that went ot Kings Cross rather than Moorgate and sent them to the NLL.....

[@colinloc]

Enjoyed this very much. I used to travel in to Broad Street in the early '80s from Harrow on the Class 501s headcode B2. Liked the amount of space which opened up between Primrose Hill and the Roundhouse ...

[@stephenfenwick4309]

Amazing piece of film documenting the demise of Broad Street and the bare London skyline of the time. This footage should definitely be called "Give My Regards To Broad Street" instead of that bloody awful Paul McCartney film from 1984!

[@marktownley3587]

Great video and shows the demise of Broad Street in its lasts days of operation. Thanks for sharing.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

My pleasure.....this was the last night. When the last train left they pulled down what was seen here within days!

[@Paulwherrell]

I think British Rail were keen to close Broad Street because of it's prime location in the City of London, I'm sure they made a few quid selling the land on to property developers. But still, at least some of that line has now been given a new lease of life from Shoreditch High Street to Dalston as part of London Overground.

[@mitchellgiffard1978]

I do remember walking across that line when 24 years ago from Shoreditch high street to Dalston. Wish I had took some shots then but then again no smartphones then.

[@m18tankdestroyer43]

That would not surprise me at all!

[@30453trains]

This is a fascinating video. I'm not from London, and am slightly too young for the time period, but I've always found the subject of Broad Street station strangely alluring. I mean, I get that in the 60s rationalisations railway termini often closed, but how could a main line station, in the City of London, just effectively disappear with no trace? I've studied pictures of the place and often wondered what secrets lay behind the decaying buildings (such as the station frontage which had been demolished by this point)? Now I have the answer- old London Midland Region platform signs amongst other things! Interesting that it was left to the Eastern to provide the last workings out of there (the 313s all have E carriage nos) even though it has always been an LMS/LMR station- as in fact the closure notice indicates. Truly extraordinary. Thanks for sharing.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Hi Ross, the units were LMR by then having been transfered from Hornsey to Bletchley, Croxley having closed when the last 501's ran on the Watford DC lines in 1985. I imagine nobody could be bothered to change the E for an M! The station was also very quiet, i remember being there in the late 1970s with my father and you wouldn't know you were in the centre of London! The place really lost most of reason for existence when the North London Line was diverted to North Woolwich and all that was left was these peak hour Watford workings. You can see shots of the station in the TV series Callan, namely series three episode 'Summond to Appear' where a person fell under a train. Broad St was used rather than a set.

[@30453trains]

Soi Buakhao I’ll have to look that tv series up- rather sounds like LU loaning out the Aldwych branch for filming!

[@srfurley]

Blackpool Central was a much larger station than Broad Street, and at the time of its closure, in 1964, was a much busier station. Manchester Mayfield was a City Centre terminus which was totally closed after serving for a while as a mail depot. Parts of the building still exist.

[@kend.5894]

Fascinating bit of archive film. I used to trainspot in the late fifties at Liverpool St and often noticed steam locos (N2 tanks) and Oerlikon electric stock up behind the wall in Broad Street. I sometimes went up to the concourse to have a look, there were some quality model locos in glass cases there but not a lot of real trains outside rush hours - very different to Liverpool Street!

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, it was a nice station but its heyday was over by the 1920s. A lot of the lines' traffic had been taken by trams and motor buses.....

[@djtrainspotter]

Amazing stuff, nice one. Even filmed 313015, my fave 313! Cheers for uploading this stuff :D

[@s125ish]

Dj Trainspotter why is it your fave

[@ginoweller7755]

Thanks for sharing, great piece of history. Would be great if there was a similar one of Liverpool Street before the late 80s refurbishment

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Sadly i only have one shot of a 47 on a Norwich leaving and that's it before the rebuild.

[@johnrafferty8087]

Remember it well. Was so sad seeing the state 9f the place

[@mitchellgiffard1978]

Great nostalgia history looking back on this but at least most of the route is in service for the London Overground now you can see some of the old parts of the bridge from Shoreditch high Street.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, happily it wasn't built over. The line only really shut as they wanted to build on Broad Street itself, beyond there no one was interested!

[@jess.hawkins]

Gosh it was a weird old station, Broad Street, towards the end weren't it? Great footage Soi! ❤

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Tahnk you.... this was just the rump that was left as they had already started building work.....

[@jess.hawkins]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Rump is the word alright! Hope you're doing well mate!

[@edwardbarnes2702]

Hi Soi, Pretty sad film to watch, all that decay now London is screaming out for extra capacity, I did travel up to London at the weekend, and changed at Moorgate from tube to network rail, to get to ally pally, my word what a utter dump, no far away from what you filmed some years ago, and people have to pay top dollar for the privilege!

[@Mounhas]

Back in the 80’s I did wander into the station as didn’t know much about it. Shame for all those affected, that greenery was a surprise. Now a faceless office block there no doubt.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, the Broadgate Development... Google Street view will show......

[@BrianMorrison]

My father was a regular Broad Street commuter during the 40s through to the early 70s, but I think the frequency of trains from the Great Northern dropped off even then. He worked in the City in Leadenhall Street so this was convenient for him. A very sad end for such a station.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

I'm pretty sure the trains from the GN stopped when the service to Moorgate via Drayton Park started up, as did the GN workings along the Widened Lines.

[@BrianMorrison]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Yes, this is the case but the GN electrification and the Moorgate route didn't begin until 1976 and my father stopped regular rail commuting from 1972.

[@Shalott63]

How grim! A rather miserable end for what had once been a busy and important station. But very interesting to see.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, it must have been quite impressive in its heyday. I do remember it in operation in the late 1970s with the 501 EMUs trundling in & out. Apart from the peaks it was never busy there. There is an episode of TV series Callan that had some scenes filmed there called 'Summond To Appear'......

[@danrkelly]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus You can watch it here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2W9mKyKop6cY6M

[@jacksugden8190]

All very sad loosing Broad Street, as I used to use it from Highbury & Islington via the original Dalston Junction station.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

At least most of the formation was saved and is now back in use!

[@mjcats2011]

Why? Look at the railways now because Broad Street closed.

[@jacksugden8190]

@@mjcats2011 How about before Broad St closing, been rotting since Beaching.

[@mjcats2011]

@@jacksugden8190 True, it has been. But it has been proven. Broad Street wasn't really needed. It was losing traffic arguably since the 2nd World War. Just think of the rail network London has now as a result of Broad Street Closing. 6 Trains an hour to Stratford, serving the Central Hackney, Homerton and Hackney Wick and the East London Line Extension which has a frequency of 16 Trains per hour off peak between Surrey Quays and Dalston Junction. Broad Street closing is a good thing.

[@MetroTitanD78]

I knew the 2 stations were close but not that close. Can't be many places where you could view a 313 & 315 fairly close together.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Stratford! When the 313's were on the North London Line.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

And of course Hackney Downs to Liv St after the Broad Street service was diverted via the Graham Road Curve to Liv St via Bethnal Green, as seen on my upload here kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKmulaKfZ5Wgos0

[@trainrover]

come the late-Seventies, the slow approach to the unseen terminus through grunge there just HAD to be the world's most edgily jagged 🍸🍾

[@barnsproductions]

Sadly, never got to ride the line into Broad Street before it closed. I’ve regretted it ever since.

[@ulysses2162]

They knocked down a lovely, grand old building (which could have been renovated and preserved) and its place, put an ugly, eye sore of a modern building.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, Broad Street station looked a whole lot better. But was very run down sadly..... I remember using it in the late 1970s and it was as quiet as a county wayside halt on a Sunday afternoon! And you were on the edge of the City.....

[@robertross7491]

As a local - surprised to see a tower block also gone next to the Tea building (14min etc) anyone have info on that? Otherwise there's a large winter roost of Piedwagtails happily inhabiting a tree at Broad St's old spot.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

It's amazing what 'modern' buildings can disappear without any sign of their existance.......

[@robertross7491]

@@hywelthomas1623 Indeed correct - the position, height and angle of the shot is unfamiliar!

[@JasonBurtonTRAINS]

Thank you for sharing this amazing and historical video of broad street station it's good to learn about things from all them years ago I was wondering soi did you say unfortunately only got black and whites here on your video when you recorded it once again fantastic work as always keep it up kind regards from Jason 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Thanks Jason....i don't quite know what you mean re B&W photos?....

[@JasonBurtonTRAINS]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus some said in your video black and white photo's when you was recording your footage perhaps it was someone taking photos and there voice was on your recording like watching your videos soi keep up with the amazing work kind regards from Jason

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

@@JasonBurtonTRAINS Could well be, there were others around that night as well. I haven't watched this one since i uploaded it, i will try & have a listen.....

[@JasonBurtonTRAINS]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus yes indeed when you do get a chance have a good listen and let me know kind regards from JASON ⭐🙏🏅🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃

[@MannyAntipov]

Imagine if Broad Street survived just another year, I wonder if NSE would be able to turn the place around, like the Chilterns for one?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Probaly they could but the powers that be had decreed it close in order to build on the site!

[@mjcats2011]

No. Marylebone had advantages that Broad Street did not. Baker Street and Paddington were at capacity and Marylebone having direct access to a Main Line. Broad Street did not. No chance of Broad Street being turned around.

[@Keithbarber]

@@mjcats2011 the decline of broad street began in ww2 when services to poplar and the docks were withdrawn 1969 -------- About 4 platforms were decommissioned and abandoned as surplus to requirements 1976 -------- Services to broad street from great northern via Canonbury curve withdrawn and diverted to nearby Moorgate with further platform closures (Canonbury curve is still used for freight and *OCCASIONAL* passenger charters but no regular passenger services, alternative route via Highbury and Islington) 1979 -------- British rail Obtained planning permission to redevelop broad street which *sealed the station's fate* 1985 -------- services to Richmond diverted to north Woolwich over newly electrified tracks leaving just these featured Watford peak hour services 1986 ------- graham road curve opened allowing these services to run into neighbouring Liverpool street (until 1992)

[@mrlotusmic]

I’m feeling old. I watched Broadgate getting built in 1987 the year I left school then a few years back I watched the same building next to Sun Street passage getting demolished and ended up working on the new 5 Broadgate. All that wasted resource 😁

[@SiVlog1989]

It's almost like they couldn't wait to close it down with an eye only on the now (at the time) and not the future

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Very much so. Public transport was in decline in the early 1980s and the decision was taken to redevelope Broad Street come what may. The eye was on cash now rather than 30 years down the line......

[@SiVlog1989]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus the only consolation is that the route north of the site of Broad Street wasn't demolished, otherwise there'd be no London Overground between Shoreditch High Street and Canonbury

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

@@SiVlog1989 I think it was just the land in the city that was what they were after. The wastelands (as they were then, all around Shoreditch was run down in the 1980s and was the vibrant place it is now) held no interest for the City money men....

[@Keithbarber]

@@SiVlog1989 but shoreditch high street station is in a good position for the city, less than ½ a mile from where broad street station stood So all that was really lost was a few hundred metres of trackbed, a tiny stub of route mileage, and the city is still served by the lions share of the broad street route, so in effect, the closure of broad street wasn't too negative, as alternatives are available But in the mid 1980s, public transport usage was recovering from years if decline, helped by the travelcard, as well as the capitalcard variant making travel in bus tube and br services on one ticket possible, whereby previously, integrated ticketing was not available between the 3 modes of transport, having to buy a point to point br season ticket, and a tube season ticket and/or bus pass as an "add on" But in certain circumstances a THROUGH tickets from br to underground and vice versa was available

[@mitchellgiffard1978]

@@SiVlog1989 as mentioned in my comment & even the bridge was still well preserved on kinglsand road for well of 25 years after the London Overground even existed.

[@Mgameing123]

Instead of Building Broadgate they should of kept the station bulding in tact and made it the "Broad Street old station musuem". Would be a nice place to learn the history about this terminus. Sadly they were thinking short sited so they instead demolished this station.

[@mjcats2011]

But that would leave no money for Liverpool Street modernisation.

[@Mgameing123]

@@mjcats2011 Revenue from the museum could fund it.

[@mjcats2011]

@@Mgameing123 No you are being just silly. A gunzels museum raising the sort of money Liverpool Street needed? Surely you jest.

[@Mgameing123]

@@mjcats2011 Well do you think I have any idea how they could fund the money for Liverpool Street? I'm just mentioning the fact that the building had significant importance for the history of London. Should of been Grade listed to be honest.

[@mjcats2011]

@@Mgameing123 So you was talking rubbish or telling a very bad joke. Money was used to refurbish Liverpool Street. Broad Street demolished was a small price to pay.

[@TheFlatCapFromWN5]

I know it's a bit of a long shot, but does anyone know what the final services in and out of Broad Street were? Destinations? Service frequency? Time of last ever train out?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

This was the last night, the service was peaks only and i think every 30 min. It ran to Watford Junction via Camden Road, Primrose Hill and Queens Park. I seem to recall the last train was a couple after the last one seen on this upload. All were class 313 EMUs.....

[@Raad187KO]

What was the first station on this line leaving Broad Street? I see the old line that Hoxton is now one, was that the original route???

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

In BR days the first one was Dalston Junction but until World War 1 there had been others at Shoreditch and another in between there and Dalston. Closed as an economy measure they never re-opened, the buses & trams took away a lot of trade for local journeys.

[@Raad187KO]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus thank you dude!

[@rogerthomas368]

Leaving Broad Street on the North London line (City Extension), there are now stations again at these locations as part of the extended East London line. Shoreditch railway station closed 1940 Haggerston railway station closed 1940 Dalston Junction railway station closed 1986 at the same time as Broad Street If you wish to follow old tracks around London this site is great as it has scanned images of historic UK maps, with some stunningly detailed maps of London including one at 1:1,250 drawn up between 1947-1964.

[@Shalott63]

The old Shoreditch station on this line (closed in 1940; not to be confused with the one of the same name near Brick Lane on the Metropolitan/East London Line, that closed in 2006) was just north of the point where the new Overground line joins the route of the old Broad Street line. It was not reopened as it was too close to the new Shoreditch High Street Station to make it worth while. Next along, Hoxton Overground station is a new one, there was never a station there before. The new Haggerston station is slightly north of the site of the original one of the same name that was closed in 1940 and subsequently demolished. The new Dalston Junction station is on the same site as the original, but the old one had branches north of it going both east and west (so it really was a junction) whereas the new one has just one line north of it, that turns to the west only, so it is really a junction only in name now.

[@Raad187KO]

@@Shalott63 brilliant info, thanks mate!

[@richardclarke376]

they built Broadgate on top of that didn't they?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Yes, most of the station had already been demolished so they could start the work.....

[@rjjcms1]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Ah,I was hoping to see inside the station building itself,leaky,half-lost roof and all. That would explain why that wasn't possible - it was already gone?

[@peskybee22]

Such a shame as this would of been a great relief station for Liverpool Street

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Not really as the connections were to the West and Liv St services are all to the East. But still a shame that this supurbly central station has gone, it would have been very handy for local EMU services while they rebuild Euston!

Doesn't Shoreditch high st station deliver people to pretty close to the same spot and from the same origin?

[@Robotnik]

@ Yup. About an 7-8 min walk to Liv St Stn.

[@Robotnik]

@ Yup. One can chuck an Stone from the Station, but walking is an roundabout.

[@mjcats2011]

How? The tracks for Broad Street and Liverpool Street went in different directions.

[@JamesPetts]

Urbex, 1986 style!

[@realfrowz]

How is it last night

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

The station closed this Friday evening in 1986, after the last train left. It has now been demolished and is an office block!

[@markcf83]

Had Network South East been launched in, say 1983 instead of 1986, I reckon Broad Street would have survived.

[@NeilShearer-ok2gi]

Yeah so would have Holborn station

[@petersmith4455]

good memories of this station but as ususal clowns had to close it

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

The railways were on a downward spiral back in the 1980s and there was big money in the City......

[@goatgamer001]

How it's last night if it's day

[@Nick_80599]

Evening peak, it had one service Broad Street to Watford Junction at time of closure and I think it only ran during peak hours

[@Wildcard71]

It's June. That makes a huge difference between night by time and night by view.

[@brianwillson9567]

To go from one of the busiest London termini tototal obliteration requires incompetence and/or planned desecration of the highest order.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

A lot of their commuter traffic disappeared with the advent of electric trams and the expanding Underground. But what could have been a useful station now was taken from us by a cash strapped BR and City greed.... If only BR had been given the levels of money that the railkway recieved since privitisation, we could have a world class railway......

[@adrianlee2910]

Unfortunately, when the railways were nationalised, their only source of income was the taxpayer. Privatisation brought in private capital. There have been lots of new major rail projects as a result. The railways have expanded over the past thirty years. In contrast, under British Railways, lines and stations started being closed down from the later 1940's onwards. We tend to focus on Beeching, but the closure programme started pretty much on day one. I strongly believe that when the railways are re-nationalised, as they are likely to be in the next few years, cuts and service closures will follow once again. Governments have other pressing things to pay for, such as the NHS, pensions, and social services. They also realise that if the burden of tax gets too high, the Party in government tends to lose the subsequent General Election. Railways are always one of the poor relations!

[@mjcats2011]

@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbusWhy? Broad Street is gone. And that is fantastic. The money used developed Liverpool Street a far more important station and the fantastic Overground network with 6 trains per hour off peak between Stratford and Willesden Junction and the East London Line with 16 Trains per hour between Dalston and Surrey Quays providing LB Hackney with decent rail services, at last. This would not have happened if Broad Street, a station not touched since the 1950's had survived. So good riddance.

[@Nick_80599]

​@mjcats2011 That only happened because TFL got involved, under British Rail that would never have happened.

[@mjcats2011]

@nicholasr39 What are you talking about? That is a stupid point. Broad Street was closed in 1986 at the behest of British Rail! Transport for London was set up in 2000. 14 years after Broad Street closed. I used Broad Street. It was an absolute shithole with sod all passengers. The East London Line is fantastic and the LB of Hackney now has decent rail services. Just let it go about Broad Street.

[@leonardssenkindu8445]

That line should stayed opened!!, that bloody Conservatives in the 80’s, Margret Thatcher who did not give sh^r about poor people and poor transport!, closing down the minors, the both parities Labour and Conservatives are bloody joke!!, that line would have helped more from Watford to Liverpool Street today, they should have concentrated on public transport in those days, i used to travel London Public Transport for 37 years all my life, born in early 80’s, I used to travel on the tube, buses and some times British rail back in the 80’s

[@rogerthomas368]

The station rundown started back in 1967 as the Beeching Report flagged it as "stopping passenger services to be modified". The roof was removed in 1967 and the very large goods yard went in 1969. All that took place under the Labour government of Harold Wilson. The only thing that the Conservatives did was not reverse the approved planning application for redevelopment that was submitted in the 70's again when Labour/Harold Wilson were in power and granted in 1979.

[@leonardssenkindu8445]

@@rogerthomas368 thanks for letting me know that.

[@rogerthomas368]

@@leonardssenkindu8445 Modes of transport change, the real criminal action from all governments over the last 60 years when it comes to the UK rail network was not protecting the trackbeds. Reducing and closing links due to demand and changes in transport is one thing. Not allowing them to be reinstated in the future is a far greater problem. Too many possible projects now seem to be not possible due to a housing estate having been built on an old trackbed.

[@leonardssenkindu8445]

@@rogerthomas368 ok, I’m lucky now, because I was born in Walthamstow and moved to Leyton in May 1984, we had a train service at Lea Bridge Road, it got shut in June 1985 and re open few years ago, but I’ve left my family home and got my own flat in Custom House, opposite the Crossrail and D.l.r, but I’m still waiting for the Crossrail to open, it’s really annoying to wait again, they said it will be open next year and it better be, 😡🤬

[@mjcats2011]

Leonard Only Broad Street and about 300 meters of track was closed. G O O D! Now we have the ELL to New Cross, West Croydon, Crystal Palace and Clapham Junction and 3 new stations in Hackney utilising the old North London Infrastructure. Also the NLL was diverted providing services to North Woolwich (now Stratford). Not to mentioned a modernised and expanded Liverpool Street Station. Only 6,000 passengers a week was using Broad Street. Broad Street had to go.