Introduction
Baker Street is one of my favourite stations. I have worked at it during my 23 years on the London Underground. A labyrinth of platforms, corridors and tunnels, the station is steeped in history. Served by the Bakerloo, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines, Baker Street has been a transport hub since the age of steam, first opening in 1863. A masterpiece in construction, the tunnels and track were built using the innovative Victorian cut-and-cover method. A project that cost £1.3 million with the accomplishment of running steam trains on the Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon.
With destinations now as far-flung as Amersham, Barking, Uxbridge and Watford, Baker Street station sees a multitude of customers through its three ticket halls, either on their way to work, leisure activities or drawn by the lure of the legendary Sherlock Holmes. A bustling surrounding area that leads to Marylebone and Oxford Street, the dusky, dim-lit station reminds you of a bygone age, with ten platforms that include ornate brick arches on platforms 5 and 6, the bustling Metropolitan platforms of 1-4 and the Bakerloo and Jubilee platforms in the depths of the stations on platforms 7-10. The wooden benches with brass plates marked Baker Street.
The Magic
The platform chocolate machines, wooden escalators, way-in and way-out boxes, Evening Standard seller outside and the news seller and pub on the platform may be gone but the ghosts of the past remain. The old Metropolitan trains are now replaced with swanky S7 stock that is roomy and air-conditioned. The only remnants are the Bakerloo stock that rattle through the platforms. Yet beyond the public areas, lies the disused lift shafts and hidden corridors. Few would know that there is still a rifle range underneath the station, a canteen that prprovides sustenance for TFL staff and Allsop Place where some of London Underground’s management work. There is also a staff gym in the station. Three disused stations also are just up the line from the station, Lords, Marlborough Road and Swiss Cottage.
Try the Baker Street tour if you are prepared to get slightly dirty. Going through a door marked ‘staff only’, you walk down a dark tunnel which was once the good’s bridge. Amongst the cobwebbed walls is a long corridor with arched ways that end with a looming ladder. This leads to a disused room, tiled with toilet facilities, that was once a first-class waiting room, complete with a fireplace. A world away from other passengers who had to inhale toxic steam from the trains.
Through another staff door lies a deteriorated blue and white tiled tunnel which leads to another tiled horseshoe tunnel. This tunnel once led passengers into the station with the choice of stairs or an elevator, the first of its kind at the time. There is also a large metal door that leads to a vent shaft for the Jubilee Line. Its purpose is to keep the space cool during the summer months. These vents hide some amazing posters, dating back to the 1940s and some fantastic architecture. There is also the area beneath the Metropolitan platforms that staff nickname ‘The Cathedral’ which houses a maze of wires that powers the station.
