Clive's
UndergrounD Line Guides
Clive's
UndergrounD Line Guides
"There are no shepherds in Shepherd's Bush," pointed out Richard, flatly.
"There are," said Hunter, from the darkness just next to Richard's ear. "Pray you never meet them."
- Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman
Hammersmith
& City Line History |
 Dates |
 Features |
 Services |
 Topology |
 Layout |
 Depots |
 Connections |
 Rolling stock |
The Hammersmith & City Line incorporates the oldest section of underground railway in the world, from Farringdon to Paddington. The line gained its own identity on 1990-07-30, previously being described as part of the Metropolitan Line.
The earliest thoughts of underground railways in London go back to the mid-1830s; for example, there was an idea to extend what is now the NR West Coast Main Line south from Euston under Gower Street to a terminus by the Thames. The first proposal with any serious sort of backing, however, was put forward in 1851. The Great Northern Railway had just been opened, using a temporary station north of the present site of King's Cross, and the plan was for an underground line of 8 tracks from there southeast, under a newly built road, to a large station complex at more or less the present Farringdon station. Obviously the idea was to attract a substantial through-running traffic of GNR trains, and also GWR trains after a suitable link was built; two of the tracks were to use the GWR's broad gauge of 2141 mm (7'0¼"). A company called the City Terminus Co. was formed, but it could not attract enough investment; in particular, the GNR showed no interest.
Meanwhile, however, another proposal was being formed: the Bayswater, Paddington & Holborn Bridge. This would run west from King's Cross to a terminus under Sussex Gardens, near the present Lancaster Gate station. The line would run under what was then called the New Road and is now Euston Road (this had, incidentally, also formed part of the first horse-drawn bus service in London - Shillibeer's line from Paddington to the Bank - back in 1829, and bus routes along there continued to be profitable). The Paddington Vestry objected to the Sussex Gardens terminus, and so the BPHB cut back their proposed route to terminate in the area of the present Edgware Road station. The company was renamed the North Metropolitan Railway, and received its Act of Parliament in 1853.
Rather than building the line as authorized, the North Metropolitan arranged a merger with the City Terminus Co., allowing an end-to-end route to be contemplated. The NMR owners were mostly interested in local traffic, and they dropped the proposals for extra tracks and a major terminus. This also helped reduce opposition to the plan, for some people wanted the main-line railways to advance no further south into the city (and, indeed, none ever did). Instead, a terminus under the General Post Office at St-Martin's-le-Grand (location 321814) was proposed; this would allow the convenient carriage of mail. Meanwhile at the western end the line would be extended along Praed Street to in front of Paddington station, and there would be a link to the main line as well; in return, the GWR agreed to invest in the railway, which would be built with mixed gauge track (even though the 1853 Act explicitly forbade the provision of standard gauge rails between the main line and Praed Street Junction).
The resulting merged company was renamed the Metropolitan Railway and got its new Act in 1854. Both endpoints were changed yet again before the line was actually constructed: in the east it was cut short to Farringdon, while in the west the Paddington station was moved from the front to the north side of the GWR station, where it did not need to be underground. Furthermore, by diverting the main route on to what would have been the link to the GWR, it was possible to eliminate about 500m (0.3 miles) of tunnel to the original station. The line was immediately popular - within a few days of opening additional trains had to be put on running non-stop from Paddington to Farringdon to handle the extra demand.
Powers were also obtained during construction for an easterly extension to Moorgate; as soon as the line had opened, money was easily raised and the work was swiftly done.
An additional concern was motive power. Steam locomotives were the only practical possibility, but main-line experience showed how slowly smoke and steam would dissipate from tunnels. Furthermore, unlike normal railways, the Metropolitan would have a frequent service with many closely-spaced stations in the tunnels. The first proposal was for fireless steam locomotives, whose boiler would be filled with sufficient pressurized steam - presumably fed from a fixed installation - at each end of the journey. What was actually built was locomotive with a mass of brick inserted around the firebox. The fire would burn intensely in the open-air sections of the line, then be damped down for the tunnel sections, allowing the hot bricks to heat water into steam for propulsion. However, the prototype was such a failure, hardly able to move itself, that it gained the nickname "Fowler's Ghost". Instead, the actual service was operated from opening right up to electrification with "condensing" locomotives, where the exhaust steam was diverted into the water tanks. As the steam would heat the tank water to boiling, it had to be drained and replaced with cold water at the termini; this became impractical on completion of the Circle in 1884, and thereafter the drivers would sometimes have to release steam into the tunnels to keep the train from stalling.
In addition to the link with the GWR, there were three junction curves linking the Metropolitan to the GNR at King's Cross (two facing east - one from each side of the GNR line - and one facing west). During construction a further link was authorized: the LCDR built a branch from Herne Hill that extended over the river via Blackfriars to meet the Metropolitan at Farringdon; later a chord was added from this line facing towards Moorgate.
The opening year - 1863 - was not a smooth one. Originally the Metropolitan did not own its own trains, but ran a service with broad gauge GWR rolling stock; no services were run from other railways, and the King's Cross links were unused (the west curve was probably never used, in fact; the track was lifted in 1865 and for many years the tunnel was filled with spoil). But when it was decided to add services from the GNR, the GWR realized that the eastern end of the line would be at capacity and unable to accept new services they were planning, resulting in a dispute over who would operate how many of the trains. The GWR set a short deadline after which it would withdraw the use of its stock. Instead of capitulating, the Metropolitan put into place a stock-building programme, and in the meantime borrowed replacements from the GNR, enabling it to take over operations on 1863-08-11 without a gap. Incidentally, this required the GNR to hurriedly convert some engines to condense their exhaust steam (through a flexible pipe into the tender). Despite 6 derailments on the first day because the standard gauge rail had not been aligned properly (the line had been laid with three rails throughout, but only the outer two had been used to date), the GNR stock worked successfully until the Metropolitan could introduce its own (also standard gauge).
The GWR returned to the line on 1863-10-01: both it and the GNR started working their own trains through from their lines on to the Metropolitan. The last GWR train - from Uxbridge Vine Street - ran in 1939 while the GNR services lasted through BR days until 1977. There was even the curious situation of one service to Moorgate (between 1866 and 1868) dropping a slip coach into Paddington main station. (It is sometimes alleged that this was a train from Windsor and that it was done for the benefit of Sir Daniel Gooch. However, this may well be the conflation of two different services.)
The traffic on the eastern part of the route soon became heavy enough that the Metropolitan built a second pair of tracks from King's Cross to Moorgate. They were opened in 1868 and are called the Widened Lines or City Widened Lines - the term refers specifically to the newer tracks; they cross under the Metropolitan just west of Farringdon station, being on the south side from there to Moorgate. The Widened Lines took the services using the connections from the GNR and LCDR, as well as a new one from the Midland Railway's extension to St. Pancras (in fact, this link opened over two months before St. Pancras itself). A section of tunnel about 360m long was dug under the forecourt at St. Pancras, and could have been used to extend them further west (probably to allow a connection to the LNWR at Euston), but no track was laid in it.
As the Widened Lines' original purpose was through running from the main line railways, it is fitting that they are now part of the NR Thameslink route; they are no longer connected to LU at any point (and the link to the former GNR has also been removed). Indeed, the only time that Underground trains used them in service was from 1926 to 1935. A new link was installed from a new junction called Chalton Street Junction, west of King's Cross, connecting the original eastbound track to the eastbound Widened Line in the unused tunnel under St. Pancras (extending it about 210m). This allowed eastbound trains terminating at Moorgate to pass under the main westbound track rather than crossing it on the level. (The Widened Lines were also used for empty stock movements between Neasden and the Great Northern & City branch of the Northern Line, with trains reversing at Farringdon and Finsbury Park.) On the other hand, there were a wide range of main-line services operated across them, not only to Moorgate from both north and south, but also through routes like Hatfield to Herne Hill and vast quantities of cross-London goods traffic.
Another indication of the separation of the two routes occurred in 1941: the LU station at King's Cross was relocated further west to provide easier interchange, while the Widened Lines station for services off the GNR (later renamed "King's Cross Thameslink", and eventually closed in 2007) was left at its original position. The move was facilitated by the existence of the previous link, which was taken over by the eastbound track on 1939-12-10, making space for a new platform between the two tracks (the westbound track was moved on 1940-05-19, and the eastbound occupied its old route between 1940-06-02 and 1940-06-23).
Pre-1868 layout:
11 1 = GNR northwards
||| 2 = GNR to main King's Cross station
: = empty tunnel ||* 3 = GNR northbound link
### = platform *||\ ("Hotel Curve")
X = crossing /||| \ 4 = GNR link to west
* = points / 222 | ("Maiden Lane Curve")
/ | 5 = GNR southbound link
| | ("York Road Curve")
3 | 6 = main tracks westwards to Paddington
| * 7 = main tracks eastwards to Farringdon
| / \
\ 4 5
\ / \
\ / \#####
X \----\
/ \ ###### \
6--------------------X---X--------------*---7
6-------------------*-----*-----------------7
######
1868-1926 layout:
11
|||
||*
*||\
/||| \
/ 222 | 8 = Midland Railway link
/ | 9 = Widened Lines
| |
3 |
8 8 | \
\ \ | : \
\ \ \ : 5
\ \ \ : \ ######
:::::::::\ \--X---------*-----------9
::::::::::\----*--------------------9
######
6-------------------------------------------7
6-------------------------------------------7
######
1926-1941 layout:
11
|||
||* 0 = 1926 link, removed in 1935
*||\ C = Chalton Street Junction
/||| \
/ 222 |
/ |
| |
3 |
8 8 | \
\ \ | \ platforms
\ \ \ 5 moved 1911
\ \ \ \ ######
:::::::::X-*--X---------*-----------9
/----0-----/ \----*--------------------9
/ ######
6--C----------------------------------------7
6-------------------------------------------7
######
Current layout:
[King's Cross main line omitted]
: :
8 8 : : b = bay track, removed late 1940s
\ \ : :
\ \ : :
\ \ : : ######
::/----\ \ \------------------------9
/---/######\ \-------------------------9
/ ########\ ######
6--/:----b---#####\-------------------------7
6-------\#########/-------------------------7
\-------/
The actual Hammersmith & City Railway was created as a subsidiary of the GWR, running from the latter's main line at Westbourne Park to Hammersmith, mostly on viaducts and using mixed gauge track. Shortly after it opened, it was linked at Latimer Road to the West London Railway. The latter connects Willesden Junction to Clapham Junction via Kensington (Olympia); part of the route was opened in 1840 and used for an experimental pneumatic traction system. Passenger service started in 1844, but was so unsuccessful it lasted only a few months. From 1845 onwards the WLR was operated (and later owned) by a consortium of main lines and did not have any trains of its own; until 1862 it was purely a goods branch.
Since the H&CR was a purely suburban route serving commuters, through working on to the Metropolitan was natural and began at once; the Kensington branch was added soon after, with trains from London dividing at Latimer Road, one portion running to Hammersmith and the other to Kensington. In 1867, with the companies on better terms, the Metropolitan bought a share of the H&CR from the GWR, after which they eliminated the broad gauge track and operated almost all the trains (the H&CR's identity being effectively lost). To remove this traffic from their own busy main line, the GWR built a new pair of tracks from Paddington to Westbourne Park, and on 1878-05-12 they opened a diveunder to remove conflicts where the service crossed the main line (though these tracks were dedicated to Underground use, they only came into LU control on 1948-01-01 and ownership on 1950-01-23).
In 1869 the LSWR opened a new route from Kensington (Olympia) to Richmond (see the District Line for details); its Hammersmith Grove Road station was parallel to Hammersmith (1) and linked to it via a footbridge. A connection was opened in 1870 just north of the two stations, allowing the GWR to run a short-lived service from Paddington to Richmond. In 1877 the Metropolitan introduced a service from Aldgate to Richmond over this route in response to the extension of the District over the LSWR; this was jointly operated by the GWR from 1894. The Metropolitan service ended in 1906, after which the GWR changed its service to run from Ladbroke Grove to Richmond; this continued until the end of 1910, when the connection was removed.
Back at the eastern end, the line was extended to Liverpool Street. Initially the line ran into the two westernmost platforms of the GER main-line station (then numbered 12 and 11, but now 1 and 2), but it was diverted on to its present route as part of the continuing drive to complete the Inner Circle (see the Circle Line page). The original connection, however, remained in place until 1904; the route is now a canteen, but the site can still be seen from trains, and until around 1990 passengers using platform 1 of the main-line station had to use a footbridge to cross the tracks, rather than walking around their end. The next step was to connect to the East London Railway via Aldgate East, after which the eastern terminus was at New Cross (see the East London Line for details). The present-day service from Hammersmith to Whitechapel and Barking dates from 1941 - see the Circle Line for more details.
Between 1963 and 1965 a new shorter route was built for the line between Barbican and Moorgate, south of and lower than the previous alignment. While the old route was in the open, the deviation line was placed in tunnels ready for the Barbican Centre to be built over it.
The only other significant alteration has been the complete segregation of the main line and Hammersmith & City in the Paddington area in 1968. Until then there remained various connections, particularly around the four platforms at Paddington used by the Hammersmith & City, but in that year a remodelling of the area completed the segregation: two of the platforms were transferred to National Rail, and the Underground line's layout was reduced to two plain tracks.
During the closure of the Circle Line in 1999 extra trains were run from Hammersmith to Aldgate and terminated in the Outer Rail platform during weekday peak hours; one train in the early morning ran past Aldgate to South Kensington and then back again, providing the only service using the Inner Rail platform during the closure period.
The connecting tunnels to the main line at King's Cross have gained new uses as the King's Cross St. Pancras complex undergoes major reconstruction. A gas main has been diverted (permanently) into the "Hotel Curve" tunnel so as to keep it clear of the remaining works, while parts of the other two tunnels are being reused for pedestrian links.
The section of the Widened Lines east of Farringdon closed in 2009: preparations for longer trains on the Thameslink route to Blackfriars mean that the platforms at Farringdon have to be extended - at the east end, because of the slope at the west end - blocking off the junction. It is not known whether the platforms at Barbican and Moorgate will be abandoned or will be reused by LU.
[Note that dates are not given where the only service using a section of track is one of the Inner, Middle, or Outer Circle services - these dates are on the Circle Line page.]
| 1838-06-04 | [0] | {Westbourne Park} to Paddington opened [GWR] |
| 1844-05-27 | 0 | {Kensington (Olympia)} to {Uxbridge Road} opened [West London] |
| 1844-11-30 | {Kensington (Olympia)} to {Uxbridge Road} closed | |
| 1846-07-27 |  |
Richmond [Richmond & West End Railway, later LSWR] [1] |
| 1854-06-13 | |
Barking [LTSR] [District Line note] |
| 1858-03-31 | [2] | Bromley-by-Bow to Barking opened [LTSR] |
 |
East Ham, Plaistow | |
| 1862-06-02 | 0 | Kensington (Olympia) to {Uxbridge Road} reopened [West London] |
| 1863-01-10 | [5] | Paddington to Farringdon opened |
 |
King's Cross St. Pancras | |
| 1863-10-01 | York Road and Hotel Curves opened [GNR] | |
| Through services via Paddington started [GWR broad gauge trains] | ||
| 1863-12-31 | Through services via Paddington withdrawn [GWR broad gauge trains] | |
| 1864-05-02 | Through services via Paddington restarted [GWR broad gauge trains] | |
| 1864-06-13 | [2] | Hammersmith (1) to {Westbourne Park} opened |
| {Westbourne Park} to Paddington started [H&CR] | ||
|
Shepherd's Bush (2), Ladbroke Grove | |
| 1864-07-01 | Kensington (Olympia) to {Uxbridge Road} started [Metropolitan] | |
| [0] | {Uxbridge Road} to {Latimer Road} opened | |
| 1865-03-31 | Hammersmith (1) to Latimer Road withdrawn [GWR broad gauge trains] | |
| 1865-12-23 | 1 | Farringdon to Moorgate opened |
 |
Farringdon | |
| 1866-01-01 | LCDR services via Blackfriars and Farringdon started | |
| 1866-01-03 | GNR services via Blackfriars and Farringdon started | |
| 1866-02-01 | |
Westbourne Park |
| 1866-03-01 | 0 | Farringdon to Barbican opened (Widened Lines) |
| 1866-07-01 | 0 | Barbican to Moorgate opened (Widened Lines) |
| 1867-06-30 | York Road and Hotel Curves closed | |
| 1868-02-17 | 0 | King's Cross Thameslink to Farringdon opened (Widened Lines) [GNR] |
| 1868-02-17 | 0 | York Road and Hotel Curves reopened [GNR] |
| 1868-07-13 | 0 | Midland connection to Widened Lines opened |
| 1868-12-01 |  |
Hammersmith (1) |
| 1868-12-16 | |
Latimer Road |
| 1869-01-01 | [3] | Richmond to Hammersmith Grove Road [1] opened [LSWR] |
|
Ravenscourt Park, Stamford Brook | |
| 1869-03-14 | Kensington (Olympia) to Westbourne Park withdrawn [GWR broad gauge trains] | |
| Through services via Paddington withdrawn [GWR broad gauge trains] | ||
| 1869-06-01 | Kensington (Olympia) to Moorgate started [GWR] | |
| 1869-10-31 |  |
Shepherd's Bush (1) |
| 1869-11-01 | |
Uxbridge Road |
| 1870-06-01 | Richmond to [Grove Junction (LSWR)] started [GWR] | |
| 0 | [Grove Junction (LSWR)] to [Grove Junction (H&CR)] opened | |
| 1870-10-31 | Richmond to [Grove Junction (LSWR)] withdrawn [GWR] | |
| [Grove Junction (LSWR)] to [Grove Junction (H&CR)] closed | ||
| 1871-09-01 | 0 | LCDR direct curve to Barbican opened |
| 1871-10-30 | |
Royal Oak |
| 1871-11-01 |  |
Westbourne Park |
| 1873-04-01 | |
Ravenscourt Park |
| 1874-02-02 | |
Liverpool Street (main-line station) [GER] |
| 1875-02-01 | 0 | Moorgate to Liverpool Street (main-line station) opened |
| 1875-07-11 | Moorgate to Liverpool Street (main-line station) closed | |
| 1875-07-12 | 0 | Moorgate to Liverpool Street opened |
| 1876-11-18 | 0 | Liverpool Street to Aldgate opened [2] |
| 1877-09-17 | |
Upton Park |
| 1877-10-01 | Richmond to [Grove Junction (LSWR)] started [Metropolitan] | |
| 0 | [Grove Junction (LSWR)] to [Grove Junction (H&CR)] reopened | |
| 1884-03-03 | |
St. Mary's [ELR] |
| 1884-10-06 | 1 | Liverpool Street to St. Mary's opened |
| 0 | St. Mary's to Whitechapel opened [District] | |
| 1894-01-01 | Richmond to [Grove Junction (H&CR)] resumed [GWR] | |
| 1901-02-01 | |
West Ham |
| 1902-02-01 | St. Mary's to Whitechapel closed | |
| 1902-06-02 | 0 | St. Mary's to Whitechapel reopened [District] |
| [1] | Whitechapel to Bromley-by-Bow opened [District] | |
| Bromley-by-Bow to Barking started [District] | ||
| 1902-06-11 | |
Bow Road |
| 1902-06-23 | |
Stepney Green |
| 1905-07-01 |  |
[Praed Street Junction] to Aldgate |
|
Aldgate East to Whitechapel [District] | |
| 1906-11-05 | |
Hammersmith (1) to [Praed Street Junction] |
|
Kensington (Olympia) to Latimer Road | |
| 1906-12-03 | |
Liverpool Street to [Aldgate Junction] |
| St. Mary's to Whitechapel started [Metropolitan] | ||
| 1906-12-31 | Richmond to [Grove Junction (H&CR)] withdrawn [Metropolitan] | |
| 1907-09-30 | GNR/SE&CR service via Farringdon withdrawn | |
| 1908-05-01 | |
White City (1) |
| 1908-06-30 | Midland/SE&CR service via Farringdon withdrawn | |
| 1910-12-31 | [Grove Junction (LSWR)] to [Grove Junction (H&CR)] closed | |
| 1913-03-30 | St. Mary's to Whitechapel withdrawn | |
| 1914-03-31 | |
Shepherd's Bush (2) |
| 1914-04-01 | |
Shepherd's Bush Market |
|
Goldhawk Road | |
| 1914-10-31 | |
White City (1) |
| 1916-04-01 | SE&CR service to Moorgate withdrawn | |
| 1916-06-03 | [Studland Road Junction] to [Grove Junction (LSWR)] closed | |
| 1920-05-05 | |
White City (1) [3] |
| 1926-03-15 | [Chalton Street Junction] to Moorgate via Widened Lines
[Metropolitan eastbound only]  | |
| 1935-04-27 | [Chalton Street Junction] to Moorgate via Widened Lines withdrawn [Metropolitan eastbound only] | |
| 1936-03-30 | St. Mary's to Whitechapel started [Metropolitan]
| |
| Whitechapel to East Ham started [Metropolitan]
| ||
| 1936-05-04 | East Ham to Barking started [Metropolitan]
| |
| 1938-04-30 | |
St. Mary's |
| 1938-10-31 | |
Aldgate East |
| 1938-11-24 | Through services via Paddington withdrawn [GWR] | |
| 1939-07-03 | Through services via Paddington restarted [GWR] | |
| 1939-09-15 | Through services via Paddington withdrawn [GWR] | |
| 1940-10-15 | Baker Street to Farringdon closed intermittently [4] | |
| 1940-10-19 | Kensington (Olympia) to Uxbridge Road withdrawn | |
| Uxbridge Road to Latimer Road closed | ||
|
Uxbridge Road | |
| 1941-03-09 |  |
King's Cross Thameslink |
| 1941-03-14 | |
King's Cross St. Pancras |
| 1941-05-10 | Baker Street to Farringdon closed (bomb damage) | |
| 1941-07-21 | 1 | Baker Street to Euston Square reopened |
| 1941-10-04 | [1] | Euston Square to Farringdon reopened |
|
King's Cross St. Pancras | |
| 1959-10-24 | |
White City (1) |
| 1965-06-21 | Barbican to Moorgate deviation opened on Widened Lines | |
| 1965-12-06 | Barbican to Moorgate deviation opened on Circle Line | |
| 1977-03-04 | Link to former GNR closed [5] | |
| 1979-05-11 | King's Cross Thameslink to Moorgate via Widened Lines, and link to Midland, closed [NR] | |
| 1983-07-11 | 2 | King's Cross Thameslink to Moorgate via Widened Lines, and
link to Midland, reopened [NR] |
| 1987- | Blackfriars service restored [NR]
| |
| 1999-03-05 | |
Ladbroke Grove, eastbound only |
| 1999-03-13 | |
West Ham, eastbound only |
| 1999-03-28 | |
Ladbroke Grove, eastbound only |
| 1999-04-09 | |
Ladbroke Grove, westbound only |
| 1999-05-01 | |
Ladbroke Grove, westbound only |
| 1999-06-14 | 0 | Liverpool Street to Aldgate started |
| 1999-08-20 | Liverpool Street to Aldgate withdrawn | |
| 1999-11-06 | |
West Ham, westbound only |
| 1999-11-07 | |
West Ham, eastbound only |
| 2000-06-30 | |
West Ham, westbound only |
| 2000-08-27 | |
East Ham, westbound only |
| 2000-09-23 | |
East Ham, westbound only |
| 2001-05-11 | |
Great Portland Street, eastbound only |
| 2001-05-19 | |
Upton Park, westbound only |
| 2001-05-28 | |
Great Portland Street, eastbound only |
| 2001-06-11 | |
Upton Park, westbound only |
| 2001-06-17 | |
Upton Park, eastbound only |
| 2001-06-23 | Whitechapel to Barking withdrawn (cable fire near Barking) | |
| 2001-06-28 | Whitechapel to Barking restored | |
| 2001-07-09 | |
Upton Park, eastbound only |
| 2002-10-31 | |
East Ham, eastbound only |
| 2002-12-01 | |
East Ham, eastbound only |
| 2004-09-11 | Farringdon to Moorgate via Widened Lines closed [NR] (construction of new station at St. Pancras) | |
| Link from King's Cross Thameslink to Midland closed [NR] | ||
| 2005-05-16 | 1 | Farringdon to Moorgate via Widened Lines reopened [NR] |
| 0 | Link from King's Cross Thameslink to Midland reopened [NR] | |
| 2005-07-07 | Paddington to Baker Street closed (bomb explosion on Circle Line train at Edgware Road)[6] | |
| Baker Street to Moorgate withdrawn (in consequence) | ||
| Moorgate to Aldgate East closed (bomb explosion on Circle Line train at Aldgate) | ||
| Aldgate East to Barking withdrawn (in consequence) | ||
| 2005-07-25 | Baker Street to Moorgate restored | |
| 1 | Moorgate to Aldgate East reopened | |
| Aldgate East to Barking restored | ||
| 2005-07-28 | Hammersmith (1) to Paddington closed (bridge replacement) | |
| 2005-07-29 | |
Edgware Road [District Line] |
| 2005-08-01 | 0 | Edgware Road to Baker Street reopened |
| 2005-08-02 | [7] | Hammersmith (1) to Edgware Road reopened |
|
Wood Lane (2), White City (1), Shepherd's Bush (2) | |
| 2007-12-08 | |
King's Cross Thameslink |
| 2008-09-28 | |
Shepherd's Bush (4) |
| 2008-10-12 | |
Wood Lane (2) |
| 2009-02-02 | Liverpool Street to Aldgate started [one day only] | |
| 2009-03-20 | Farringdon to Moorgate via Widened Lines closed [NR] |
[1] The original R&WER station was a terminus and its exact location is unknown. The lines were extended westwards by the LSWR on 1848-08-22, and the station was replaced by a new one on the through lines (at the present location) during 1849-09. A separate "Richmond New" terminus was opened on the line from Hammersmith and Gunnersbury, and on 1937-08-01 they were combined into one.
[2] Through running started on 1875-12-04; until then, Aldgate was served by a shuttle from Liverpool Street.
[3] From 1920 to 1959 White City station was only open on occasional days in association with events at the nearby exhibition centre. In particular the 1920-11-05 opening was for that day only. The station officially closed on 1959-10-24, but the last known service to use it was three days earlier.
[4] Following bomb damage near King's Cross on 1940-10-16, services ran intermittently in this section for the next few months.
[5] The official closure date was 1976-11-06, but the line saw occasional use until this later date.
[6] On 2005-07-08 only the closure extended from Aldgate East to Hammersmith (that is, there were no services on the entire line or on the other lines sharing the route from Aldgate Junction to Praed Street Junction).
The line is double track throughout. It is in tunnel from Bow Road to Paddington, though some stations and short sections are in the open air, and in the open elsewhere.
At Barking trains may terminate in the bay, or may run into the sidings to the east of the station. Trains entering service from the sidings must use the District Line westbound platform (which is south of two National Rail tracks and is across an island platform from the westbound main line), which is reached by a diveunder on the east side of the station and a flyover on the west side.
The former Widened Lines, now part of National Rail, run beside the line from Moorgate to King's Cross Thameslink; they are to the south at first, and cross underneath at a shallow angle immediately west of Farringdon.
At Paddington the island platform forms the northermost part of the main-line station. Westwards from there the line parallels the National Rail line as far as Westbourne Park, crossing from north to south side via a diveunder west of Royal Oak; there is no longer any connection to the main lines.
Although Hammersmith (1) on this line and Hammersmith (2) on the District and Piccadilly Lines are completely separate stations, interchange between the two on a single ticket is permitted.
At the west end all trains run to Hammersmith. At the east end, the termini are:
| Monday-Friday: | peak: | half Barking, half Plaistow |
| off-peak: | half Barking, half Whitechapel | |
| Saturday: | half Barking, half Whitechapel | |
| Sunday: | all Whitechapel |
It used to be the case that, at the start and end of service, some trains ran from or to Neasden Depot in service. Four trains start from Barking on Sunday mornings, and every day six trains (seven on Sunday) run back to Barking at about midnight. Apart from these, no trains run east of Whitechapel before 07:00 or after 21:20. Trains are about 8 minutes apart on the main section.
The minimum running time is 33 minutes from Hammersmith to Whitechapel or 51 minutes to Barking.
<= West 1 7 East =>
\ \
R--------*----L----P----K---X====F===M---A-----E--S---------B--2
H-/ / / \ \ / \
/ 3 8 4 5 6
O
A = Aldgate Junction === shows the Widened Lines section
B = Barking
E = Aldgate East
F = Farringdon
H = Hammersmith (1)
K = Baker Street Junction
L = Latimer Road Junction
M = Moorgate
O = Kensington (Olympia)
P = Praed Street Junction
R = Richmond
S = St. Mary's Junction
X = King's Cross Thameslink
1 = Metropolitan Line to Amersham, Chesham, Watford, and Uxbridge
2 = District Line to Upminster
3 = Circle Line and District Line via High Street Kensington
4 = Circle Line via Aldgate
5 = District Line to Ealing Broadway, Richmond, and Wimbledon
6 = link to East London Line
7 = links to Midland and (formerly) GNR main lines
8 = link to Blackfriars and main lines south of the river
Westbound is upwards on the page and eastbound is downwards.
| 233787 | 53.84 | [TT=TT= X] | ![[Z2]](li/zone2.gif) |
Hammersmith (1) | ||
| [-] | ((Hammersmith (1))) | |||||
| 232792 | 53.18 | [-] | [Grove Junction (H&CR)] | |||
| 231796 | 52.97 | [OPX] | |
Goldhawk Road | ||
| 232798 | 52.72 | [OP] | (Shepherd's Bush (2)) | |||
| 232800 | 52.45 | [OPX] | |
Shepherd's Bush Market | ||
| 232803 | 52.26 | [OP] | (White City (1)) | |||
| 233805 | 51.9 | [OP] |  |
Wood Lane (2) | ||
| 236808 | 51.54 | [-] | [Latimer Road Junction] | |||
| 237809 | 51.44 | [OPX] | |
Latimer Road | ||
| 242813 | 50.79 | [OPX] | |
Ladbroke Grove for Portobello Road | ||
| 249817 | 49.99 | [OP] | |
Westbourne Park | ||
| 258815 | 49.00 | [IP] | |
Royal Oak | ||
| 264814 | 48.38 | [...=14vW=E] | ![[Z1]](li/zone1.gif) |
Paddington | ||
| 269814 | 47.76 | [-] | [Praed Street Junction] | |||
| 272817 | 47.44 | [W=we=E X] | |
Edgware Road (1) | ||
| 279819 | 46.72 | [=6WE5=-=1v1=ns=4v] | |
Baker Street | ||
| 280820 | 46!59 | [-] | [Baker Street Junction] | |||
| 288821 | 45.79 | [OP] | |
Great Portland Street | ||
| 294823 | 45.17 | [OP] | |
Euston Square | ||
| 300827 | 44.10 | [-] | [Chalton Street Junction] | |||
| 302828 | 44.32 | [CP] | |
King's Cross St. Pancras | ||
| 304829 | 43.90 | [=#WE#=|='B'ns'A'=] | |
(King's Cross Thameslink) | ||
| 315818 | 42.47 | [=ns=WE= X] | |
Farringdon | ||
| 320818 | 41.96 | [=ns=WE= X] | |
Barbican | ||
| 324814 | 41.33 | [=vv=vv=WE= X] | |
Moorgate | ||
| 331815 | 40.81 | [OPX] | |
Liverpool Street | ||
| 335813 | 40.32 | [-] | [Aldgate Junction] | |||
| 40.10 | [-] | [former Aldgate East Junction] | ||||
| 40.04 | [OP] | ((Aldgate East)) | ||||
| 39.96 | [-] | [Aldgate East Junction] | ||||
| 338813 | 39=88 | [OP] | |
Aldgate East | ||
| 342816 | 39=37 | [OP] | (St. Mary's) | |||
| 344817 | 39=33 | [-] | [St. Mary's Junction] | |||
| 347818 | 39=05 | [TW=WE=E X] | |
Whitechapel | ||
| 355821 | 38=05 | [OP] | |
Stepney Green | ||
| 365825 | 36=95 | [w=WE=e] | |
Mile End | ||
| 371827 | 36=47 | [OP] | |
Bow Road | ||
| 370827 | 36=38 | [-] | [tunnel mouth] | |||
| 379826 | 35=46 | [=#we#=1WE2=] | ![[Z2/3]](li/zone23.gif) |
Bromley-by-Bow | ||
| 392829 | 34=07 | [w7=8eW1=2E] | ![[Z3]](li/zone3.gif) |
West Ham | ||
| 399832 | 33=27 | [=#we#=1WE=3V] | |
Plaistow | ||
| 411837 | 32=03 | [=#we#=1WE2=] | |
Upton Park | ||
| 424842 | 30=62 | [OP] | ![[Z3/4]](li/zone34.gif) |
East Ham | ||
| 432848 | [-] | [Barking Station Junction] | ||||
| 443843 | 28=43 | [ww=eW=we=VE=v X] | ![[Z4]](li/zone4.gif) |
Barking | ||
| 335813 | 40.32 | [-] | [Aldgate Junction] | |||
| 336812 | 40.19 | [i=vv=E] | |
{Aldgate} | ||
| 243792 | 53=38 | [=WEB=v] | |
{Kensington (Olympia)} | ||
| 240796 | 52=89 | [-] | [Addison Road Junction] | |||
| 238799 | 52=42 | [OP] | (Uxbridge Road) | |||
| 237800 | 52=32 | [-] | [Uxbridge Road Junction] | |||
| 237800 | [OP] | Shepherd's Bush (4) | ||||
| 237802 | 52=1 | [OP] | (Shepherd's Bush (1)) | |||
| 236808 | 51.54 | [-] | [Latimer Road Junction] | |||
| 237809 | 51.44 | [OP] | |
Latimer Road | ||
| 181751 | 61=11 | [=we=TT=TT=T] | |
{Richmond} | ||
| 192767 | 59=00 | [OP] | |
{Kew Gardens} | ||
| 198783 | 57=28 | [IP] | |
{Gunnersbury} | ||
| 203786 | 56=65 | [-] | [Acton Lane Junction (LU/NR boundary)] | |||
| 207788 | 56=20 | [-] | [Turnham Green Junction (eastbound)] | |||
| 212788 | 55=78 | [-] | [Turnham Green Junction (westbound)] | |||
| 213788 | 55=66 | [IP] | |
{Turnham Green} | ||
| 218788 | 55=13 | [-] | |
{Stamford Brook} | ||
| 225787 | 54=39 | [IP] | |
{Ravenscourt Park} | ||
| 228787 | 54=17 | [-] | [Studland Road Junction] | |||
| 232789 | 53=60 | [OP] | (Hammersmith Grove Road) | |||
| 232790 | 53=48 | [-] | [Grove Junction (LSWR)] | |||
| 232792 | 53.18 | [-] | [Grove Junction (H&CR)] | |||
| 231796 | 52.97 | [OP] | |
Goldhawk Road | ||
The platform layouts of Ravenscourt Park and Turnham Green are shown as of 1906, when the service was withdrawn.
The only depot on the line is Hammersmith Depot, on the south (actually east) side of the line; it can only be entered from the platforms at Hammersmith (and the short length of these platforms is the reason for the restrictions on stock length on this section). Major work is done at Neasden Depot, and some trains start and end service there for this reason.
The line shares track with the Circle and Metropolitan Lines between Aldgate and Praed Street Junction, and with the District Line from Barking to Aldgate East Junction; this section has an unsignalled connection to the LO GOBLIN line at the west end of Barking station, while there used to be a connection to the East London Line (q.v.) at St. Mary's Junction.
The line is operated by C stock.
All stock is permitted on the line, with the following exceptions:
Back to the CULG index.
Back to the Rail
index.
Back to
Clive's home page.