The hub is among 40 designated for abandonment by Transport for London. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
No less than 40 London Underground stops are deemed unsuitable for transit – the more famous ones, like The Strand, now operate as eerie places of interest for unusual sightseers.
Yet, one terminal was seen as so unnecessary that, subsequent to an energy failure, the controllers didn’t even bother with its revival. This station was South Kentish Town, situated in north London. From its inception, it encountered obstacles, with its initial designation, Castle Road, being overridden by a vote, necessitating further effort to amend the signage. Inaugurated in 1907 to serve the Northern line, South Kentish Town soon became a second-stringer on the system. Train operators frequently avoided stopping there owing to reduced passenger numbers and proximity to nearby hubs, reports MyLondon. The primary Kentish Town is just further along, with Chalk Farm in close range and Kentish Town West and Camden Road Overground interchanges easily accessible. Then, in 1924, a walkout at the Lots Road Power Station in West London triggered a power cut. This resulted in the venue’s decommissioning, but when the energy was reinstated, the verdict was to maintain its perpetual closure.
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Currently, it accommodates an escape game called Mission: Breakout, where players must pinpoint the whereabouts of a lost commuter. There’s a Cash Converters located directly above it, so you could easily stroll by without even noticing that it was formerly a Tube interchange.
In a frightening development, a passenger once discovered he was stranded at South Kentish Town. Shortly following the station’s abandonment, a train came to a stop due to a signal beside the old stop, and a perplexed traveller alighted into the utter darkness, treading onto the desolate platforms.
Keep in mind that during this timeframe, trains still employed doors operated manually, with pneumatically operated mechanical doors, akin to those we see today, not becoming commonplace until 1929. This chilling event was detailed in a piece in the London Underground staff periodical, T. O.
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It gained notoriety in a verse entitled The Tale of Mr Brackett regarding a fellow who got off at a disused station because he was too absorbed in his newspaper.
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Initially, it was so dim he assumed he had lost his vision. But eventually, he ignited a match, and it illuminated a station sign, and he understood what had occurred.
He desperately tried to signal approaching trains, but none of them ceased, and the terrified individual was compelled to remain on the platform not just for an evening but for a full week, only being detected after he tore some billboards off the wall and set them alight with his very last match.