"Stephen Furley" wrote in message
ups.com...

John Rowland wrote:

Is that the beautiful but sad staircase in a cage?

Yes, that's it. This subway served platforms from 9 to 12/13. From
what I can make out from old drawings, 3/4/5 did not exist before the
rebuilding for the Central Line, so the long subway under 3/5 was
probably built at this time. This subway led to the stairs up to the
platform, just above the words 'New Westbound' on the new platform
level drawing. There was a doorway to the left which led onto the
low-level, and a short subway to the right serving platforms 6, 7
(never used) and 8. During the last rebuilding this subway was
extended as ffar as platform 12, and the old subway closed. For a while
both were open, and you could make a circular walk. Finally, the new
subway to the West of the low-level lines, serving 3-10 was opened.
What is now 9/10 was extended a considerable distance, it used to end
not far from where 10a does now. I am not clear how what is now 6/8
was reached prior to 1949, mayde there was a stairway from the old
subway behind one of the closed doors. This platform was also much
shorter until the time of the electrification and Central Line
extension.

From what I can make out of an old (1915) drawing, what are now platforms 10
and 10a served the old slow lines, and what is now 9 served the down fast.
The up fast was a through line with no platform, but there was an up
passenger loop served by a platform more or less on the site of present 6/8.
This was further east than the other platforms, which were of course in the
fork between the Colchester and Cambridge lines, as west of this platform
there were connections to the goods depot and a double- (or even
triple-)track spur from the Ilford to the North Woolwich direction. This
platform presumably linked with the low level platforms. There was also a
double-track spur east of the station from the Liverpool Street to the North
Woolwich direction; this was used by through passenger trains which could
not therefore call at Stratford but instead served Stratford Market station.
Two short bay platforms are apparent, a down bay as the opposite face of the
up passsenger loop platform, and a bay, more of a dock really, in the fork
between platforms 10a and 11. It's not at all clear where the main entrance
and ticket office were - the station was served by Station Road, leading
from Angel Lane into the fork between the Colchester and Cambridge lines,
and by Station Street, leading from the High Street to the south side of the
station.

In understanding this, it needs to be remembered that in 1949 Ilford flyover
was built, and west of there what had been the slow lines became the Main
Lines, and what had been the Fast Lines became the Electric (or Slow) Lines,
which served the new platforms at Stratford. It's also worth remembering
that, until LT took over the Loughton lines, platforms 11-13 were served by
an intensive steam suburban service from Liverpool Street and Fenchurch
Street to Loughton, Epping and Ongar (well, never that intensive out to
Ongar), while trains to Newbury Park and Chigwell diverged between Ilford
and Seven Kings.

Peter