Maida Vale (ZMV)

Information
Type:	Transport for London (Bakerloo Line)
Station code:	ZMV
Opened:	1915
Platforms:	2

Maida Vale is one of the stations built for the Bakerloo Line's extension from Paddington to Queen's Park, the station opening in 1915.

When the station opened it was the first station (and uniquely at the time) to be staffed entirely by women [1] who were being hired to roles previously reserved by men to replace men who had gone to the war.

The station building is to the common, of the time, Leslie Green design though was designed by his assistant Stanley Heaps. Inside the ticket foyer is an interesting mosaic of the London Underground "bullseye" logo, built not long before the logo changed to the one used ever since. The station is Grade II listed.

A Bakerloo Line 72ts train stands at Maida Vale 

Station exterior, with original signage

Bullseye mosaic

Analogue time keeping between the platforms

Main entrance

[1] Paul Moss, London Underground (Haynes, 2014) p. 56

Liverpool Central (LVC)

Information
Type:	National Rail (Merseyrail)
Station code:	LVC
Opened:	1874
Platforms:	3

Liverpool Central lies on the loop which is the hub of the Merseyrail network and is the busiest underground station outside of London. The original station was a surface station built in 1874 and was the terminus of the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) line from Manchester Central.

In 1892 the low-level part of the station was built as the terminus of the Mersey Railway's line from the Wirral. Both stations were closed in the early 1970s but Liverpool Central re-opened as a underground station only in 1977 with the new loop built under the centre of Liverpool for Wirral Line trains[1]. Liverpool Central has a platform on that loop between Lime Street and James Street. Another link was the Northern Line - the former CLC line, which was taken underground following the building of a new link tunnel [2], and now runs between Southport and Hunts Cross. As well as through trains Liverpool Central is also the starting point for trains on the Northern Line branch to Kirkby and Ormskirk.

Liverpool Central is the busiest station on the Merseyrail network with over 15 million passengers going through it a year.

508 114 at the Wirral Line platform

Northern Line platforms

507 024 arrives with a North bound service

[1] Chris Heaps, BR Diary 1968-1977 (Ian Allan, 1988) p. 114
[2] Jonathan Cadwallader & Martin Jenkins, Merseyside Electrics (Ian Allan, 2010) p. 57

Bedford (BDM)

Information
Type:	National Rail (Midland Main Line & Marston Vale Line)
Station code:	BDM
Opened:	1859
Platforms:	5

Bedford is a busy station on the Midland Main Line also being the terminus of the Marston Vale Line from Bletchley and the terminus of Thameslink services to Brighton and Gatwick Airport via St Pancras.

The original Bedford station was opened in 1859 by the Midland Railway a few hundred metres away from the current site which opened in 1978. In the 1920s the station was renamed Bedford Midland Road though reverted back to its original name in 1988.


The station has grown steadily over the years with Marston Vale services which originally terminated at the former LNWR station at Bedford St. Johns being extended to Bedford in 1984 and using the new bay platform 1A.

There are plans for a radical rebuild of the station with a new station building back on the site of the original station and extended platforms and it will be the terminus for the new East-West Rail Link from Oxford due to be opened by 2024.

An EMT Class 222 service heading North along the MML

Looking up the platform to the main overbridge 

London Midland Marston Vale service in the care of a Class 150 Sprinter

Thameslink Class 387 service heads off South

Warwick Avenue (ZWV)

Information
Type:	Transport for London (Bakerloo Line)
Station code:	ZWV
Opened:	1915
Platforms:	2

Warwick Avenue is a stop on the Bakerloo Line in West London between Maida Vale and Paddington. The station was opened by the London Electric Railway as part of its extension of the Bakerloo Line up to Queen's Park in 1915.

The station is entirely underground apart two sets of steps on the surface to take people down to the subterranean ticket hall. Warwick Avenue is next to Little Venice, junction of the Grand Union and Regent's Canals.


Although not a large station and certainly not one of the busiest stations on the underground, it has been immortalised in a pop song. "Warwick Avenue" by Duffy makes reference to the station which also appears in the music video.

One of the 2 street entrances

Vintage signage still in use

Platform view