Taken at around midnight, from the terrace of the Betjeman. A vast, throbbing hangar, apparently. And indeed it is. Painted light in 1968, "as some kind of campaign 'to brighten the image of British Rail', but its only true colour is jet black". Well it's certainly been given a scrubbing now, but still not quite enough to compromise Barlow's original structure - unlike what's been done to poor Liverpool Street and the second-rate shopping mall that's going to be shoehorned into the body cavity of Waterloo. Those big hanging Olympic rings give it a bit of a totalitarian look, which is not entirely inappropriate, if you think about it.
After describing the train shed and gently rubbishing the hotel, there's a fine passage detailing the landscape round the back of the station. Needless to say, all the buildings and topography that I.N. eulogises have been demolished. You can get some idea of the feel of the area by watching "The Ladykillers", in which, conversely, the villains fail to destroy the old lady.
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