Information about North London Railway

North London Line

Richmond| Connection to Windsor Line (W) Kew Gardens River Thames (E-W)| Hounslow Loop to Hounslow Loop (W) Gunnersbury| To District Line (E) District and Piccadilly Lines (E-W) to Hounslow Loop (E and W)| Former District branch (W) South Acton Acton Central Great Western Main Line (E-W) Central Line (E-W)| GW Chiltern Connection (E-W) To WCML and Dudding Hill Line (N) West London Line (S)| West Coast Main Line (S-N) Willesden Junction DC Lines/Bakerloo Line (S-N) To DC Lines (N)| To WCML (N) Kensal Green Turnback Siding Kensal Green & Harlesden (1861-1873)| Kensal Rise Brondesbury Park Brondesbury| Chiltern Main Line (S-N) Metropolitan & Jubilee Lines (S-N) West Hampstead| Midland Main Line (S-N) Finchley Road & Frognal Hampstead Heath Tunnel Hampstead Heath| Gospel Oak| Gospel Oak to Barking Line (E) Midland Main Line (N-S)| Kentish Town West To WCML (N) Camden Road| 3/4-track section To St Pancras/CTRL Midland Main Line (S-N)| To ECML (N) Maiden Lane (1887-1917) East Coast Main Line (S-N)| Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Highbury & Islington Northern City Line To ECML (N)| Canonbury Mildmay Park (1880-1934) Dalston Kingsland ELL Interchange (From 2010) colspan="2" Dalston Junction (1865-1986)| Haggerston (1867-1940) Shoreditch (1865-1941) East London Line (From 2010) Broad Street (1865-1986)| To Lea Valley Lines (S) West Anglia Main Line Hackney Central| Homerton Victoria Park (1856-1943) To NLR Poplar branch (1850-1944) Hackney Wick| River Lee (W-E)| To Lea Valley Lines (N) Great Eastern Main Line (W-E)| Central Line (W-E) Stratford Jubilee Line Terminus Stratford Turnback siding| Stratford Market (1847-1957) District and Hammersmith & City Line (W-E)| London, Tilbury and Southend Line (W-E) West Ham (NLL Service ended 2006) DLR to Poplar (W)| Canning Town (NLL Service ended 2006) Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf (W) DLR to King George V (S)| Former route to Silvertown (S) Tidal Basin (1858-1943) Royal Victoria (DLR)| Custom House (NLL Service ended 2006) Prince Regent (DLR) DLR to Beckton (E)| Connaught Tunnel Former route from Canning Town (W)| Silvertown & London City Airport (1863-2006) North Woolwich (1847-2006)

For the current line, see North London Line

Originally known as the East & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railway (until 1853), the North London Railway (NLR) was a railway that opened in 1850 and connected the north of London to the East and West India Docks. The term is also currently (August 2007) in vogue to describe a number of interlinking rail passenger services in North London, including over the North London Line, the direct descendant of the NLR, presently run by Silverlink trains, but due for being taken over by Transport for London in November 2007, and rebranded London Overground.

History

The NLR's headquarters and locomotive works were initially situated at Bow. At first it ran trains from Camden to Poplar, and from there via the London and Blackwall Railway to Blackwall and the East India Docks; a connection at Bow allowed trains to also run to Fenchurch Street. This arrangement lasted until 1865, when an extension from Dalston Junction to Broad Street was opened; Broad Street became the main terminus, and the Poplar line became a branch.

In the meantime, the line had been extended westwards to Primrose Hill in 1851 to join the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). In 1858 the line was extended along the North and South West Junction Railway (a joint enterprise by the LNWR, Midland Railway, and the NLR) from Willesden Junction and a connecting London and South Western Railway branch to Richmond. An additional bypass line from Camden to Willesden Junction via Gospel Oak and West Hampstead opened in 1860. Meanwhile, at the eastern end, a spur line connecting the NLR to Stratford from Victoria Park opened in 1854 but was not used by passenger services.

The NLR was taken over by the LNWR in December 1908, though the NLR remained a separate operation with its own Board of Governors. The LNWR, which half-owned Broad Street station, was responsible for fourth-rail electrification of the Broad Street services to Richmond and to Kew Bridge in 1916. The Kew Bridge service was cut as a wartime economy measure in 1940 and never resumed.

The line from Dalston Junction to Poplar was heavily damaged during the blitz as was the Bow workshop. Passenger service from Broad Street to Poplar via Victoria Park and Bow was not reinstated at the end of the war (its official closure was 14 May1944). The section from Broad Street to Dalston Junction was closed on 30 June 1986.

Present-day

In 1979 the line between Richmond and Dalston via Gospel Oak, plus the spur line to Stratford, was joined with the former Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway to form what is known today as the North London Line. The line between Willesden Junction and Camden via Primrose Hill is now primarily used for Empty Coaching Stock movements between the North London Line and Wembley Depot, freight trains and during periods of engineering work, diverted passenger services to and from the Watford DC Line. Primrose Hill station itself has been closed.

The Docklands Light Railway follows the path of the long-disused North London Railway from Bow Church to Poplar and the northern section of the East Cross Route (A12) built in the late 1960s used the route between Old Ford and Victoria Park stations, which were demolished during the road's construction.

The East London Line Extension (currently under construction) will take over the abandoned stretch between Dalston and Shoreditch.

Stock

Among the first locomotives bought by the railway from outside contractors were five 0-4-2 saddle tanks. After that, all were constructed at Bow, London. The works also had a sizeable wagon repair shop.

• List of locomotives
• LNWR electric units

When the railway was merged into the LMS it was the smallest of fifteen workshops. It not only repaired NLR locomotives but, from 1927 those from the former LTSR.

In the 1930s the works developed and manufactured the Hudd automatic control system for the LTSR, which later on led to a British Railways team from the national headquarters setting up in Bow to develop BR's standard Automatic Warning System.

In 1956 the workshop was repaired diesel-electric locomotives for the motive power depot at Devons Road (the first to become all-diesel). After a while it was receiving locos in the morning and turning them round by the evening, which initially confused the statistical returns since locos were entering and leaving the works on the same day. The works closed down in 1960.

Stations

Richmond to Willesden Junction (joined NLR 1856):

• Richmond (opened 1846)
• Kew Gardens (opened 1877)
• Gunnersbury (opened 1877)
• South Acton (opened 1880)
• Acton Central (opened 1853)
• Willesden Junction (opened 1866)

Willesden Junction to Camden via Primrose Hill (opened 1851-2):

• Kilburn High Road
• South Hampstead (called Loudon Road until 1922)
• Primrose Hill (called Chalk Farm until 25 September 1950)

Willesden Junction to Camden via West Hampstead & Gospel Oak (opened 1860):

• Kensal Rise
• Brondesbury Park
• Brondesbury
• West Hampstead
• Finchley Road & Frognal
• Hampstead Heath
• Gospel Oak
• Kentish Town West

Camden Road to Dalston (opened 1850):

• Camden Road (called Camden Town until 25 September 1950)
• Maiden Lane (closed 1917)
• Caledonian Road & Barnsbury (formerly Barnsbury)
• Highbury & Islington
• Canonbury
• Mildmay Park (closed 1934)
• Dalston Junction (closed 1986, to be reopened)

Branch to Broad Street (opened 1865, closed 1986):

• Haggerston (closed 1940, only served the Poplar Branch, to be reopened)
• Shoreditch (closed 1940, only served the Poplar Branch)
• Broad Street

Branch to Poplar (opend 1850, closed to passengers 1944):

• Hackney Central (formerly Hackney, since reopened)
• Homerton (since reopened)
• Victoria Park
• Old Ford
• Bow
• Fenchurch Street (no longer served after opening of Broad Street link in 1865)
• South Bromley
• Poplar (East India Dock Road)

At Poplar, the line connected to Millwall Junction, allowing goods trains to run to Blackwall and the East India Docks), or along the Millwall Extension Railway, which served the West India Docks.