“Winding your way down on Baker Street”

Tuesday 12th September 2023

London Transport Museum’s Hidden London added a new behind-the-scenes tour last week to its programme at Baker Street Underground station.

As we were “winding our way” beneath ground level to begin the tour I couldn’t get the lyrics of Gerry Rafferty’s famous hit of the same name out of my mind.

Baker Street was one of the very first stations on the World’s first Underground line between Paddington and Farringdon opened by the Metropolitan Railway in 1863.

Exploring the station’s 160 year history involves tales of substantial changes including partial rebuilds and significant expansion. This has included four additional platforms for the Metropolitan line to outer London’s Metroland as well as over the border to Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire; platforms for the new, originally called, Metropolitan line to Stanmore, later handed over to the Bakerloo line before becoming the Jubilee line and, of course, the original Bakerloo line between Watford Junction/Harrow & Wealdstone and Lambeth North/Elephant & Castle.

Two very knowledgable Hidden London Guides explain the history of the station as attendees are led around the rabbit warren of a station visiting disused spaces, corridors, stairwells, old lift shafts, and an area off the current Hammersmith & City/Circle line eastbound platform that’s believed to originally have been either a passenger waiting room or a staff mess room including some cubby holes which no-one is quite sure what they were used for..

… and an area with tiling which could well have been a staff toilet.

Attendees also get to see the location of the once thriving London Transport Rifle Range Club including an area set aside for target practice.

There are also fascinating views of the back of Chiltern Court – the rather splendid block of flats above the station entrances fronting Marylebone Road including an unusual view of the escalator shaft with its small skylight roof windows …

… which takes passengers to and from the Bakerloo and Jubilee line platforms.

It’s one of the very few – the only? – escalator shaft with such windows.

At one time the Bakerloo line was accessed by four lifts as well as a spiral staircase but these were removed after new escalators were installed and the shaft is now used as part of the ventilation system for the station.

As always on Hidden London tours you get to see original tiling …

… in long abandoned corridors…

… which also have some original advertising posters still on display.

There are also ventilation shafts…

…through which you can look down on to the Jubilee line platform.

The history of the station and adjacent London Transport offices is a fascinating story to hear and also includes the famous lost property store – now relocated temporarily to South Kensington pending a new permanent home for it …

… and at one time a training school for all catering staff who worked in the hundreds of staff canteens all over the London Transport estate.

The tour lasts about 75 minutes and maintains the high standards of others on the now extensive London Transport Museum Hidden London programme. Bookings for the Baker Street tour are currently available right through until the end of the year with three tours on weekdays and four at weekends. The cost is £44 for adults and £39 for concessions.

These tours don’t come cheap but they offer fascinating glimpses behind the scenes and provide an historic insight into how things would have been for passengers decades and even well over a century ago.

If you’ve been tempted to give the Baker Street tour a go – and I hope you are – here’s a link to the online booking page.

Roger French

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