Euston Station
Normblog is hosting an Appreciation of Euston Station by David Garrard.
He does a good job of defending something which isn’t greatly loved by those that use it, and praises The Black Tower (as it is known) as a good example of 70s architecture.
I have to say it’s not one of my favourite railway stations; resembling a combination of an airport departure lounge and an underground car park. About the only positive thing I can say about Euston is that it’s not as bad as Birmingham New Street.
November 30th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Hmm. What would you say was the best railway station in Britain? And the best in the world?
November 30th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Birmingham New Street, of course!
Only joking
I don’t know of a modern station that manages to equal the best ones the Victorians could do; York and Bristol Temple Meads are favourites of mine. And Manchester Piccadilly is a great combination of ancient and modern; an airy modern concourse (vastly superior to the sixties grot it replaced) nicely complements the restored 19th century train shed.
The new St Pancras is IMO overrated. As an international passenger you’re kept in an underground holding pen until it’s time to catch the train, so you don’t get to see much of the station. Quite why Eurostar want to emulate all the bad elements of travelling by air I really don’t understand.
Overseas, the only big ones I’m familiar with are Zürich Hbf (average), Bern (awful on a BNS level of awful), and Köln Hbf (good)
December 21st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
The old Euston with its arch was a much more oustanding building. The current Euston is a boring building with a black, ugly trainshed. However, as a functional building, it works well.