121 - London St Pancras Station

Object Type: Folder
In Folder: Historical Engineering Collection

▲

Expand to show object metadata

121 - London St Pancras Station

By the mid 19th century, the Midland Railway was hurting from agreements entered into with the Great Northern Railway that enabled it to reach London with goods and passenger traffic. They wished to extend its line from Bedford to London in order to compete with the London & North Western and Great Northern railway companies for the Yorkshire railway traffic. St Pancras was to be a suitably grand terminus for their rail services. The station was designed and constructed in two parts; the train shed and the hotel frontage. William Henry Barlow, the Midland’s consultant engineer, designed the extension route and station layout, including the single span arched train shed constructed of iron and glass. At 243ft by 110ft high at its apex, it was at the time the largest ironwork structure of its kind. As the 6 platforms were tied to the ribs, the train shed area was clear and spacious compared to other termini, making the structure much more flexible and allowing for future changes. As the line had to bridge the Regents Canal to the north of the station, the platforms at St Pancras were built at a high level which made it much more imposing than its Euston Road neighbours. Resting on 850 cast iron pillars, this gave the station space underneath for storage of goods. The distance between the columns was measured using one of the Midland Railway’s most lucrative goods traffic; barrels of beer from Burton on Trent. In 1865, a competition was held to design the front façade of the station including a new hotel. George Gilbert Scott, the most celebrated gothic architect of his day, won the competition even though his design was larger than the rules allowed. Construction of the hotel started in 1868 however the economic downturn of the late 1860s meant that the hotel, named the Midland Grand, was only completed in 1876. Striking and self confident, the station and hotel completely dominated its Great Northern neighbours. In 1923 St Pancras was transferred to the management of the London Midland & Scottish Railway; the LMS focused its activities on Euston, and so began the decline of St Pancras over the next 60 years. In 1935 the Midland Grand was closed as a hotel due to falling bookings and profit, blamed on the lack of en suite facilities in the bedrooms. It was used instead as office accommodation for railway staff and renamed St Pancras Chambers. During WWII, the station played an important role for troops departing for war and children being evacuated from London. Although the station was hit hard during the blitz, there was only superficial damage and the station was quickly up and running. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the decline of St Pancras continued and British Railways tried to close and demolish the station a number of times. John Betjeman spearheaded a campaign to save the station and hotel, and in November 1967 was successful in getting the buildings declared Grade 1 listed just days before demolition was due to begin. Although the buildings were saved, their decline was allowed to continue; the hotel building was mothballed in 1985 and the train shed roof fell into a state of serious disrepair. The 1990s saw the start of St Pancras’ revival. The Channel Tunnel opened in May 1994, but high speed trains were only able to reach their maximum speeds on the French side of the Channel. In 1996 Government passed the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act authorising the construction of a high speed line from the tunnel to a redeveloped St Pancras International. In consultation with English Heritage and with painstaking reference to original detail, Barlow’s original train shed roof was restored to its Victorian glory with 18k panes of self cleaning glass, 300k welsh slates and the iron girders stripped and repainted in their original pale blue. New oak doors for the main entrances were made, the brass furniture copied exactly from original drawings. To extend platforms to accept Eurostar trains, an additional train shed to the rear of Barlow’s original was designed by Foster & Partners. The west wall of the station was rebuilt using 16 million bricks manufactured identically to the original. New public works of art include the statue of the station’s saviour John Betjeman and the 30ft tall bronze sculpture ‘The Meeting Place’, positioned under the station clock. Opening up the station undercroft allowed developers to let in the light from the roof and the building to be seen from the new Eurostar check-in lounge, shops, restaurants and food halls, created in the space Barlow had originally designed for beer barrels. The new St Pancras International station was officially opened on in November 2007 with Eurostar and East Midland services, and with Thameslink services joining that December. At the end of 2009 high speed domestic services began between St Pancras and Kent. In 2012 this high speed line transports spectators to the London Olympic Park at Stratford International in just seven minutes.

Network Rail Corporate Archive

Level of Description: Series

Reference Code: NRCA110015 - NRCA110013

Title: London St Pancras Station

Extent and Medium: 6 drawings

Creator: Midland Railway

Date: 1868-1900

Scope and Content: 6 drawings showing St Pancras Station.

Contract Number: London St Pancras Station

Drawing Number: n/a

Drawing Office Number: n/a

Keywords (Country): England

Keywords (Structure Name): St Pancras Station

Keywords (Structure Type): Station

Show more ▼

View Gallery

Title

Description

Date

Midland Railway London St Pancras Station – Ironwork and Roofing Contract Drawing No.5 General Plan of Roof

One drawing on sheet showing general plan of roof.

1860-1870

Midland Railway London St Pancras Station – Ironwork and Roofing Contract Drawing No.7 Springing of Roof

Three drawings on one sheet. First drawing is of back elevation, second drawing is of side elevation, third drawing is of front elevation.

1860-1870

Midland Railway London St Pancras Station – Ironwork and Roofing Contract Drawing No.6

Three drawings on one sheet. First drawing is of elevation, second drawing is of longitudinal section, third drawing is of plan.

1860-1870

Midland Railway London St Pancras Station – Shops Cab Approach and West Side Working Drawing No.7

Six drawings on one sheet. First drawing is of sectional plan, second drawing is of section D.D, third drawing is of plan at platform level, fourth drawing is of section B.B, fifth drawing is of section C.C, sixth drawing is of longitudinal section signed by William Henry Barlow and George Gilbert Scott.

1860-1870

Midland Railway London St Pancras Station Contract Drawing No.6 – Enlarged Plan of Foundations

One drawing on sheet showing enlarged plan of foundations for St Pancras station.

1860-1900

Midland Railway London St Pancras Station Contract Drawing No.5 – Plan showing Burial Ground

One drawing on sheet showing plan of station and surrounding area signed by William Henry Barlow..

1860-1900