Taking Sides: Kings Cross vs Euston

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One for the London/travel geeks, this.

What's better: the station with the lovely airy 19th-century brick-and-iron trainshed, but the dim, claustrophobic low-roofed 1970s concourse? Or the 1960s station with the lovely big, airy, echoing concourse but dim, claustrophobic low-roofed platforms?

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 4 November 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

My own favourite is probably Kings Cross, but I do like the Euston concourse - it reminds me slightly of the entrance hall of my old university library.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 4 November 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

i've never used euston other than as an underground station.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

I hate Euston. The modern station is HORRIBLE. So Kings Cross it will have to be.

Though honestly, St. Pancras pwns them both.

― Streatham's Paisley Princess (kate), Friday, 4 November 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

The original St Pancras definitely wins on architecture, but the current domestic platforms are crap. And it has a rubbish train service, too.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:00 (twenty years ago)

st pancras is that hideous gothick one isn't it?

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

Hideous?!?!? HIDEOUS?!??!?!??!?!?!?

::Kate explodes::

― Streatham's Paisley Princess (kate), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:03 (twenty years ago)

Kings Cross, you can't see the trains at Euston.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:04 (twenty years ago)

Is it gothic or gothick? I'm not entirely sure.

(xpost)

You can't see them very well, no.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:05 (twenty years ago)

kings cross. euston makes me think of head of steam and pigeons only.

plus kings cross is my entry/exit point for london

― terry lennox. (gareth), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:07 (twenty years ago)

Only good thing about Euston may be you get a nice view of Regents Canal as you come in or out of it.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

Doesn't anyone else have anything good to say about the concourse, even?

I admit it was a shame that they didn't move and rebuild the Euston Arch when they did manage to move the lodges either side of it.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:12 (twenty years ago)

The Euston arch was BROING.

I like Euston best because the concourse is loads better and because I don't care about seeing trains (in fact I generally prefer it if I don't have to be near them they are noisy and horrible) and because if you're stuck for half an hour at Kings Cross it's much more uncomfortable and because the Head of Steam is OK even if they were rude to Tom about his lime and soda. Also Euston reminds me a bit of being in Moscow airport in 1989 and how can that be a bad thing?

The bit on the front of Kings Cross is a horrible nightmare.

― Tim (Tim), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

For twenty years or so they've been promising to demolish the bit on the front of Kings Cross, but can't work out where the ticket office would go if they did.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

Euston, because you can go to Tamworth.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:18 (twenty years ago)

Euston, for purely sentimental reasons: spotting bits of Camden from the window = coming home from university. The anticipation of dancing to Pulp at the Laurel Tree made my teenage heart all excited.

Kings Cross reminds me of the commute from Harringay to a job I didn't enjoy, so I don't remember it so fondly.

― Mädchen (Madchen), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:20 (twenty years ago)

euston is okay. kind of bland. the concourse is big though.

kings cross is okay. kind of more crowded. don't use it enough personally. plus more confusing.

what trains go from st pancras?

euston i think. because of memories of arriving to london, from milton keynes. happy times.

LIME AND SODA??!?!

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:20 (twenty years ago)

ALSO getting a big bag to the concourse from the underground is a piece of cake at Euston, but a round-the-houses-up-the-stairs pain in the arse at Kings X.

― Mädchen (Madchen), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:21 (twenty years ago)

better food access at euston than kings cross

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:22 (twenty years ago)

KC was and is once again my way out of this shithole, so KC wins.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

St Pancras is for Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield and Leeds (slow train) and soon Paris and Brussels.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

yay

― KC (ken c), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

As said before, St. Pancras owns this, but Euston wins for the Head Of Steam, the concourse tiled in a public toilet stylee, and the fact that they once ordered a taxi to take me from Milton Keynes to Coventry after National Rail Enquiries stuffed up my train times.

Oh, and as you leave Euston you can see my old flat in Kilburn. It's got horrible orange curtains these days.

― Si.C@rter (SiC@rter), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

i think victoria is my favourite station. or marylebone.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

oh i guess the kings x trains go over holloway road so that's nice. but better if it actually stops there.

oh yeah i took the nottingham st pancras train once. to an interview. can't remembe whether i got the job.

victoria is good if you already had a ticket.

is marylebone the one that goes to warwick?

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:27 (twenty years ago)

Euston = going to see my parents on Merseyside, friends in Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow; catching the 188 all the way home, playing Scrabble on the top deck; trips to London when I was a schoolkid...

Kings X = going to work in Welwyn every day, 1998-2001, the Hatfield crash, the 'orrible throng outside, waiting hours for a 63 bus...

Euston. 1968 was a good year.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:40 (twenty years ago)

for beer?

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:45 (twenty years ago)

St Pancras = Victorian fanny dangle.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

It's one of the greatest buildings in this unfair city.

I ended up at St Pancras after travelling back from Manchester once, which seemed odd.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:56 (twenty years ago)

During Project Rio, I'd warrant.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:58 (twenty years ago)

Also, St Pancras was specially designed to deal with beer barrels, and the stations in Leicester and Nottingham were built to match, with all that Ruskin bollocks. I say bollocks to sound tough, I like it really.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:00 (twenty years ago)

we'd travelled via Leicester - seemed a rather unorthodox route generally. (xpost)

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:00 (twenty years ago)

It was whilst they were working extensively on the West Coast Main Line.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:01 (twenty years ago)

King's Cross, cos you can go to Edinburgh.
Although it loses points for having a sign for a Platform 9 3/4. (Or maybe that's kinda good. I don't know)

― beanz (beanz), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

xxxxxpost

in victorian times train stations were supposed to be fanny danglary though.

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

St Pancras = Victorian fanny dangle.
-- Matt DC (runmd...), November 4th, 2005.

word

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

not enough x's

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

marleybone (sp) goes to... aylesbury.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

Marylebone is like, the most USELESS mainline station ever.

― Streatham's Paisley Princess (kate), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:07 (twenty years ago)

Or suburban rail, or whatever it is, I don't even know.

― Streatham's Paisley Princess (kate), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:07 (twenty years ago)

Marylebone is a good station - good architecture both inside and out, free toilets, piped classical music sometimes, never that chaotic.

I always wanted to travel further north-west than West Ruislip on the Chiltern Line but never got round to it.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

marley is also clean. i mean a station is only useless if it travels to places you never go. so euston and sat pancreas are of no use to me.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

Marylebone vs Fenchurch St perhaps...

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:17 (twenty years ago)

Stations I have never taken a train from...

-Marylebone
-Cannon St

Oh wait, I took a train from Fenchurch St when I went to Essex so perhaps it's not totally useless. But fairly useless.

― Streatham's Paisley Princess (kate), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:20 (twenty years ago)

does fenchurch st exist?! where is it?

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:29 (twenty years ago)

The Eastern Edge of the City. It's right by Tower Hill.

― Streatham's Paisley Princess (kate), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

On Fenchurch St in the City, not far from Tower Hill.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

If you go there you will have to pay me £100.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

yeah i only know it from monopoly. cf old kent road. and mayfair.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:43 (twenty years ago)

The Old Kent Road remains an utter hole.

― Streatham's Paisley Princess (kate), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

marley is also clean. i mean a station is only useless if it travels to places you never go. so euston and sat pancreas are of no use to me.

a station that actually travels to places would be really cool

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

I have never taken a train from Fenchurch St,* Marylebone, St Pancras or Broad St. I think I've used all the other main-line stations in London, unless you count Victoria as two in which case I've only used one of them (it was 2 separate stations until about 1930).

* but I have taken one from Tower Gateway, which is next-door.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:46 (twenty years ago)

a station that actually travels to places would be really cool

that would make it a motion.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:49 (twenty years ago)

Broad Street closed some time ago, didn't it?

― Tim (Tim), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

broad street?

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

Demolished when they redid liverpool st at the end of the 80s. North London Line Terminated there with Trains from Richmond, Watford and North woolwich, IIRC.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:51 (twenty years ago)

http://www.urban75.org/london/broad-street.html

― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:52 (twenty years ago)

the journey out of Marylebone is a nice one - the elevated line over Kilburn gives a great view of the city and can be particularly great at sunset, you go right past Wembley Stadium and really get a sense of the true scale of the arch - unless you're following the Met Line past Harrow etc. - and once you get past Ruislip it all goes quite lush (from what I can tell at least). Then again, a tunnel might collapse on you at Gerrards Cross while they're building a big Tesco on top. And the fact that there's a station just for Denham GOLF COURSE is a bit off-putting too (unless you dig golf).

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

denham = ah, it is the movie star's railway line.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:57 (twenty years ago)

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