St Pancras

1874: The exterior of the station. Sir George Gilbert Scott's magnificent station and hotel were finally declared complete in 1877 Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis

1912: A view of the station. This soaring, single-span iron-and-glass train shed was engineered by William Henry Barlow (1812-1902) and Rowland Mason Ordish (1824-1886) Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis

August 1942: The station after being damaged by an air raid Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis

June 1957: An aerial view of King's Cross and St Pancras stations. St Pancras was threatened with destruction in 1966 when it was considered an old-fashioned eyesore Photograph: Simmons Aerofilms/Hulton Archive/Getty

March 1 1977: Luckily St Pancras was rescued from destruction by eminent architectural historians and conservationists, and declared a Grade 1 listed building Photograph: John Minihan/Evening Standard/Getty

April 9 2004: A view of the dark and gloomy station before its closure for the £800m, decade-long redevelopment project that is to transform London's King's Cross Photograph: Dan Chung/Guardian

February 17 2005: The Stratford end of the newly constructed tunnel between St Pancras and Stratford Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

April 6 2006: An aerial view of the construction of the Channel Tunnel rail link in the King's Cross area. St Pancras, was an international station of sorts long before the completion of the new 68-mile high-speed link that will see Eurostar trains racing to Europe Photograph: Dan Chung/Guardian

April 6 2006: The station roof. The Victorian engineers' roof at St Pancras forms a pointed arch and has always seemed the very model of a modern gothic vault, all iron and glass rather than medieval stone and marble Photograph: Dan Chung/Guardian

October 10 2007: The station roof as seen today. The most adventurous and biggest roof of its kind for decades after it was built, is now painted a fetching sky blue and flooded with daylight Photograph: David Levene/freelance

The start of the journey for the new St Pancras ... Buffers at the end of the railway tracks as seen today Photograph: David Levene/freelance

Bilingual signage on a platform Photograph: David Levene/freelance

A Eurostar train Photograph: David Levene/freelance

The gleaming Arrivals Hall Photograph: David Levene/freelance

A newly cast gothic door handle Photograph: David Levene/freelance

Counting down the hours ... the station clock Photograph: David Levene/freelance

Today, the fully restored, boldly extended and slightly reworked St Pancras is just waiting for the final touches and grand opening of the Eurostar service to begin on November 14 2007 Photograph: David Levene/freelance