What I always wanted to know about King William Street was why they
built the station on such a stupid alignment, with a sharp right angle
just before it, rather than locate it just after the tunnel reaches
land on a nice straight alignment.

Almost certainly because Swan Lane was/is too narrow to accommodate the
platform tunnels... I suspect that another complication was that the
railway couldn't run beneath the foundations of London Bridge...

Besides which, probably they simply wanted the station further from the
river in order to be more convenient for as many passengers as possible.
Note that when it was replaced, they did extend the line further north
at the same time, opening Moorgate station as well as Bank (and London
Bridge, too).
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "No flames were used in the creation of
| this message." -- Ray Depew