Branch Tunnel and Depot
Just north of the station there is a branch tunnel which used to lead to a nearby generating station (closed 1915), depot and workshop located at the junction of Stockwell and Clapham Roads. The tunnel was very steep with an incline of 1:3.5, rolling stock was originally pulled up to the surface using a wire rope and a winch. This system was replaced in 1907 by a hydraulic lift, which could carry one locomotive or one carriage.
During the 1920s, the line was closed for reconstruction and the depot was used as a working site for transporting spoil, equipment and works traffic in and out of the tunnels. The depot and lift were finally taken out of use at the end of 1924. The incline tunnel and the lift shaft were plugged on the surface and several blocks of flats were constructed on the old depot site by the LCC. These flats still stand (as of 2011), as does one retaining wall of the old depot.
Read more about this topic: Stockwell Tube Station
Famous quotes containing the words branch and/or tunnel:
“That man’s the true Conservative
Who lops the mouldered branch away.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“You may raise enough money to tunnel a mountain, but you cannot raise money enough to hire a man who is minding his own business.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)