Northern Line Trains on May 19th 2023

Northern Line at Mornington Crescent, Euston (Charing Cross Branch), Warren Street and Goodge Street on a Friday Morning just after Rush Hour.

Mornington Crescent was opened on June 22nd 1907 when the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway opened between todays Charing Cross and Golders Green and todays Archway which at the time was opened as Highgate.

It's only served by West End services whilst passengers for Bank Branch change the next station south at Euston.

On October 23rd 1992 the station was closed for replacement of the 85 year old lifts

During closure it was discovered that the station has fallen into disrepair it was so bad that was threatened to be shut down completely however in the end a campaign led by a panel of hosts of a BBC Radio 4 show 'Sorry I Haven't a clue' which features a round called 'Mornington Crescent' combined with arguments by local residents was enough to keep it open as a alternative station when Camden Town is exit only due to overcrowding.

Eventually the station was completely overhauled and was finally reopened on April 27th 1998.

Euston served by both Bank and Charing Cross Branches although there is no direct connection

Platform 5 and 6 for the City Branch opened to Euston from Angel on May 12th 1907 which was 6 weeks before the west end branch which use Platforms 1 and 2.

Platforms 3 and 4 are served by the Victoria Line being added on December 1st 1969 when it was extended from Highbury & Islington to Warren Street

Connections are provided with the mainline station for services on the West Coast Main Line as well as Watford DC Lines.

At the time of filming the station was due to under major rebuilding for HS2 however controversially in April 2023 all construction on HS2 for London Euston was halted which is due to be on hold for 2 years due to ongoing financial issues.

To the east of the station is Euston Square served by Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines having originally opened as Gower Street on January 10th 1863 before being renamed to today’s Euston Square on November 1st 1909 however at present there is no subway connection between the two.

In fact the Northern Line use to be controlled at Couborg Street however nowadays with the line being ATO it's now controlled from Highgate Depot.

Warren Street opened as Euston Road however was renamed Warren Street a year after opening in 1908.

The Leslie Green style tiling on both Northern Line platforms still reflects the original station name today.

Escalators were installed here when the station building was replaced in 1934.

The Victoria Line was extended here on December 1st 1968 however was a terminus for just over 3 months before being extended to Victoria on March 7th 1969.

Goodge Street unusually opened as Tottenham Court Road in 1907 even that's today's name for the next station south which at the time opened as Oxford Street.

Oxford Street renamed Tottenham Court Road when a link was built with the Central London Railway's station today's Central Line with that first opening in July 1900 between Shepherds Bush and City now todays Bank station which at same time the CC&HR Tottenham Court Road became Goodge Street in March 1908.

The original Leslie Green station building still survives and is one of 8 stations on the line to retain an Air Raid Shelter underneath the station with access from 2 entrances one from Chenies Street and the other Tottenham Court Road next to the America International Church which was renamed ‘American Church’ in 2013.

What's surprising despite most stations being replaced by Escalators over the last century

Sometimes Goodge Street can be used as an alternative to Tottenham Court Road due to overcrowding or if it's closed.

In fact between between April and November 2011 Northern Line Trains ran non stop through Tottenham Court Road due to preparation work for the new Crosrail which since Febraury 2016 became the Elizabeth Line and was opened in May 2022 with final completion being 2 days after filming on Sunday May 21st 2023.

Goodge Street surprisingly is still one of a few stations in Central London to still use Lifts with the only alternative access being a spiral staircase which has 136 steps with the lifts being replaced in Late 2017 / Early 2018.

Northern Line can be very busy with not just Kennington services but since September 2021 extended to Battersea Power Station and whether it's a weekday or weekend no matter if it's morning or evening it's not surprisingly there can be plenty of activity and traffic.

Music used:
JJD - Adventure
Music provided by NCS

Video link:
NoCopyrightSounds
   • JJD - Adventure | Glitch Hop | NCS - Copyr...  

Filmed on Friday May 19th 2023 on iPhone 14 Pro and edited on iMovie

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