Achilles Heel

Follow Me on 500px Getty Images Twitter Facebook Google Aldwych Underground Station Formally Strand Underground Station , London, England Different composition today compared to my previous uploads. This was taken at the Aldwych Underground station tour run by the London Transport Museum. As you know or guessed I am absolutely fascinated with the Tube as it is but to get the opportunity and go on a tour of a disused station which awesome, the tour just was not long enough, I could have spent all day at this station. You maybe wondering what you are looking at here, well this is one of the two lifts that were in operation at Aldwych Underground station which date back to 1907. When you stand in them they are massive, not sure how many people they fit it but they make modern lifts look small. Sadly the demise of this station was due to these ageing lifts. In the late 80s and 90s it was estimated that it would cost A 3 million pounds to restore these lifts to modern standards and was deemed financially not viable as passenger numbers were very low so hence the station closed its doors for the final time in 1994. This is why I have called this image Achilles Heel. Oh just on another note ironically when they first built this station they had envisaged the station to be far more busy than it actually was when it opened so they built 2 more lift shafts but these were not actually used but were there just incase. This is what amazes me with engineering projects around the time of Aldwych station and before is the sheer over engineering that went into them, sometimes it can be its success which is often the case but sometimes it can be its on downfall. I tired to get the image as straight as possible when taking it but I think the lift must be slightly out as no matter how many times I correct the composition something was not straight so this was the best compromise. Photo Details Sony Alpha SLT A77 Sigma 10 20mm 1 4 5.6 EX DC HSM RAW f 8 10mm ISO400 1 4s exposure Software Used Lightroom 4.2 Information Aldwych is a closed London Underground station in the City of Westminster, originally opened as Strand in 1907. It was the terminus and only station on the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The disused station building is close to the junction of Strand and Surrey Street. During its lifetime, the branch was the subject of a number of unrealised extension proposals that would have seen the tunnels through the station extended southwards, usually to Waterloo. Served by a shuttle train for most of their life and suffering from low passenger numbers, the station and branch were considered for closure several times. A weekday peak hours only service survived until closure in 1994, when the cost of replacing the lifts was considered too high compared to the income generated. Disused parts of the station and the running tunnels were used during both World Wars to shelter artworks from London s public galleries and museums from bombing. The station has long been popular as a filming location and has appeared as itself and as other London Underground stations in a variety of films. In recognition of its historical significance, the station is a Grade II listed building. en.wikipedia.org wiki Aldwych tube station36326099 N05 has added Achilles Heel at 2012 12 07 10 58 43 and tagged as lighting wood

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