- Summary and Introduction
I’m Richard Yu, a student of University of Arts London, College of Communication and residing at Highline building student accommodation in the Elephant and Castle district. The following paragraph is the demonstration of my research and progression works dedicating for the level 3 course’s “Location, location, location” project about the introduction of the surrounding local areas.
(Primary and secondary research are now merged in to one piece, as I included my own taken pictures asides the collected informations and introductions)
- Brief history of the Elephant and Castle location
Originally commonly called as Newington Butts, Elephant and Castle is located on the southern bank of Thames river in the core of the London metropolis and served as a big major road junction which can date back as early as the ancient Roman times. The name ‘Elephant and Castle’ started popularized when it was used for a coaching inn offering welcome retreats for coach traffic coming in and out of south London during the 18th century. Until this day, Elephant and Castle still remained as one of the busiest district in the entire central part of London. Like the rest parts of the city, Elephant and Castle is an area that’s consists of lots of historical events and had major appearance changing throughout the past 3 centuries of development. Having the opportunity to live and experience in such a fascinating location, I find myself to be very lucky being able to participate as parts of this big and historical community.
- London College of Communication
First opened in 1962 sitting right across the street from the Elephant and Castle Underground station, London College of Communication is the most well-known and influential design colleges in the entire UK and is now part of the University of Arts London. The college began with the name of ‘London College of Printing’ when it first opened up, but soon changed to London College of Communication to signify its growing remit that now includes photography, film and public relations. As the college rapidly expanded during the most recent years, it has under went many renovation and redevelopments with its buildings and facilities, and is currently looking up moving to a different site with complete newly constructed building in the upcoming couple of years.
- Highline Building – My accommodation
Currently being my home in London along with other hundreds of students of UAL, Highline building is a student accommodation developed in the heart of Elephant and Castle in 2015, specifically for the many students of London College of Communication and other University or Arts London colleges. With distance of 5 minutes walk from LCC, it is 8 floors tall and have 217 available bed rooms including the premium and studios ones, and with each flats containing 8 rooms as a single household unit that comes with a sharrd kitchen of their own. It also has other public facilities such as common/social, laundry and waste bicycle storing rooms which makes it very convenient for the hall residence to do various daily tasks. The hall managers and security guards are really nice people and they’ve assisted me over various critical circumstances that were difficult to delt with. Hopefully, my stays in Highline building is going to be a wonderful and enjoyable experience!
- Landmark, Elephant and Castle Underground Station
Sitting in the core of the Elephant and Castle district, Elephant and Castle Underground station is an interchange hotpot for two major tube lines that are Bakerloo and Northern. With over 120 years of histories, the station was first built in 1890 for the City and South London Railway (Now Northern line) and 16 years later with the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (Now Bakerloo line). With a long history of serving for a high voulumed traffic district, various introduction about the station can be seen in many corners or the platforms that explains explicit informations about the events and stories that occured within the location with excellent details. Generally to be precise, this currently my favorite location in the entire Elephant and Castle district. It’s somewhere I paid the most visiting and there’s just so much about this station to seek and to explore.
- Elephant and Castle station, architecture introduction and design
The Elephant and Castle tube station have two station buildings separated in different locations with one on the nothern side near Southbank University and the other on the southern section sitting right next to the Elephant and Castle shopping centre. The station was built in two stages, with the southern (Northern Line) station opened on 18 December 1890 as part of the first deep-level tube and the nothern (Bakerloo Line) building on 5 August 1906. The nothern building is a typical Leslie Green structure with several classic deep-red faience style arches, which consists two shops and an entrance in to an office block above the station called South London House. There’s also a modern glass-sided and glass-topped flat-roof abutting the original western elevation which was only added during the most recent years.
The southern building that was built for Nothern line on the other hand has been through many major changes throughout the past 100 years. It was rebuilt during the 1920s and also the 1960s when the Elephant and Castle shopping centre was constructed. However it was until the early 21st century before it finally received the appearance of what we’re currently familiar with.
Since neither of the buildings have escalators, the only way to get from the ticket hall to the platform is via the lifts or the spiral stairs. The southern (Northern line) building has lifts from street level down to the level of the southbound Northern line platform which makes it the only step-free platform at the station.
Elephant and Castle station, platform introduction and design
The platform design of Bakerloo and Nothern line are quite similar yet different. The northern building give access to Bakerloo more directly while the southern building is connected more closely for Nothern. While the Bakerloo platform is located deeper than the Nothern platform, there are still multiple passageways connecting the both platforms towards each other’s so that passengers could use them to travel internally in the station without the need to go to ground level.
As every station in the Underground system have each of their designs and uniqueness, the Elephant and Castle tube station is no exception from that. The Northern line platform uses a Nouveau decorative pattern of black, green, white and blue designed tiles for it’s wall decorations, and are placed all over on the platform side of the wall repeated from one end of the station to the other. The general appearance of the Nothern platform however, has being drastically renovated and modernized and has become pretty differently from it’s original design. In the end, the Nothern line platform has a step-free access area where passengers with disability issues could enter the Underground carriages with lesser concern of the gap between the train and the platform. This is also a feature only for the Nothern line platform.
The Bakerloo platform which is located much deeper under the Nothern platform, was kept much more original to it’s design. It uses a plain brown colored wall painting under the section of the Underground station logo, and decorated the other sections with black lines on the sides of the wall and red fortress alike patterns around each pillar of the platform. Besides that, there are also many red arches in the passagway connected to the lift, and some sections of the wall between the two red fortress patterns are painted red themed as well. The Bakerloo platform has definitely showed it’s age, as original as it’s said. Unlike the renovated Nothern platform, you can see withered and broken parts of the wall in many different areas of the location and some even seemed as it’s been kept in this way ever since the beginning of the establishment of the station.
In my opinions as the final summary, the Bakerloo platform is far more interesting than the Nothern platform. While the Nothern platform is modernized and have these aesthetic looking tiles, the Bakerloo platform showing it’s history at its original condition is what fascinates the most for myself. It’s just so interesting being able to look in to the details of what used to happened in the station based on the marks that was left by the passengers whom had been passed through this location during the past 100 years. How amazing it is!
- Special knowledge about Bakerloo line and the Elephant and Castle station, learned from having a conversation with the staff of the Underground
During part of my research in the Elephant and Castle tube station on November 14th, a kind staff of the Underground approached and asked me what I was doing while I was collecting pictures of the Bakerloo platform. As I told him about how I was making the Elephant and Castle Tube station as a university research project, he begun explaining joyfully and told about several interesting facts of the location that were not well known and common.
If you stand near the southern end of the Bakerloo platform, right above it lies the busying active Victoria line. He told me that since Bakerloo is the deepest operational tube line on the entire Underground network, all the other tube line would have to cross over it. He also told me that on the southern end of the tunnel, there is a secret extension route which is currently blocked and inaccessible to the public. It was supposedly planned and can get all the way to Peckham, but was eventually cancelled and disused many years ago.
There are several articles speaking about how Transport For London is currently planning to revive the tunnel allowing Bakerloo trains to run further over Elephant and Castle towards Lewisham, however I was unable to find too much informations about it on the internet.
Then during another topic, he also explained about the secret Elephant and Castle depot near Lambeth North station. It’s a pretty secretive location and can store up to 15 Underground trains at a time, however there wasn’t a lot that explained about this topic across the internet as well. But still, I find it to be such an interesting knowledge to know though! In the end, he switched the focus of topic on to the Bakerloo MKII 1972 Stock tube trains, and explained a little about the mysterious myth of these wonderful machines. A single train have a total of 7 carriages, but they’re actually build up with two separate units. The part facing closer to the Elephant and Castle direction, have a 4 cars unit, while the ones facing closer to Harrow and Wealdstone are made up of 3. During an emergency situation, the Underground trains could separate each other’s and leaving the broken unit behind. The working unit would continue and complete it’s journey while the broken part is towed to the depot for maintenance. The 4 cars unit closer to the Elephant and Castle direction has a MK1 1972 Stock driving motor. (The MK1 that’s Similar to the MK2, was mostly retired due to its outdated technology and now only serve as part of the MK2 units) It have a big cabin and can allow the train to maneuver like the regular driving motor car would do when separated. However, the 3 cars unit closer to the Harrow and Wealdstone direction doesn’t have the such a feature like the other unit does. Instead, it just has a regular carriage, but installed with an extra headlight specifically for the emergency separation circumstances. You would need a key that is usually own by a member of the Underground to maneuver this part of the unit, and it requires the driver to open a little box on the front end of the train which would then release a tiny control panel that would permit control to the speed and the brakes.
In conclusion, these are just such amazing little details about Bakerloo line which truly fascinates me!
- Urban Legend, Story of the Haunted Elephant and Castle Underground station
Apart from the heritage of it’s ancient history, Elephant and Castle station is also said to be one of the most haunted Underground station besides Bank and various other stations. Northern line platform didn’t had too much story to tell, but it is the Bakerloo line platform that spooks the underground staffs and passengers. In fact, the infamous “disappearing lady” ghost even made her way on the newspapers, various other media and is very widely witnessed and acknowledged. Unfortunately during my experiences there, I didn’t had the chance to see her appearances. But personally I really don’t find the Elephant & Castle to be that terrifying at all. In fact, it is currently my favorite Underground station and these stories just makes me fell further further for it. However, the following information are details about the urban legend I had gathered and reorganized from the internet that speaks the story of this mysterious ‘disappearing lady’ ghost:
Elephant & Castle station has a firmly established ghostly reputation. When it’s closed at night, staff have reported hearing the steps of an invisible runner along the platform, strange tapping noises and doors being thrown open without apparent cause.
A ghost commonly seen by both staff and commuters, is a young woman who enters the train’s carriages, but is never seen leaving. Some also think that this same entity is responsible when invisible footsteps create loud echoing around the station after hours.
Here is a genuine testimony from a tube driver on the London Underground who has actually seen the ghost:
At around 6 pm at a Bakerloo line Underground Station, I was in pursuit of my duties as an employee of London Underground. I join the train at the terminus at Elephant and Castle and walk forward to the front of the train with a view to travelling with the driver. At this point the driver has not arrived so I put my bag down and move to the rear door to wait for him. While I am waiting a girl gets into the carriage – she walks straight through the carriage and I have to move aside making some muttered apology – I sort of have to do this since I was in uniform! A minute or so later the driver turns up, and we move toward the front of the train. I notice that the girl is not in the carriage and this is a rather immediate cause for concern – she could not have left the train without passing me – I had full view of the carriage and platform at the time. My reaction was to inform the driver – the only place she could have gone was to have walked down the tunnel – not really what we want! The driver’s response was unusual: ‘Oh, her. We hear about her all the time – she’s even been in the papers.’
Source – http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/index.php/haunted-buildings/276-london-underground-ghosts-london-england
- Bakerloo Tube Line , brief introduction
The Bakerloo Line is a deep level Underground line, lanbeled as brown on the tube map. It runs at both surface and low level that extends from Harrow & Wealdstone to the Elephant & Castle, covering a distance of 14.5 miles and 25 stops.
It originally started as Waterloo and Whitehall Railway in 1865 and Charing Cross and Waterloo Electric Railway in 1882, although both had failed eventually. However between 1906 and 1915, it finally started operation known as Baker Street & Waterloo Railway. Many of its stations retain elements of their design to a common standard, with the stations below ground using Art Nouveau decorative tiling by Leslie Green while the above-ground stations built in red brick with stone detailing in an Arts & Crafts style. Annually carrying over 111 million passengers, it is the ninth busiest Underground line on the net work.
- Bakerloo Tube Line , rolling stocks
When the Bakerloo line was first opened, it was operated with 1906 Gate Stock trains that were built at Trafford Park in Manchester. Around 8 years later, 12 additional motor cars of the 1914 Stock were bought with ten of these from Brush of Loughborough and two from the Leeds Forge Company, in order to cope with the extension to Queen’s Park. A further nothern extension from Queen’s Park was built soon after, and 72 additional cars were built by the Metropolitan Carriage, Waggon and Finance Company of Birmingham. These 72 trains were partly owned by the London Underground and partly by the London and North Western Railway. Although these trains were not equipped with air-operated doors and was proven to be slow and inefficient, soon in the 1930s they were quickly replaced by the Standard Stock trains. In 1932, some carriages that had been built for the Piccadilly line by Cammell Laird in Nottingham in 1919 were transferred to the Bakerloo line. They were among one of the first tube trains to have air-operated door when they were first built. These (and other trains) were later replaced by more trains of Standard Stock, and then being replaced by 1938 Stock and 1949 Stock. Prior to the opening of the Jubilee line in 1979, the Bakerloo line was worked by both 1938 Stock and 1972 Stock. There was a period when the all of the 1972 Stocks were transferred to Jubilee line so that the only trains remaining operated was the 1938 Stock. However, it was a temporary measure and soon after, all the rolling stocks were replaced by the MK II 1972 Stock which formed the present Bakerloo trains as we know. They’re are also the current oldest rolling stock in operation on the London Underground network, behind the 1973 Stock operating on Piccadilly Line and the 1992 Stock on Central line.
Source: http://www.trainweb.org/tubeprune/rollingstock.htm
https://uktransport.fandom.com/wiki/Bakerloo_line
http://citytransport.info/Bakerloo.htm
https://london.wikia.org/wiki/Bakerloo_Line
- Northern Tube Line , brief introduction
The Northern Line is a deep level Underground line, labeled as black on the Tube map. The line has 50 stations, and got a very complicated history with the current complex arrangement of two northern branches, two central branches and a southern branch which was the result of operating under multiple railway companies in the past that were combined together in the 1920s and 1930s. From the 1930s to the 1970s, other couple of companies were emerged, making Nothern Line the result of the combination of a total of seven companies.
The train on the west side of the branch begin at Edgware, joint the eastern branch at Camden Town, and split in to another branch via Charing Cross, and eventually joint with the eastern side again in Kensington then terminate at Morden.
The eastern side starts from High Barnet or a small branch from Mill Hill East, then joint the western side at Camden Town, split east via Bank and joint again in Kensington, which eventually also terminate at Morden.
The Nothern Line is the first and oldest deep level tube ever built in London. It carries over 294 million people per annum, making it the busiest tube line in the entire Underground network.
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_line
https://www.londontubemap.org.uk/northern-line
https://london.wikia.org/wiki/Northern_Line
- Northern Tube Line, rolling stocks
The original Nothern Line rolling stocks were similar to that of Bakerloo line. They had the 1906 stock, predecessed by the 1914, 1938, then the 1959, 1962 and the 1972.
The present Nothern line operates a fleet of 106 trains of 1995 Stock. They were ordered in 1995, and begun construction during 1996. They were built by GEC Alsthom (later Alstom) at their plant in Washwood Heath, Birmingham, although the bodyshells were manufactured in and imported from Spain. The first order delivered to Ruislip depot on 20 December 1996, and testing began in early 1997. The first train entered passenger service on 12 June 1998, and the final train entered service on 10 April 2001.
The 1995 Stock is very similar to the 1996 Stock used on the Jubilee line. Both trains use the same bodyshell design, and were built at the same factory at the same time. However, there are some major differences, mostly relating to the mechanical and electrical equipment.
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_1995_Stock#:~:text=The%20London%20Underground%201995%20Stock,1962%20Stock%20and%201972%20Stock.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_line
- Introduction to several artists and studios
1, Leslie Green – Famous Underground building architect
Leslie William Green was an English architect. He is best known for his design of iconic stations constructed on the London Underground railway system in central London during the first decade of the 20th century, with distinctive oxblood red faience blocks including pillars and semi-circular first-floor windows, and patterned tiled interiors.
2, Julian Opie – Visual Artist
Julian Opie is a visual artist of the New British Sculpture movement. He emerged as an influential figure in the British art scene of the 1980s producing a series of painted metal sculptures that humorously combined loosely painted imagery with steel shapes. Portraits and animated walking figures, rendered with minimal detail in black line drawing, are hallmarks of the artist’s style. His themes have been described as “engagement with art history, use of new technology, obsession with the human body” and “work with one idea across different media”. Similarly, the national art critic of The Australian, Christopher Allen, laments Opie’s “limited repertoire of tricks” and described his work as “slight and ultimately commercial, if not actually kitsch”. When asked to describe his approach, Opie said “I often feel that trying to make something realistic is the one criterion I can feel fairly sure of. Another one I sometimes use is, would I like to have it in my room? And I occasionally use the idea, if God allowed you to show Him one to judge you by, would this really be it?”
In 2007, the four-sided LED sculpture Ann Dancing was installed in Indianapolis, United States, as the first artwork on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. Opie has also created a monument to singer Bryan Adams.
3, Dovetail Games – Creator of popular Train Simulator franchise and Train Sim World 2 games
Dovetail Games (DTG), a trading name of RailSimulator.com Ltd (RSC), is a British simulation video game developer and publisher. It was formed in 2008 by Paul Jackson (formerly VP at Electronic Arts and Director General of ELSPA, now UKIE), Tim Gatland and Charlie McMicking. It originally produced the RailWorks franchise, now called Train Simulator.
Developed for the PC, Train Simulator is available both as a boxed product from video game retailers and as a download via Valve’s Steam platform.
- Links of external website research
How did Elephant and Castle received it’s name?? Link: https://www.elephantpark.co.uk/how-the-elephant-got-its-name/
Documentary video of Elephant and Castle, link: https://youtu.be/n2y1DnHaDnk
http://www.southlondonguide.co.uk/elephantandcastle/history.htm
History of Elephant & Castle station, Link: https://uktransport.fandom.com/wiki/Elephant_%26_Castle_tube_station
https://www.triposo.com/poi/Elephant_26_Castle_tube_station
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_%26_Castle_tube_station
History of London College of Communication, link:
https://www.pentagram.com/work/london-college-of-communication/story
History of East Street market, link:
old pictures: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/409827634841297645/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Street_Market
History of Elephant and Castle shopping centre, link: http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Elephant/ElephantAndCastleNewShoppingCentre1965.htm
Dovetail Games’s introduction of Bakerloo Line for Train Sim World 2, link: https://live.dovetailgames.com/live/train-sim-world/articles/article/tsw2-going-underground
Highline building, link:
https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/accommodation/halls-of-residence/highline-building
https://thecity.works/highline-building/
http://52.71.27.166/study-at-ual/accommodation/halls-of-residence/highline-building/
Bakerloo line: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakerloo_line
https://www.davros.org/rail/culg/bakerloo.html
https://www.londontubemap.org.uk/bakerloo-line
Elephant and Castle tube station, link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_%26_Castle_tube_station
https://uktransport.fandom.com/wiki/Elephant_%26_Castle_tube_station
https://london.wikia.org/wiki/Elephant_%26_Castle_Station
The Haunted Tube Map: https://londonist.com/london/maps/the-haunted-tube-map