St Pancras Station - London

The trainshed was built in 1868 for the Midland Railway company by W.H. Barlow and is now recognised as the greatest example of Victorian monumental Gothic in the country. It is 100 feet high up to the point of the arch, 689 feet long and 240 feet wide and is completely uncluttered by struts and ties. The overhead cantry is suspended directly from the roof by unobtrusive cables so that the trainshed's broad sweep remains virtually interrupted. Barlow received assistance in his design from R.M. Ordish, an engineer of great experience in cast ironwork who had worked on the Crystal Palace.
The latticed ribs of the roof were made by the Butterley Company of Derbyshire and rise directly from, and are tied by the platform floor. This is at first floor level and constructed of iron plates on a girder grid, supported by 688 iron columns on brick piers. It is intersting to note that the spacing adopted for the columns was the length of a beer barrel, the ground floor being designed as a large store for Burton beer, which of course was transported into the capital by the Midland Railway. The ribs bear plates cast with the name of The Butterley Company, placed at platform level where everone could see. Along the top of the side walls is a frieze of coloured tiles in diamond patterns.
The opening of the station symbolised the Midland's entry into London. Based in Derby it had been relying on rival companies for access to the capital.
As if the trainshed was not enough an impressive frontage incorporating an hotel was planned, preferrably one that would outdo it's competitors. Gilbert Scott, the foremost architect of the day, was choosen to design the frontage. Inside, the hotel was as spectacular as it's frontage withy around 500 rooms, hydraulic lifts, broad corridors and a incredible amount of decoration and furniture. It was declared to be the most sumptuous and best-conducted hotel in the empire and aptly named The Midland Grand Hotel.
The booking hall interior, also designed by Sott, still retains today it's lined-fold panelled ticket ofice and sculped figures or railwaymen on stone corbels. Outside one can marvel at the forest of spires and pinnacles, the great clock tower, the west window alongside Midland Road and stone vaulting over the carriage entrance.

Unless stated otherwise, Photographs in this section are © copyright of Milburn Associates. Permission to use these images in railway society newsletters, etc., can be obtained by e-mailing the Thin Controller.

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View of the Midland Grand Hotel which fronts St Pancras Station. Part of Barlow.s Train Shen can be seen on the right.

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View of St Pancras Station on 6 June 1951, with LNWR-type signals showing on the right and the St Pancras hotel edifice behind the station roof. Fowler class 4F 0-6-0 No 44298 departs with the 10:45am special boat train for Tilbury Riverside.

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Stanier Class 3MT 2-6-2T No 40172 of Kentish Town shed (14B) waits to depart from St Pancras on 3 August 1958 with the empty stock of an arrival from Leicester.

Last revised: 14 December 1998