Cockfosters might be known for its gnomes — but a few stations down the Piccadilly line you'll find another horticultural quirk: a transport-themed garden inside a passimeter.
Passimeters, by the way, are ticket booths that were introduced to London Underground ticket halls from the 1920s. A precursor to the automatic ticket gates we now know, the passimeter setup allowed a ticket clerk to deal with passengers heading both in and out of the station, selling and checking tickets, and remotely letting them through the gates.
Earlier passimeters were simple wooden boxes, but come the Piccadilly line extension, and the extraordinary designs of some of Charles Holden's stations, these passimeters became the core of the ticket hall itself: a drum-shaped room, in which employees could be all-seeing, and speedily process the ever-swelling ranks of customers.
Passimeters are no longer used for their original purpose, but have become interesting spaces to play with. The passimeter at Hounslow West, for example, was recently fitted out with a miniature vintage Tube train, along with a backdrop of the area at its art deco best.
At Arnos Grove station, meanwhile, the passimeter has now taken on the guise of a walk-in terrarium — populated by snake plants, cacti and aloe vera.
More than that, this miniature garden is distinctly transport-themed: among the greenery you will spot buses, Tube trains, a cable car (being used by miniature Londoners) — as well as a scaled down model of Arnos Grove station itself.
The garden's been in situ for at least a few years (though the Superloop bus suggests it's at least being added to semi-regularly). The station staff here are known for their green fingers; previous winners in TfL's London Underground in Bloom competition.
If you like what you see, a short walk from the station lies Arnos Park — a full scale park with Tube trains rolling through it.
All images by Londonist
