Railways and the Western European Capitals

Railways and the Western European Capitals

Railways and the Western European Capitals Studies of Implantation in London, Paris, Berlin, and Brussels Micheline Nilsen

RAILWAYS AND THE WESTERN EUROPEAN CAPITALS Copyright Micheline Nilsen, 2008. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-0-230-60773-6 All rights reserved. First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the US - a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-37446-5 ISBN 978-0-230-61577-9 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230615779 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nilsen, Micheline. Railways and the Western European capitals : studies of implantation in London, Paris, Berlin, and Brussels / Micheline Nilsen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Railroads Europe, Western. 2. City planning Europe, Western. 3. Capitals (Cities) Europe, Western. I. Title. HE3005.N55 2008 307.76094 dc22 2008012346 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Westchester Book Group. First edition: October 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1 1 Railways and Cities 7 2 London: Wedges into the Slums 29 3 London: The Euston Road Terminals 47 4 Paris: Haussmann, the Railways, and the New Gates to the City 69 5 Paris: Gare du Nord and Gare de l Est 81 6 The Strategic Role of Railways 109 7 Berlin and Its Railways: Strategy First 129 8 Brussels Jonction Nord-Midi, the Scar in the Body of the City 143 9 Brussels Jonction as the Heart Valve of a Commuting Workforce 169 Conclusion 179 Appendix A Paris: Plans for the Gare du Nord 187 Appendix B Brussels: List of Junction Projects 189 Notes 195 Selected Bibliography 249 Index 267 vii ix

List of Illustrations 3.1 Inner northwest London, 1901. From Charles Booth, Life and Labour of the People in London, 3rd ser., Religious Influences (London: Macmillan, 1902 4), final volume, map E, after p. 196. 52 3.2 Euston Station, entrance, lithograph, 1839. From John Cooke Bourne and John Britton, Drawings of the London and Birmingham Railway (London: J. C. Bourne, 1839), title page. 55 3.3 King s Cross façade. Auguste Perdonnet, Camille Polonceau, and Eugène Flachat, Nouveau portefeuille de l ingénieur des chemins de fer (Paris: Lacroix-Comon, 1857), pl. K 18 19. 57 3.4 North elevation of Midland Hotel with outline of St. Pancras train shed, London. From Midland Railway Extension: St. Pancras Terminus Hotel, in The Engineer (London), 23 (14 June 1867): 540. 61 5.1 Tenth arrondissement (district) after 1860. From Emile de La Bédollière, Le Nouveau Paris: Histoire de ses 20 arrondissements, cartes topographiques de Desbuissons (Paris: Gustave Barba, 1860), unnumbered map. 82 5.2 Map of Gare du Nord and Gare de l Est area, Paris, ca. 1900. From L. Poulmaire, Nouveau Paris monumental: Itinéraire pratique de l étranger dans Paris (Paris: Garnier Frères, imp. Dufrénoy [ca. 1900?]), detail. With permission of the Harvard Map Collection, Harvard College Library. 83 5.3 J. I. Hittorff, Gare du Nord, Paris. Façade from the west, 1878. Photograph, The Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame (accession number: 1982.006.2s). 95 5.4 Plan of Gare du Nord and Vacassy property. Archives de Paris, Chemin de Fer du Nord, D6S9/4. 97

viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 5.5 F.-A. Duquesney, Gare de l Est, Paris, façade. Photograph by François Auguste Renard, Gare de Strasbourg, ca. 1852. The Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame (accession number: 1987.015.016). 101 5.6 Paris, ca. 1900. From L. Poulmaire, Nouveau Paris monumental: Itinéraire pratique de l étranger dans Paris (Paris: Garnier Frères, imp. Dufrénoy [ca. 1900?]), recto. With permission of the Harvard Map Collection, Harvard College Library. 106 7.1 Map of Berlin rail network in 1896. From Ministerium der Öffentlichen Arbeiten and A. F. Leyen, Berlin und seine Eisenbahnen, 1846 1896 (Berlin: Springer, 1896), vol. 1, pl. 8, bottom right, after p. 134. 130 7.2 Map of Berlin rail network in 1896, detail of SSW section. From Ministerium der Öffentlichen Arbeiten and A. F. Leyen, Berlin und seine Eisenbahnen, 1846 1896 (Berlin: Springer, 1896), vol. 1, insert 4, bottom center. 132 7.3 Portico of Anhalter Bahnhof, Berlin. July 2005. Photograph by author. 136 8.1 Plan of Brussels and Environs, 1846. From Patrick Abercrombie, Brussels: A Study in Development and Planning, Town Planning Review 3, no. 3 (October 1912): pl. 85. 144 8.2 Frédéric Bruneel. Project for the Brussels Junction, 1893. From Bruneel, Avant-projet de chemin de fer métropolitain avec Gare Centrale à Bruxelles, Annales de l Association des Ingénieurs sortis des Ecoles Spéciales de Gand 16, no. 4 (1893), map. 154

Acknowledgments R esearch for this book was supported by an Indiana University South Bend Faculty Research Grant, a Trustee s Merit Citation from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, the Kress Foundation for research travel abroad, a Robert T. Silver Memorial Award, an Allen Research Grant, and several travel grants from the Department of Art History at the University of Delaware. For all of these awards, I am deeply grateful. To the faculty members who provided advice and encouragement, I express my heartfelt thanks. They include Damie Stillman (dissertation advisor), Bernard Herman, Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer at the University of Delaware, David Brownlee and John Dixon Hunt at the University of Pennsylvania, Barbara Lane at Bryn Mawr College, Allan Mitchell, formerly at the University of California, San Diego, and David Van Zanten at Northwestern University. The work of scholars would not be possible without libraries and the many dedicated people who perform the complex tasks needed to make their resources accessible. In this country and abroad, I have encountered a willingness to accommodate a scholar s work, usually more than policies prescribed, in close to 50 institutions, too numerous to list here. At my current home institution, the staff of the Indiana University South Bend libraries deserve special thanks for their tireless attentiveness to the multiple demands I have made on their services. In the complex process of obtaining illustrations, librarians, curators, and archivists have responded resourcefully, promptly, and with enthusiasm to provide high-quality images of sometimes obscure holdings. At Palgrave Macmillan, Chris Chappell has been enthusiastic, patient, and unfailingly attentive. At IUSB, students and colleagues have encouraged the progress of this work. During my research abroad I have enjoyed the hospitality of many individuals and institutions. My mother welcomed the frequent European visits due to this project but did not live to see its completion. Closer to home, the South 46th Street back porch or kitchen table advice, and generous assistance from Holly Pittman, Gary Hatfield, Daniel Deudney, and

x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Donald Jackson was timely, constant, and invaluable. My children Sven and Saskia have been very tolerant and supportive of a preoccupied mother. My grandson Marcel, a fervent disciple of Reverend Awdry, shows significant promise as a railway connoisseur. As for the man I met on a half-hour train ride between Brussels and Antwerp almost 40 years ago, words will not do justice to the patience and caring he has provided over the years devoted to this project. This book is grounded in Europe, where I grew up in a family of railway men, and I dedicate it to the memory of my parents, Firmin Joseph dit Marcel Molle and Marie-José Gillard.