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118 - London Kings Cross Station

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In Folder: Historical Engineering Collection

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118 - London Kings Cross Station

The Great Northern Railway reached London in 1850, opening a temporary wooden terminus at Maiden Lane (now York Way) whilst its new station and the approaching Gasworks Tunnel under the Regents Canal were being constructed. Planned for a 10 acre site in the area known as King’s Cross the new terminus was built on the site of a smallpox and fever hospital and at the junction of four roads; New Road (Euston Road), Maiden Lane (York Way), Pentonville Hill (Pentonville Road), and Gray's Inn Road. King’s Cross Station was opened to passengers on 14 October 1852. Designed by Lewis Cubitt to be simple and functional it was at the time the largest railway station in Britain. Two train sheds both 800ft long, 105ft wide and 71 ft high are closed by a plain brick screen 216ft long with two large arched windows and with a porch of six arched openings, three each side of the square Italianate clock tower 112ft high which is the stations only ornament. Primarily for main line traffic inside it had just two passenger platforms, one for departures on the west side, the other for arrivals on the east side. King’s Cross had an additional six platforms for the storage and movement of locomotives and carriages in the middle. On the east side of the station arches from the arrivals platform led to a cab road while on the west side station facilities such as waiting rooms, refreshment rooms and a ticket office were provided as well as company offices and the Great Northern Railway boardroom. Throughout the nineteenth century passenger traffic into King’s Cross increased significantly, putting a great deal of strain on the functionally designed station. All eight platforms in Cubitt’s original building were utilised, and an additional three platforms for suburban traffic were added to the west of the building to cope with demand. Additional lines and tunnels were added to the approach to King’s Cross to increase flow and improve difficult working conditions for engine drivers. A significant goods depot on and around the site of the temporary Maiden Lane station developed to the north of King’s Cross as the Great Northern Railway moved coal and fresh produce from the North to the Capital. In the twentieth century King’s Cross and its surrounding area became a significant transport hub, with intercity, suburban and underground services, but the station showed signs of serious decline. Suburban trains passed through King’s Cross from 1866 until 1977 using the ‘York Road’ platform to the east of the station, travelling south towards Moorgate. Travelling in the opposite direction they passed through the suburban platforms to the very west of the station. York Road and suburban platforms closed on 4 March 1977. Suburban and regional services now terminate at King’s Cross using platforms 9, 10 and 11. Intercity services use platforms 1-8. When King’s Cross opened, a large number of huts and kiosks sprang up at the front of the station, trading on the passenger and goods traffic concentrated in the area. In the early 1970s these kiosks were cleared and a single story travel centre, ticket office and concourse opened to the front of Cubits façade, but it made little impact on the overcrowded and restricted passenger facilities. Since 2002, £2.5 billion has been invested in the transport infrastructure in and around King’s Cross. Improved access and facilities for London Underground at King’s Cross St Pancras were opened in 2009, and a new ‘platform 0’ was opened on the east side of the station in 2010 (utilising the old cab road) to create extra capacity in the station. A new steel and glass Western Concourse by John McAslan & Partners opened in March 2012, making use of the space between Lewis Cubitt’s Great Northern Hotel and the offices on the western side of the station. The final phase of the redevelopment started soon after with the removal of the 1970s concourse and travel centre. This enabled Cubitt’s original Grade 1 listed façade to be exposed once more as well as a square at the front of the station, creating a new public space right in the heart of London.

Network Rail Corporate Archive

Level of Description: Series

Reference Code: NRCA

Title: London Kings Cross Station

Extent and Medium: 9 drawings

Creator: Great Northern Railway

Date: 1870-1948

Scope and Content: 9 drawings showing Kings Cross Station

Contract Number: London Kings Cross Station

Drawing Number: n/a

Drawing Office Number: n/a

Keywords (Country): England

Keywords (Structure Name): King's Cross Station

Keywords (Structure Type): Station

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Title

Description

Date ▲ ▼

Great Northern Railway Kings Cross Station – Plan of Western Offices

GNR King's Cross Passenger Station Plans of Western Offices. 5 drawings on 1 sheet showing basement level, platform level, 1st, 2nd, 3rd floor offices

12/18/18, 12:00 AM

Great Northern Railway Kings Cross Station – London Goods Station

1 drawing showing a plan of London Goods Station in 1866.

1/1/66, 12:00 AM

British Railways Board Kings Cross Station – Suburban and Main Line Station Plan

King's Cross Suburban and Main Line Stations. Layout plan of main line and suburban stations showing platforms 1-14

1/1/74, 12:00 AM

Great Northern Railway Kings Cross Station – Renewal of Roof over Departure Side

Drawings showing the north end elevation of King's Cross, internal and external perspectives.

1/1/50, 12:00 AM

London and North Eastern Railway Kings Cross Station – Reinstatement of Steelwork of Portion of Station Roof Cross Section

Reinstatement of steelwork of portion of King's Cross station roof: cross section. Large central drawing of the cross section in colour spanning from plaforms 6 - 10, this includes annotations and is signed by the engineer and A to CE (Steelwork)

6/30/48, 12:00 AM

Great Northern Railway Kings Cross Station – London Terminus Plan

Drawing on tracing paper of the Great North Railway's London Terminus, King's Cross. Plan shows the layout of King's Cross Station in relation to the Regents Canal, Imperial Gas Company's Works, German Gymnasium, Messrs Eley Bros Cartridge Manufactory, the Great Northern Hotel and the Midland Railway St Pancras Terminus. Plan corrected January 1879.

6/30/79, 12:00 AM

118 - London Kings Cross Station

Great Northern Railway Kings Cross Station – Plan of Western Offices

Great Northern Railway Kings Cross Station – London Goods Station

British Railways Board Kings Cross Station – Suburban and Main Line Station Plan

Great Northern Railway Kings Cross Station – Renewal of Roof over Departure Side

London and North Eastern Railway Kings Cross Station – Reinstatement of Steelwork of Portion of Station Roof Cross Section

Great Northern Railway Kings Cross Station – London Terminus Plan

Great Northern Railway – London Goods Station 1866

LNER Kings Cross Station Plan

Kings Cross to Copenhagen Tunnel Plan

NER Southern Area – Kings Cross Passenger Station – New Platform Barriers – Drawing No. 2