Docklands all the way

DLR Canary Wharf



Originally derided as the “Toytown Railway” when it opened in 1987 from Canary Wharf to a slightly off centre City terminus at Tower Gateway, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) has developed to become a serious contributor to the transport infrastructure in East London and a critical component in the transport infrastructure for next years Olympics 2012 in London. The reputation of the DLR was further damaged by unreliability which plagued it for the first 5 years but it has developed in robustness and capacity over the years and is a firm favourite with visitors and natives alike – as they say in East London – “Don’t be a knocker, be a Docker!”





DLR with the Dome in the background



This innovative, driverless railway serves parts of East and South East London. Commuters and tourists alike enjoy views of lesser-seen London locations from the easily accessible DLR. It connects with the Tube network at Bank and Tower Gateway (Tower Hill) stations and also at Shadwell, Stratford, Bow, Heron Quays, Canning Town and Canary Wharf. The DLR serves Beckton, Stratford and London City Airport to the East and North East and the Docklands, Greenwich and Lewisham to the South.









DLR Network - Diagramatic & geographic maps



Being a light railway many of the routes use existing and often abandoned rail routes in East London which once served the huge Docks complexes which stretched for many miles along the River Thames. This has allowed cheaper, quicker construction with less planning issues and delays as part of the overall regeneration of an area which had experienced years of decline as the docks and associated industries closed.





DLR 3 car configuration



The Toytown Railway has comprehensively proved its detractors wrong as it extended its reach to London City Airport, Woolwich and Lewisham (taking in Greenwich) south of the river and Beckton and now Stratford International north of the river. Other capacity enhancements increasing the trains to 3 cars and connecting underground to the major Tube interchange at Bank Station have greatly increased the usefulness of the DLR network. Passengers for their part appreciate the easy access, automatic ticketing (integrated with TfL’s Oyster system) and the security from having onboard Train Captains. Kids and tourists alike love the fact that these are automatic driverless trains and there is always a rush to occupy the front row which gives a driver’s eye view of the route. This is particularly popular on the tunnel section from Bank where the trains emerge from the darkness and climb steeply on a viaduct which gives excellent views of Limehouse and the towers of Canary Wharf.







With just under a year to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games the fully accessible Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Stratford International extension opened today (31 August), bringing this key link into the heart of the Olympic Park. This will also be the terminus for the “Olympic Javelin” which will ferry up to 25,000 people an hour to and from the Olympic Park. The journey time from St. Pancras in Central London to the Olympics will be only 7 minutes, an Olympic sprint indeed!



See; St. Pancras Reborn



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/st-pancras-reborn.html



Spectators will get free use of public transport with their tickets to Olympic events but a separate Javelin pass may be issued to manage crowds. The project is a key part of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic transport network and will improve accessibility on London's transport network for people with restricted mobility. It was due to open in July 2010, however the extension is opening well ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.





System Map @ Elverson Road



The 3.7-mile (6km) expansion from Canning Town to Stratford International forms a key part of the London 2012 Olympic Games transport network. There are four new stations along the new route, which connects the Olympic Park to five arenas in east London. The four new stations are Stratford International, Stratford High Street, Abbey Road and Star Lane. This will be the last extension of the DLR system until the branch to Dagenham is completed in 2017.





Docklands integrated with the TfL transport network



The extension completes a £500m upgrade of the Docklands Light Railway, which Transport for London (TfL) says will improve capacity by 50%. Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "This expansion of the DLR is a further demonstration of the improvements that the London 2012 Games are making to our city.” This work will be of permanent benefit for Londoners and all those travelling in the capital from here on in. It's fantastic news and another example of London's lasting legacy of playing host to such a momentous event."





DLR train interior



Director of transport for the Olympic Delivery Authority, Hugh Sumner, said: "The opening of the new DLR extension is the last piece in the jigsaw for major upgrades and improvements to networks serving the Olympic Park. We have worked closely with TfL to fund and deliver a much-improved service which will leave east London better connected after the Games."



The Olympic venues served by the DLR are;



• Olympic Park: a 2.5 km2 site that will form the centre stage for the Games. It features purpose-built and accessible facilities including the Aquatics Centre, Velodrome and Olympic Stadium.



• ExCeL: is London’s largest exhibition and conference centre. During the Olympic Games it will host the Weightlifting, Judo, Fencing, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Wrestling and Boxing. During the Paralympics it will host Table Tennis, Judo, Wheelchair Fencing, Boccia, Powerlifiting and Volleyball (Sitting).



• Greenwich Park: covers 74 hectares and is part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. During the Olympic Games it will host the Equestrian events and Modern Pentathlon. During the Paralympic Games it will host the Equestrian Dressage.



• Royal Artillery Barracks: is owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence and will have a temporary venue beside Woolwich Common to host the Olympic Shooting event and the Paralympic Archery and Shooting events.





Stratford station in December 2009, showing the new DLR line and platforms under construction, this was formerly the North London Line platforms. The Olympic Park and Westfield Shopping Centre site is in the background.



The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London. It covers several areas of London, reaching north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, and west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal.









Stratford International DLR Station



The DLR is now 23 miles (37 km) long, with 44 stations along the route. There are five branches: to Lewisham in the south, to Stratford in the north, to Beckton and to Woolwich Arsenal in the east, and to Central London in the west, splitting to serve Bank and Tower Gateway. Although the layout allows many different combinations of routes, at present the following four are operated in normal service:



• Stratford to Lewisham

• Bank to Lewisham

• Bank to Woolwich Arsenal

• Tower Gateway to Beckton



There is an additional shuttle service from Canning Town to Prince Regent, operated when exhibitions are in progress at the ExCeL exhibition centre, to double the normal service. These trains reverse direction in the eastbound platform at Canning Town and on a crossover at the high point where the line crosses the Connaught Crossing road bridge between Prince Regent and Royal Albert stations.







Making transport accessible to all is important in London and has an added impetus for the Paralympic Games in 2012. All DLR stations have lift or ramp access to the platforms, with level access onto the trains. All lifts have alarms enabled, which allow you to talk directly with a member of DLR staff should you experience any problems. Platforms are as level with trains as possible for easy access. The gap between the platform edge and the train is approximately 7.5cm wide and the step up/down from the platform to the train approximately 5cm high. Most wheelchair users find boarding/alighting smoothest with the largest wheel first – this may mean reversing as appropriate.







Elsewhere on the TfL transport network all of London's 8,500 buses are fully accessible, all 22,000 taxis have wheelchair ramps and all stations and trains on the DLR network are fully accessible. 62 Tube stations are now step-free from street to platform, and this will rise further with the imminent completion of works at Green Park, which will be a key step-free station during the Games. By the time of the 2012 Games 65 Tube stations will be step-free.



The DLR runs from 5.30am to 12.30am Monday to Saturday and from 7am to 11.30pm on Sunday. Fares are the same as those on the Tube and Oyster and Travelcard holders can use the DLR.



The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place on 27 July 2012 and the Closing Ceremony on the 12 Aug 2012. 18 days later, the Paralympic Games (the second largest event of its kind in the world) will stage its Opening Ceremony. Odds are that many attending the ceremonies and events of London 2012 will be travelling on the Docklands Railway.







Docklands Light Railway website;



www.dlr.co.uk



See also;



London Olympics 2012 – Stratford Station



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/london-olympics-2012-stratford-station.html



Paralympic Games



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/paralympic-games.html

Bethnal Green Tube Disaster – Memorial Service

The proposed "Stairway to Heaven" Memorial

68 years ago on March 3rd. 1943 in the largest loss of civilian life in a single non-military incident during World War II, 173 people perished at Bethnal Green tube station. They are not forgotten.





Today on Sunday 6th March 2011 a Commemoration Service for the 68th anniversary of the Bethnal Green tube disaster took place at St. John on Bethnal Green Church (next door to the tube station) at 2pm. There was a blessing at the top of the stairs where everyone died and relatives and survivors were encouraged to lay flowers or wreaths to their loved ones. Refreshments and a chance for locals and supporters to reminisce after the Service were provided inside the church and there was an exhibition of articles, photographs and other information about the Bethnal Green tube disaster.

Here is an eyewitness testimony of what happened that fateful night;



“Bethnal Green tube station was used as a shelter. The line was boarded over there. Women worked down there on war work. They were safe from the bombing. I think the warning went, and they opened up with rockets. They reckon people started running in the station, causing a panic. They reckon probably a woman with a child had a bundle of clothing, fell, and then the other people fell on top of her, and they all piled up until there was a hundred and seventy-three people that was killed. The next day the air raid warden asked us to look at the ones they couldn’t identify. There was a pile of bodies, and the police uncovered their faces in case you might recognise people. Out of fifty or sixty people there, there was nothing I could recognise.”

Albert Garrett

The Memorial Fund is dedicated to building a “Stairway to Heaven” to properly commemorate the victims. Its patron Tommy Walsh was there and the names of all those who died were read out. Here is the detail of the fundraising to date and the proposed memorial; Please help by contributing to this cause.


Tommy Walsh, Patron of the charity

http://www.stairwaytoheavenmemorial.org/

Here is the coverage of the service on ITV News; the BBC didn’t bother to turn up.

http://www.itv.com/london/memorial53354/

Commemorative Plaque


In Memory of the 173 Men, Women and Children who lost their lives on the evening of
Wednesday 3rd March 1943 descending these steps to Bethnal Green underground air raid shelter
Not forgotten.

For the full story of the Bethnal Green Disaster see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/02/bethnal-green-tube-disaster.html



Here is a short documentary of the Disaster and the proposed memorial. It includes an interview with Alf Morris who as a 13 year old was the last survivor to be dragged alive from the crush.

Psst! – Wanna buy a Tube station?

The disused Shoreditch station which is for sale



Wanna buy a Tube station? Just be careful who you sit next to on the Tube because there are a lot of Tube “Anoraks” out there whose dream of earthly paradise is to own a Tube station. Sad Boys – yes it is a male thing! There are 16 disused Tube stations out there and some have found alternative uses – South Kentish Town is a massage parlour, Marlborough Road was a Chinese restaurant and Aldwych is often used for movies and has hosted a recent exhibition on the 70th Anniversary of the London Blitz during which it gave distinguished service.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/blitz-on-underground.html

Shoreditch was always a strange station even when open for it lost much of its meaning when the line into Liverpool Street was cut, was in an area of narrow streets and was hard to find unless you knew where it was! There was a sign at the top of Pedley Street directing you to the station and at the end of its 130 year history it was only open during peak hours and catering for 1,100 passengers a day.




Looking for the Tube station Guv? The sign underneath the original street sign is in Sylethi as this area is now known as "Banglatown" with a mainly Bangladeshi population around Brick Lane

One more point which made it hard to find it was it was in Spitalfields near Brick Lane not Shoreditch! The old station has seen more spray cans than commuters over the past five years, and don’t expect to be able to wander down to the platforms looking out for ghost trains to New Cross – much of the old line has been filled in and grassed over, and the stairs removed. But what you’ll get for your money is a cosy little building which has played a big role in London railway history, which once saw steam trains from Liverpool Street to the south coast as well as Tube trains. Presumably it is for sale now as the platforms and stairs have been removed and the new embankment for the realigned East London Line has been completed. Interested? Details are here on auctioneers Andrew and Robertson’s site;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/blitz-on-underground.html





Shoreditch station opened in 1876 and closed in 2006, having consisted of a single platform serving a single track next to the disused Bishopsgate goods yard as well as the station building upon Brick Lane, a road notable for its wide variety of curry restaurants. The station was situated just to the south of the railway line into Liverpool Street, and the Underground line at Shoreditch used to continue onto the mainline tracks until the tube line was electrified in 1913.





While open, the station was the northernmost terminus of the line, but due to a shortage of passengers, trains only called there during rush hours and at weekends. Shoreditch belongs to the long tradition of Underground stations with misleading names (Harrow on the Hill being below the Hill, Acton Town being a half mile from Acton Town, Watford being a mile from Watford etc) as it is not really in Shoreditch but at the top of Brick Lane and behind the old Goods yards.


Map showing the two Shoreditch stations originally served from Liverpool Street. Directly north there was Shoreditch on the mainline from Broad Street (since amalgamated with Liverpool St.) which was closed after being bombed in the Blitz of 1940 and to the right Shoreditch on the East London Line

Due to plans to extend the East London line to form part of the new London Overground network, Shoreditch station is now disused. Trains will leave the original route of the line to call at a new station at Shoreditch High Street while passing along the route of the old Broad Street viaduct, the only remaining structure from the old national railway station of the same name. The fact that the disused North London line runs along most of the desired route of the extension means that Shoreditch station really had very little chance of being included in the project. The new line and station form part of the London Overground network, a suburban rail service operated by Transport for London but separate from the Tube network.





Unlike other closed stations, Transport for London provided a temporary service to Shoreditch - until the new line fully opened in 2010, a non-stop rail replacement bus connected Shoreditch with Whitechapel using the station's previous limited opening hours.


The original East London Line with Shoreditch as its northern terminus

The cutting in and around the station area has been filled in and partly reused for the line from Whitechapel (also in a cutting) to the replacement Shoreditch High Street (on an embankment). Until the late 1960s the East London Line connected with the main line railway to Liverpool Street (and Bishopsgate until 1916) just north of Shoreditch station. The site of the link is still visible from the end of the platform and from National Express East Anglia main line trains between Stratford and Liverpool Street. The station was one of only a handful on the network with a single platform and a single track layout, though it originally had two tracks and platforms.





The preceding station was Whitechapel, which was the northern terminus of the East London Line until the line closed for extension in December 2007.The station had two platforms for the twin track railway which continued westwards, joining other mainline tracks running into nearby Liverpool Street station. Services on this stretch of the line varied over the years, but eventually passenger services terminated at Shoreditch in 1913 rather than carrying through to Liverpool Street when the line was electrified, with goods traffic only continuing to Liverpool Street. In 1966, even this service was withdrawn and the junction with the mainline tracks just beyond the station was severed.



The line itself has gone through several identity changes. At times, it was seen primarily as a goods line but in 1913, the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District railways started using the line for passenger services. When the London Underground was nationalised, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Line and in 1970 became known as the Metropolitan Line - East London Section. In the 1980s, the line was given its own identity as a separate London Underground line, though in reality to this day it still has a close relationship with the Hammersmith & City (also former Metropolitan Line), even sharing rolling stock. The East London Line was a unique creature, the only Underground Line which didn’t go through Central London, the second oldest line dating from 1869 but incorporating the oldest part of London Underground – Isambard Brunel’s Wapping Tunnel dating from 1843.


Construction work on the East London Line extension, photographed from outside the former Shoreditch tube station building (looking east).


For the fascinating history of the original East London Line see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/12/east-london-line.html

For the story of one of London’s most important transport developments, London Overground, which incorporates the East London Line see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/04/east-london-line-goes-overground.html


Still got your cheque book at the ready? The sale of Shoreditch Station takes place at the Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden on 16 February. But if you want to buy the ultimate Geek’s crash pad as well as the £180k + reserve price you want to have deep pockets. The building has been boarded up for 5 years, is a monument to graffiti and has extensive asbestos throughout the structure.



Here is a video tribute to the last day of Shoreditch station. I may even have been there myself but I can’t confirm that for security reasons!



Here is TfL's promo video on the new line with excellent aerial shots which make sense of the route decisions;



For more on London Underground and its unique heritage and contribution to design see TUBEBLOGS in my Blog sidebar >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Clowns of Old London Town

After the Banking Crisis many would say the City of London is full of Clowns, without realising it is the literal truth. London has many traditions which are preserved in East London which regards itself as the home of real Londoners, the Cockneys, who are traditionally regarded as those born within the sound of the Bow Bells, the bells of the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, an historic church off Cheapside in the City of London. However the label Cockney was original a countryman’s derogatory term for the city dwellers, literally meaning a “Cocks egg”, or an effeminate city dweller. Two of the great folk traditions of the City are the Pearly Kings and Queens who were elected for each Borough as part of a tradition of mutual assistance by the Costermongers or street produce sellers and who support many causes such as erecting a memorial to the victims of The Bethnal Green Tube Disaster.


A Pearly King and Queen

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/08/bethnal-green-and-70th-anniversary-of.html

The other tradition preserved in this city with its rich theatrical history is clowning which is commemorated each year on the first Sunday in February, when clowns from across the UK gather in Dalston (East London) and attend a church service in memory of the clown Jospeh Grimaldi. This has been an annual tradition since 1946. The service moved to Holy Trinity Church in 1959, and in 1967 permission was given for the clowns to attend in their costumes. This year the church service took place yesterday on Sunday 6 February. It is a reminder to all of the rich tradition of clowning which has been part of Theatre, Pantomime, Commedia D’Arte, Cabaret, Variety and movies, not to mention Circus.


Joseph Grimaldi



This service to commemorate Grimaldi and all clowns normally takes place in Holy Trinity Church on Beechwood Road in Dalston, London E8 3DY. (Tube: Liverpool Street, then bus 149 or 242; nearest train station: Dalston Kingsland) Occasionally it is held in another nearby church: All Saints Church, Haggerston Road. There is no charge to attend, but you may want to make a donation at the collection after the service. It is traditional after the service for the clowns to put on a free show in the adjoining hall so many families attend with excited children and as “clowning” forms part of the service it is anything but solemn.

The website for both churches is: http://www.trinitysaintsunited.co.uk



All clowns are nicknamed Joey, after the father of modern clowning, Joseph Grimaldi and we get the slang word “Slap” from their theatrical makeup. We get a number of phrases in common usage from the clown tradition. “Slapstick” was when they threw water and pies at each other at the end of their show (which washed off makeup), “Sending in the Clowns” meant the show was over as they were the finale, a jam session was when they met to swap jokes and routines ending with an “exchange” of jam tarts and Clown Alley was the part of the circus tent where they hung their outfits.


Portrait of Joseph Grimaldi by John Cawse

Clowns, or fools, were seen in their child-like natures as representing the purity and simplicity of saints like St Francis of Assisi and St Basil, the Russian saint. The early Catholic Church used the Holy Fool to comically, and sometimes frighteningly, simplify and illustrate the church’s doctrine to an illiterate audience. As society became more complex and urbanised, particularly with the Reformation, clowns in the theatre became agents questioning how the individual should live life, rather than how the mass of the common people could understand the Biblical teachings. In Shakespeare’s plays one of the reasons religious and political arguments were put amusingly into the mouths of clowns was to avoid problems over censorship.


A family of Clowns!

Clowns were an important part of London’s theatrical tradition in Shakespeare and Marlowe’s time for as The Bard observed “This fellow is wise enough to play the fool; ...” Shakespeare's clowns weren't anything like modern day clowns. On the old English stage a clown was a privileged laugh provoker. He usually had no real part in the drama, but carried on his jokes and tricks, sometimes addressing himself to the delighted audience instead of confining himself to the stage action.



Early clowns were portrayed as simple-minded, ignorant fools. In reality, many were quite witty with enough wisdom to speak profound truths in the guise of humour. An example of this would be Touchstone in "As You Like It" and Feste in "Twelfth Night." The Bard elevated the clown as none before had done, giving him a speaking part, often using him as a “comic relief” to ease the tension in his tragedies. This blending of comedy and tragedy played well to both the seated audience and those who could afford only to stand on the ground at the foot of the stage. The grave diggers in "Hamlet" are clowns. "Othello" had his clown, although he wasn't very humorous! Launcelot Gobbo was Shylock's famous clown in "The Merchant of Venice."


Joseph Grimaldi "Joey"

The son of Italian Immigrants, Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) was one of the most celebrated of English clowns. He created the 'Joey' look associated with clowns ever since, and completely transformed the role of the Clown in the Harlequinade. Joseph Grimaldi was the man who gave us the notion of the sad clown. He was particularly famous for his role in the Christmas Pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He had been an idol since he first came to prominence in 1806, having been thrust into the highest sphere of celebrity with a virtuoso comic performance in the original production of Mother Goose, a show that took record profits and ran for longer than any other pantomime in history. Its success brought him national recognition, enormous fees, and a social circle that included Lord Byron, Sarah Siddons, Edmund Kean, Matthew 'Monk’ Lewis and the entire Kemble family. The critics Leigh Hunt and William Hazlitt sang his praises and the young Charles Dickens edited his Memoirs.



Grimaldi built on the original concept of naiveté and foolishness by mocking his audiences and encouraging their participation. He is said to have been the inspiration behind the invention of the pantomime dame. He introduced the concept of the sad clown, the happy mask that hides a tragic soul. Grimaldi raised the profile of the clown by placing him centre stage. The clown in one form or another is still seen as an absolutely vital element of entertainment culture worldwide. The Grimaldi Memorial Service is a tribute to that great tradition as well as a thanksgiving for the gift of laughter.

Joseph Grimaldi ("Joey") is regarded as the greatest British clown. He was born in London in 1778 and died in 1837. His performances at the Sadler's Wells and Drury Lane theatres were extremely popular and helped to establish the British clowning traditions which continue to this day. His tomb is in the park named after him in Islington, the Joseph Grimaldi Park (next to 154a Pentonville Road, between Rodney Street and Cumming Street; nearest Tube: King's Cross St Pancras or Angel ;). The plaque in front of the tomb reads as follows:

JOSEPH GRIMALDI
1778-1837

Joseph Grimaldi was 3 years old when he first went on the stage of Sadler's Wells with his father and worked there for 45 years as performer and part-proprietor. From his debut in 1806 at Covent Garden in Mother Goose he was adored by all and could fill a theatre anywhere. The name Joey has passed into our language to mean a clown. He lived all his life among the people of Clerkenwell and died at 33 Southampton Street, now called Calshot Street. Islington Council has called the park in which he lies buried the Joseph Grimaldi Park to commemorate a great artist and a great man.


Joseph Grimaldi's grave

Following the clown's show after the church service visitors are invited to a special opening of the Clowns Gallery - Museum. This is the UK's only museum dedicated to clowns and their history. It is normally open just once a month - on the first Friday (from 12 noon to 5pm) (special arrangements can be made for group visits at other times).

The address is: All Saints Centre, Haggerston Road, Hackney, London E8 4HT (Tube: Liverpool Street, then bus 149 or 242)

It is just a few minutes' walk from Holy Trinity Church to the Clowns Gallery. One of the things to see inside the museum is the egg register. This shows the make-up (known as "slap") used by clowns both past and present. It is an unwritten rule that a clown never copies the make-up of another clown - each one is unique and is designed to suit the individual's face.


Egg Faces - If you had the same "Slap" as another clown you had their egg on your face

For more on Clowns International (the organisers of this event):

http://www.clowns-international.co.uk

You may want to combine a visit to the Clowns Gallery with a visit to two other nearby museums which appeal to children of all ages and anybody interested in London's history:

- Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9PA:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/nmc

- Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA:

http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk

For more on Joseph Grimaldi see;

Incidents in the Life of Joseph Grimaldi
Author: Giles Neville, Patricia Neville (Illustrator)
Publisher: Jonathan Cape - October 1980
ISBN-10: 0224018698
ISBN-13: 978-0224018692

Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi
Andrew McConnell Stott

Cannongate Books - ISBN: 9781847672957