BULL & BUSH (NORTH END) UNDERGROUND STATION Report: 25/07/09.

[Tankman]

unofficial visit!
A bit of history of the station.

BULL AND BUSH (NORTH END)
When the Northern Line was originally constructed, there was to be an intermediate station between Golders Green and Hampstead. Work started on the construction of this station with platforms, cross-passages and lower stairways being constructed but in 1906, it was decided to cease work here before any lift shafts or stairways to the surface had been completed so the station remained inaccessable except at track level.

The official name of the station was North End but it has always been known to staff as Bull and Bush . It was to have had a surface building on Hampstead Way but the land was sold off about 1927.
By now, the platforms had been removed and in their place, small stage platforms a few feet in length were built in both directions to allow track access.

Access to the surface was finally built in the mid-1950's in the form of a spiral staircase to a concrete exit, primarily for access to an earlier built floodgate control room.

Unlike my last visit into the depths of LT's abandoned station's & tunnel's, there was nothing off old posters on the walls etc.
Instead a station that was never finished and a long abandoned flood control system.



The first signs that greet you on the way down!



All right going down but coming up was a whole lot slower



The spiral staircase leads down onto a cross passage that connects up with the North & South bound platform/running lines.



A South bound train heads towards Golders Green, with the vacant space where the platform use to be



'Power On' indicators for South bound line.



Flood gate controls for the whole of the LT system was controlled from here in the 1950's - 1970's. The Graff artists must have walked into the tunnel from the Golders Green Station end
Although out of use? parts of the panel were still lit, the gates at Kennington/Oval were showing open!
If I had flicked a switch would they have closed



Beneath the Flood control room, was the Flood gate relay room, all circuits seemed to be still in operational use There are loads of fuse boards in here, along with some very nice knife switches!



This relay appears to have last been inspected in 1967

More pics here:

http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/i...ION/?start=all

[KingElvis]

This is excellent stuff. Really good.

[industry]

Spot on Mate!! Love stuff like this

[BB]

Super!
That control panel is ace

[boxfrenzy]

Nice one mate, I do like old tube tuff, very impressive. How cool that there are still lights on the control panel.
Fact fans: the Bull and Bush was the nearby pub, as featured by the Lady Gaga of her day, Florrie Forde.
Why not enjoy a remix I made of it on my latest Technics deck here?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndml24OZ1Ic
P.S the moving train shot is very very impressive.

[Gangeox]

Great find and history Tankman, good stuff on photobucket to.

[Muse]

Fascinating stuff

[converse1]

Love the old control gear fella. Very nice. Would love to see some of the underground stuff...

[skin]

that staircase is awesome - interesting stuff there.

[KingElvis]

Anymore pics of that crazy staircase?