St. Pancras Station
SIR,—In your review of Tire Northern Heights the author is quoted as stating that "St. Pancras was built primarily for beer traffic from Burton," This, surely, is hardly correct, for coal was the main commodity that, in the early days, the Midland Railway brought to London. Their trains had for many years been running by way of Rugby to Euston till, in 1858, when an extension from Bedford to Hitchin was opened, they were transferred to King's Cross. The resulting congestion produced a situation that was unsatisfactory to both the railway companies concerned; hence, in 1868, the extension from Bedford and the station—at the neighbouring available site—at St. Pancras were opened.
The latter was constructed with four " levels," one of which was found to be ideally suited for the beer from Burton and, as stated, the measure- ments were in " beer barrels." Of the two other levels, one contains the Midland line over which the trains to Moorgate pass, while the lowest accommodates, I believe, the Fleet river in the form of a sewer.— Yours faithfully, J. P. BARDSLEY. Overseas Club, St. James's, S.W.I.
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