Finsbury Park station tunnel

Mirandola

It does seem very very very odd that they've painted over the tiles. I'm with miss annie.

JoeV

There were two green paint test patches in the tunnel leading out to Seven Sisters Road, which I assumed was meant to be applied on the green tiles that were stripped.

I think the white paint is an undercoat to help ensure the final (green) layer adheres to tiles.

Mirandola

But why on earth would you paint green tiles green?

sincers

Those old Victorian glazed tiles are amazing. They've gone to the trouble of keeping them. It seems ridiculous to paint over them. They have had budget cuts, so it could be a short term measure. Some of the tiles look original so maybe they could be "bought up" in the future.

Arkady

They have already demonstrated that they can produce replica tiles too. Let's hope that this is temporary.

miss annie

This company deal with bespoke tiling requirements for London Underground...

http://www.cravendunnill-jackfield.co.uk/london_ug.html

Finsbury Park is not on the list of current projects, but thier site was last updated in March 2009 so who knows.

@andy
Any chance of an idiots guide to posting links and pictures? I just can't get to grips with it.

sincers

there are other suppliers... <http://www.hesmith.co.uk/ranges-london-underground-tiles.htm>; I'm sure LU know all this.

Arkady

I can't recall how to post pictures, but to make something a link you just put < > around it. You also need to have 'markdown' selected at the bottom. <http://www.cravendunnill-jackfield.co.uk/london_ug.html>;

JoeV

Though I was happy to see what was probably decades of cruddy paint stripped away, the tiles underneath were in rough shape. Until the economy and government finances improve, I don't see TFL splashing out to re-tile.

miss annie

Thank you very much Arkady, that seems simple enough. I will try it out soon.

Mirandola

HE Smith say they've worked on Finsbury Park recently. The tiles on their website look gorgeous. Wonder if they'd sell them in small quantities - i.e. enough to retile a bathroom.

sincers

From their site, it looks like they do supply for domestic applications. They look like they're made for fireplaces as well. I doubt they sell them direct to the public, but there's a fireplace shop on Tottenham Lane, next to Dominos that specialize in tiles. I bet they could help. <http://www.originalfeatures.co.uk/tiles/tiles-introduction>;

Arkady

OK so the paint job's pretty good. Though they ought to give the pillock who decided to do it a tin of emulsion and a tiny brush and make him pick out all of the render between the tiles. Is it just me or have they re-slabbed the northern Vic platform and removed that irritating rail this weekend? Maybe that's why the line was closed over the weekend.

Cat

They were announcing on Friday that the closure over the weekend was due to crossover replacement. Which I think means they were replacing the points that allow trains to crossover between the Victoria and Piccadilly Line at Finsbury Park. Hence the reason neither line was running. I'm not sure why they thought that the majority of people who don't have knowledge of railway operation would understand what crossover replacement was. I only know as I worked for Railtrack for 4 years and spend some of my spare time volunteering on a preserved railway.

Arkady

I was under the impression that trains couldn't just change lines like that - that each low-level line had its own spec. I can't recall ever seing a train on the 'wrong' line. Also, the new Vic trains are designed to take the slightly wider tunnels into account, which suggests that the 2009 stock at least cannot change lines.

Cat

I think the cross overs are mainly for engineering trains rather than for the passenger trains. According to my London Railway Map there are connections from tube lines to other London Underground Lines at: Baker St - Jubilee to Bakerloo Barons Court-Acton Town - Piccadilly to District Ealing Broadway - Central to District Finchley Road - Jubilee to Metropolitan Finsbury Park - Piccadilly to Victoria Kings Cross - Piccadilly to Northern Rayners Lane - Piccadilly to Metropolitan Ruislip Depot - Central to Metropolitan/Piccadilly Wembley Park - Jubilee to Metropolitan Not that I'm a tube geek or anything....

Arkady

Geek! Love it. I know all about your Welsh train obsession too!

Cat

I might as well admit it - I love trains!...

Ali

complete history of FP Statoin is here <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finsbury_Park_station>; You will find from this why there are cross overs

WillM

wow

i am seriously impressed by that knowledge. and the map.

lost for words...

Ali

I like these photos as it used to be Seven Sister entrance <http://www.ltmcollection.org/images/webmax/6a/i0000k6a.jpg>; Wells Terrace Entrance <http://www.ltmcollection.org/images/webmax/09/9861209.jpg>; Ticket Office for the northern Line <http://www.ltmcollection.org/images/webmax/32/9865932.jpg>; I think this one is the Silver Bullet side <http://www.ltmcollection.org/images/webmax/14/9857214.jpg>; Pity they are not in colour - aka green tiles but it does show how much has changed which make you wonder how much of the original is still there. Could we carbon date the tiles?

Arkady

The last one is indeed Station Place. However the frontage that you see there is not the one you can see today underneath the new canopy. It is the viaduct for the railway that ran up the Parkland Walk. It and its bridge were removed in – from memory – the 1970s. Busby, where are you? A tiny bit of the original wall of the Wells Terrace entrance survives behind where the fruit & veg stall sets up. It will disappear with the City North development though.

Arkady

Surviving wall<http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=n4+4jh&sll=51.500152,-0.126236&sspn=0.63604,1.234589&g=london&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=London+N4+4JH,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.565331,-0.107769&spn=0.009924,0.01929&t=h&z=14&layer=c&cbll=51.565331,-0.107769&panoid=S56dUR03_1TNswgM1tfang&cbp=12,148,,0,3.4" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">

Arkady

Fail, sorry. How does one post a link to Google Streetview?

ActionVerb

It's still a lot slippier than the old floor coverings on a rainy day. I do a relatively good impression of bambi on ice in both work shoes and converse walking down the Wells Terrace tunnel.

gardener-joe

While there are all those green tiles, and tile edgings, left under the parts of the station now covered in sheet cladding, I wonder why they did not salvage some of these and patch where required ...

ah well ... at least the green paint is a nod in the right direction

Arkady

ActionVerb, why specifically do you look like Bambi on ice? Are you one of the legendary Parkland Walk muntjacs?

sahara_dessert

Oooo I love a bitta history - thanks for those photos Ali - they're great and made me feel all erm 'historical'. The entrances were really quite beautiful... I wonder if they played music in them a bit like you get for the ASBOS at Wood Green when you come out?!

I bet in 'those days' it might have been a real string quartet (or that is what my romantic imagination would like to think!)

miss annie

Oh, that would have been lovely. Perhaps they might have had impromptu tea dances too. I had a look at the paintwork on the tiles this morning and it seems that they've applied the body of the tile paint with a roller, it's a little patchy here and there. It would look ever so much better with the rendering picked out in white but it would take about a month as the tiles are arranged in a brickwork pattern not a grid so I don't suppose they'll bother. It would also benefit from a varnish or glaze over the tiles before this is done. I like the overall appearance though, it makes me feel happier now that it's in the original colourway at least.

djalicat

Here's an interesting website:
http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/

Finsbury Park was going to be connected to the Northern Line.