New North Main Line
Encyclopedia
The New North Main Line or NNML is a currently little-used railway line about eleven miles long in north-west London
.
(GCR) and the Great Western Railway
(GWR) to improve their access from London to the midlands and north of England, especially relative to the London and North Western Railway
(LNWR) route. It begins at Old Oak
Junction on the Great Western Main Line
from Paddington and runs via Greenford to join what is now the Chiltern Main Line
at Northolt Junction, south-east of South Ruislip
.
The line joined the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway
between Denham station and West Ruislip in 1906. Its original name was "Denham - Junction for Uxbridge" as it was planned to be a stop on the shuttle service between Gerrards Cross
and Uxbridge High Street
. The latter was closed in 1964 and later demolished.
Since 1948 the West Ruislip branch of the London Underground
Central line
has run alongside it.
In the past it carried many trains to the north-west, and it was heavily used in the 1960s when electrification work restricted capacity on the West Coast Main Line
(WCML); but when that project was completed, express services from London to Birmingham on the GWR/GCR route were discontinued as part of the Beeching Axe
. All local trains on the route were diverted to Marylebone via Sudbury in 1963, and Greenford station on the New North Main Line was closed.
In the early 1990s the New North route was singled between Old Oak Common
and Park Royal and between Greenford and South Ruislip. No improvement work has been carried out on the line since that date.
Plans at this date to do away with Greenford East signal box and its semaphore signals, with upgraded signalling controlled by Slough
and Marylebone
signalling centres, were postponed indefinitely as the decline of rail traffic controlled by Greenford
East did not justify the cost.
operates a token Paddington service on weekdays; in some timetable revisions it has been one up or one down train, or one of each way between Gerrards Cross
and Paddington
via West Ruislip. The line is still used for Goods trains
carrying refuse from London and for empty coaching stock movements, and it has exceptionally been a diversionary route when the normal lines to Marylebone or Paddington have been closed.
For operational reasons such as balancing wheel wear, trains including those of Heathrow Express
which were affected by tight track at Heathrow Junction have been turned using the London end of the NNML, its triangular junction with the Greenford Branch Line
and the GWML through Ealing. At weekends in 2008 when major engineering works were taking place on the WCML, it was also used by Virgin Trains' Euston-Birmingham International "Blockade Buster" service, which ran from Euston via Willesden, Acton Main Line, Ealing Broadway, Greenford, High Wycombe, Banbury and Coventry using pairs of 5-car Voyager sets. On two Sundays in February 2010, Chiltern
and Wrexham & Shropshire trains were diverted to Paddington via the line while engineering work blocked the route to Marylebone. This happened again between Monday 15th and Friday 19th of August
2011.
The route is also used for testing out new trains and for the training of new drivers.
The line is now officially known as the Acton-Northolt Line and carries the Engineer's Line Reference
code of ANL.
to leave London would make use of the NNML formation. A station is also proposed on it, provisionally known as 'Crossrail interchange
', for connections between the proposed high-speed line and Crossrail
.
As proposed in March 2010, the line would run from London Euston, mainly in tunnel, to an interchange with Crossrail, west of Paddington
, thence along the New North Main Line (Acton-Northolt Line) past West Ruislip and alongside the Chiltern Main Line
before striking out on a new formation of its own.
with services starting on 2 April 1906, although there was no station at Ruislip Gardens at that time. The station opened on 9 July 1934.
As part of the 1935-40 New Works Programme
, Central line services were projected westwards from a new junction, west of North Acton on the line to Ealing Broadway. The original intention was to extend the service as far as Denham
, but work was delayed by the Second World War and the terminus of the extension was cut back to West Ruislip, with services starting on 21 November 1948.
Main-line services calling at Ruislip Gardens ceased in 1958 and the station closed, leaving only the Central Line services in operation. Until recently the entrance to a passenger stairwell was visible on the London-bound side of the Chiltern tracks.
These served several local businesses and were used to store spare British Rail and/or London Underground stock on occasion too. They were abandoned in the early 1990s.
Northolt tube station
The Great Western Railway
built a halt here named Northolt Halt in 1907, on the New North Main Line to Birmingham
. It was renamed Northolt (for West End) Halt, before gaining station status under its original shorter name. It was closed in 1948 when the Central line was extended on a new pair of tracks from North Acton
, the current Northolt tube station opening on 21 November 1948. The opening had been planned to be in the 1930s
but was delayed by World War II
.
The Kevin Construction Co. Ltd. siding.
Long since closed.
The Aladdin Industries Ltd. siding.
Long since closed.
the British Bath Co.'s. sidings.
Long since closed.
Greenford station
The original Greenford station was opened by the Great Western Railway
on 1 October 1904 on the New North Main Line.
The present station, adjacent to the original, was built as part of the Central line
extension of the 1935-40 New Works Programme
of the London Passenger Transport Board
. It opened on 30 June 1947 after delay due to the Second World War. Service at the original station was gradually reduced and it was closed in 1963.
Greenford freight sidings
These served several local businesses, but were closed in the 1990s.
These served the local Royal Mail
distribution centre and sorting office, but were closed in the early 2000s.
Perivale Halt railway station
The Great Western Railway
opened "Perivale Halt
" on 2 May 1904. It closed on 15 June 1947, after the extension of the Central Line
to Ruislip
. It had long wooden platforms and pagoda huts, on an embankment reached by sloping paths west of Horsenden Lane South. The steam "push-and-pull" passenger service ran to Bishop's Bridge Paddington; the line (the last main-line to be built) was shared with freight and with express trains to Birmingham
(2 hours non-stop). Until the late 1920s, Perivale was entirely rural, despite its proximity to Ealing
.
A Lens of Sutton photograph of the station can be seen on page 77 of The forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.E. Connor and B.L. Halford (Connor and Butler) (ISBN 0947699 17 1). There was a similar halt at South Greenford before it was modernised by Network SouthEast
.
The current London Underground
station was opened on 30 June 1947.
The Great Western Railway
(GWR) opened Twyford Abbey Halt just east of the site on 1 May 1904 as part of the GWR and Great Central Railway
Joint Railway project (the New North Main Line) towards High Wycombe
. It was closed on 1 May 1911, replaced by Brentham station, later renamed "Brentham (for North Ealing)", to the west of the present location. That station was closed between 1915 and 1920 due to World War I
economies. Brentham and most main-line stations between North Acton and West Ruislip were finally closed in 1947 when the Central line was extended from North Acton on electrified tracks built under the LTPB New Works Programme of 1935, the delay being due to World War II
. The Central line station opened on 30 June 1947 as "Hanger Lane" as it was near that road.
Hanger Lane sidings
These few sidings were used by both London Underground and local businesses. They have now been mostly removed and the remaining one was heavily overgrown as of 2008.
Park Royal West Halt was open between 1932 and 1948.
Park Royal Guinness brewery and sidings
These served the now demolished local Guinness
plant, but were closed by the early 1990s.
Three possible transport services have been proposed for the area; the West London Orbital, Fastbus
and the North and West London Light railway
.
In 2004, the multinational company Diageo
agreed to build extra Central Line platforms at Park Royal tube station
, as part of its First Central business park, built on the site of the former Guinness
brewery. As of 2010, this had not yet happened.
Park Royal station (New North Main Line)
Park Royal station (New North Main Line) was open between 1903 and 1937.
The British Can Co.'s siding.
Long since closed.
The Fiat (England) siding.
Long since closed.
Joseph’s siding
Long since closed.
The Marcon Topmix stone terminal sidings
They both served the Marcon Topmix stone works, but were mothballed in the late 2000s.
The joint New North Main Line (NNML) of the Great Central
and Great Western
opened in 1903, and its North Acton railway station followed in 1904.
The Central London Railway
(the precursor of the Central line) opened its adjoining North Acton station in 1923 on its 1920 extension to Ealing Broadway
. As Transport for London
explains:
North of the Central line tracks were two freight lines, removed in the 1960s, running alongside the Central line as far as White City
. To the north of those at a slightly higher level were the two tracks of the NNML. The footbridge to the NNML platforms is on the extreme left of this 1933 photograph.
The NNML platforms closed when the Central line was extended on new track from North Acton to Greenford station
in 1947. Between South Ruislip station
and Old Oak Junction, the GWR line was progressively run down, and in many places it is now single-track, including the stretch running past the tube station. By May 2008 only freight trains and a token, once daily, passenger service provided by Chiltern Railways
used this stretch of line.
in 1906 within the complex of lines at the south east end of the New North Main Line, a location with low potential for passenger traffic. It closed in 1947 without a replacement when the Central line
of London Underground
was extended from North Acton
to West Ruislip alongside the NNML under the 1935-1940 New Works Programme
delayed by World War II
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
History
It opened in 1903 as part of a joint project by the Great Central RailwayGreat Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
(GCR) and the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) to improve their access from London to the midlands and north of England, especially relative to the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(LNWR) route. It begins at Old Oak
Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of London between Harlesden and Acton known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison...
Junction on the Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
from Paddington and runs via Greenford to join what is now the Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...
at Northolt Junction, south-east of South Ruislip
South Ruislip station
South Ruislip is a station served by London Underground and Chiltern Railways in South Ruislip in west London. The station is owned, managed and staffed by London Underground. The station is in Travelcard Zone 5.-History:...
.
The line joined the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway
Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway
The Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway was a joint venture supported by the Great Western Railway and Great Central Railway and run by the Great Western and Great Central Joint Committee. The original arrangement was agreed between the two companies in September 1898...
between Denham station and West Ruislip in 1906. Its original name was "Denham - Junction for Uxbridge" as it was planned to be a stop on the shuttle service between Gerrards Cross
Gerrards Cross railway station
Gerrards Cross railway station serves the villages of Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire. It is in a cutting on the Chiltern Main Line between and ....
and Uxbridge High Street
Uxbridge High Street railway station
Uxbridge High Street railway station in Uxbridge was on what is now Oxford Road near its junction with Sanderson Road. It was the southern terminus and only station on the Great Western Railway branch line from the GWR/GCR joint line, which is now the Chiltern Main Line.The station opened on 1 May...
. The latter was closed in 1964 and later demolished.
Since 1948 the West Ruislip branch of the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
Central line
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
has run alongside it.
In the past it carried many trains to the north-west, and it was heavily used in the 1960s when electrification work restricted capacity on the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
(WCML); but when that project was completed, express services from London to Birmingham on the GWR/GCR route were discontinued as part of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. All local trains on the route were diverted to Marylebone via Sudbury in 1963, and Greenford station on the New North Main Line was closed.
In the early 1990s the New North route was singled between Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of London between Harlesden and Acton known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison...
and Park Royal and between Greenford and South Ruislip. No improvement work has been carried out on the line since that date.
Plans at this date to do away with Greenford East signal box and its semaphore signals, with upgraded signalling controlled by Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
and Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
signalling centres, were postponed indefinitely as the decline of rail traffic controlled by Greenford
Greenford
Greenford is a large suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, UK. It was historically an ancient parish in the former county of Middlesex. The most prominent landmarks in the suburb are the A40, a major dual-carriageway; Horsenden Hill, above sea level; the small Parish Church of...
East did not justify the cost.
Modern usage
Chiltern RailwaysChiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
operates a token Paddington service on weekdays; in some timetable revisions it has been one up or one down train, or one of each way between Gerrards Cross
Gerrards Cross
Gerrards Cross is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, near the border with Greater London, south of Chalfont St Peter. Gerrards Cross is also a civil parish within South Bucks district, which was known as the Beaconsfield district from 1974 to 1980...
and Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
via West Ruislip. The line is still used for Goods trains
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
carrying refuse from London and for empty coaching stock movements, and it has exceptionally been a diversionary route when the normal lines to Marylebone or Paddington have been closed.
For operational reasons such as balancing wheel wear, trains including those of Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express is an airport rail link from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
which were affected by tight track at Heathrow Junction have been turned using the London end of the NNML, its triangular junction with the Greenford Branch Line
Greenford Branch Line
The Greenford Branch Line is a 2¾ mile Network Rail suburban railway line in west London, England. It runs northerly from a triangular junction with the Great Western Main Line west of West Ealing to a central bay platform at Greenford station which is also on the London Underground Central line....
and the GWML through Ealing. At weekends in 2008 when major engineering works were taking place on the WCML, it was also used by Virgin Trains' Euston-Birmingham International "Blockade Buster" service, which ran from Euston via Willesden, Acton Main Line, Ealing Broadway, Greenford, High Wycombe, Banbury and Coventry using pairs of 5-car Voyager sets. On two Sundays in February 2010, Chiltern
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
and Wrexham & Shropshire trains were diverted to Paddington via the line while engineering work blocked the route to Marylebone. This happened again between Monday 15th and Friday 19th of August
August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days.This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first...
2011.
The route is also used for testing out new trains and for the training of new drivers.
The line is now officially known as the Acton-Northolt Line and carries the Engineer's Line Reference
Engineers line reference
An Engineers' line reference is a three or four-character code used in the British rail network to refer to a section of a track or route. These references are unique across the whole rail network, allowing identification of any part of the network...
code of ANL.
Future developments
The route proposed for High Speed 2High Speed 2
High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...
to leave London would make use of the NNML formation. A station is also proposed on it, provisionally known as 'Crossrail interchange
Old Oak Common railway station
Old Oak Common railway station is a proposed railway station in west London, England, in the United Kingdom.The new station has been included as a part of the proposed High Speed 2 line from London Euston to Birmingham...
', for connections between the proposed high-speed line and Crossrail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
.
As proposed in March 2010, the line would run from London Euston, mainly in tunnel, to an interchange with Crossrail, west of Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, thence along the New North Main Line (Acton-Northolt Line) past West Ruislip and alongside the Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...
before striking out on a new formation of its own.
Ruislip Gardens tube station
The tracks through the station were laid by the Great Western and Great Central Joint RailwayGreat Western and Great Central Joint Railway
The Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway was a joint venture supported by the Great Western Railway and Great Central Railway and run by the Great Western and Great Central Joint Committee. The original arrangement was agreed between the two companies in September 1898...
with services starting on 2 April 1906, although there was no station at Ruislip Gardens at that time. The station opened on 9 July 1934.
As part of the 1935-40 New Works Programme
New Works Programme
The "New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940" was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board , commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolleybus and bus services in the capital and the surrounding areas...
, Central line services were projected westwards from a new junction, west of North Acton on the line to Ealing Broadway. The original intention was to extend the service as far as Denham
Denham railway station
Denham railway station is in Buckinghamshire, England, on the Chiltern Main Line north west of Marylebone towards High Wycombe.-History:The station was built just to the north of Denham village as part of the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway from Grendon Underwood junction to...
, but work was delayed by the Second World War and the terminus of the extension was cut back to West Ruislip, with services starting on 21 November 1948.
Main-line services calling at Ruislip Gardens ceased in 1958 and the station closed, leaving only the Central Line services in operation. Until recently the entrance to a passenger stairwell was visible on the London-bound side of the Chiltern tracks.
Northolt facilities
Northolt goods yard and carriage sidingsThese served several local businesses and were used to store spare British Rail and/or London Underground stock on occasion too. They were abandoned in the early 1990s.
Northolt tube station
The Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
built a halt here named Northolt Halt in 1907, on the New North Main Line to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. It was renamed Northolt (for West End) Halt, before gaining station status under its original shorter name. It was closed in 1948 when the Central line was extended on a new pair of tracks from North Acton
North Acton
North Acton is a place in West London, UK. It is part of Acton and on the edge of the industrial district of Park Royal. It is located in the London Borough of Ealing.-Commercial activity:...
, the current Northolt tube station opening on 21 November 1948. The opening had been planned to be in the 1930s
New Works Programme
The "New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940" was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board , commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolleybus and bus services in the capital and the surrounding areas...
but was delayed by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Greenford facilities
The Kevin Construction Co. Ltd. siding.
Long since closed.
The Aladdin Industries Ltd. siding.
Long since closed.
the British Bath Co.'s. sidings.
Long since closed.
Greenford station
The original Greenford station was opened by the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
on 1 October 1904 on the New North Main Line.
The present station, adjacent to the original, was built as part of the Central line
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
extension of the 1935-40 New Works Programme
New Works Programme
The "New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940" was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board , commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolleybus and bus services in the capital and the surrounding areas...
of the London Passenger Transport Board
London Passenger Transport Board
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1933 to 1948...
. It opened on 30 June 1947 after delay due to the Second World War. Service at the original station was gradually reduced and it was closed in 1963.
Greenford freight sidings
These served several local businesses, but were closed in the 1990s.
Perivale facilities
Perivale G.P.O. sidingsThese served the local Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
distribution centre and sorting office, but were closed in the early 2000s.
Perivale Halt railway station
The Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
opened "Perivale Halt
Perivale Halt railway station
Perivale Halt railway station was a former station on the New North Main Line of the Great Western Railway. It served the London suburb of Perivale from 1904 to 1947, when it was replaced by a station on the Central Line of the London Underground.-History:...
" on 2 May 1904. It closed on 15 June 1947, after the extension of the Central Line
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
to Ruislip
Ruislip
Ruislip is a suburban area, centred on an old village in Greater London, and is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.It was formerly also a parish covering the neighbouring areas of Eastcote, Northwood, Ruislip Manor and South Ruislip in the area. The parish appears in the Domesday Book, and...
. It had long wooden platforms and pagoda huts, on an embankment reached by sloping paths west of Horsenden Lane South. The steam "push-and-pull" passenger service ran to Bishop's Bridge Paddington; the line (the last main-line to be built) was shared with freight and with express trains to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
(2 hours non-stop). Until the late 1920s, Perivale was entirely rural, despite its proximity to Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
.
A Lens of Sutton photograph of the station can be seen on page 77 of The forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.E. Connor and B.L. Halford (Connor and Butler) (ISBN 0947699 17 1). There was a similar halt at South Greenford before it was modernised by Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
.
The current London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
station was opened on 30 June 1947.
Hanger Lane facilities
Brentham station and Twyford Abbey HaltThe Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) opened Twyford Abbey Halt just east of the site on 1 May 1904 as part of the GWR and Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
Joint Railway project (the New North Main Line) towards High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
. It was closed on 1 May 1911, replaced by Brentham station, later renamed "Brentham (for North Ealing)", to the west of the present location. That station was closed between 1915 and 1920 due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
economies. Brentham and most main-line stations between North Acton and West Ruislip were finally closed in 1947 when the Central line was extended from North Acton on electrified tracks built under the LTPB New Works Programme of 1935, the delay being due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Central line station opened on 30 June 1947 as "Hanger Lane" as it was near that road.
Hanger Lane sidings
These few sidings were used by both London Underground and local businesses. They have now been mostly removed and the remaining one was heavily overgrown as of 2008.
Park Royal facilities.
Park Royal West HaltPark Royal West Halt was open between 1932 and 1948.
Park Royal Guinness brewery and sidings
These served the now demolished local Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
plant, but were closed by the early 1990s.
Three possible transport services have been proposed for the area; the West London Orbital, Fastbus
FASTBUS
FASTBUS is a computer bus standard, originally intended to replace CAMAC in high-speed, large-scale data acquisition.- Description :...
and the North and West London Light railway
North and West London Light Railway
The North and West London Light Railway , formerly proposed-named as Brent Cross Railway, is a potential light rail service proposed by the London group of the Campaign for Better Transport, intended to serve parts of north, northwest and west London, being similar to the Docklands Light Railway...
.
In 2004, the multinational company Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
agreed to build extra Central Line platforms at Park Royal tube station
Park Royal tube station
Park Royal is a station on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground. It is between and and is in Travelcard Zone 3. It is situated on the south side of the east-west Western Avenue , surrounded by residential Ealing and industrial Park Royal...
, as part of its First Central business park, built on the site of the former Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
brewery. As of 2010, this had not yet happened.
Park Royal station (New North Main Line)
Park Royal station (New North Main Line) was open between 1903 and 1937.
The British Can Co.'s siding.
Long since closed.
The Fiat (England) siding.
Long since closed.
Joseph’s siding
Long since closed.
The Marcon Topmix stone terminal sidings
They both served the Marcon Topmix stone works, but were mothballed in the late 2000s.
North Acton tube station
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
and Great Western
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
opened in 1903, and its North Acton railway station followed in 1904.
The Central London Railway
Central London Railway
The Central London Railway , also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railway that opened in London in 1900...
(the precursor of the Central line) opened its adjoining North Acton station in 1923 on its 1920 extension to Ealing Broadway
Ealing Broadway station
Ealing Broadway is an east-west National Rail and London Underground station in Ealing in west London. The station is located in Haven Green , at the termination of The Broadway, and is in Travelcard Zone 3.-Services:...
. As Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
explains:
North of the Central line tracks were two freight lines, removed in the 1960s, running alongside the Central line as far as White City
White City tube station
White City tube station is a London Underground station situated on Wood Lane in White City in west London. The station is on the Central Line, between Shepherds Bush and East Acton stations, in Travelcard Zone 2.-History:...
. To the north of those at a slightly higher level were the two tracks of the NNML. The footbridge to the NNML platforms is on the extreme left of this 1933 photograph.
The NNML platforms closed when the Central line was extended on new track from North Acton to Greenford station
Greenford station
Greenford station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Greenford, Greater London, and is owned and managed by LUL. It is the terminus of the National Rail Greenford Branch Line, and is in Travelcard Zone 4.-History:...
in 1947. Between South Ruislip station
South Ruislip station
South Ruislip is a station served by London Underground and Chiltern Railways in South Ruislip in west London. The station is owned, managed and staffed by London Underground. The station is in Travelcard Zone 5.-History:...
and Old Oak Junction, the GWR line was progressively run down, and in many places it is now single-track, including the stretch running past the tube station. By May 2008 only freight trains and a token, once daily, passenger service provided by Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
used this stretch of line.
Old Oak Lane Halt railway station
Old Oak Lane Halt railway station was opened by the Great Western RailwayGreat Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in 1906 within the complex of lines at the south east end of the New North Main Line, a location with low potential for passenger traffic. It closed in 1947 without a replacement when the Central line
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
of London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
was extended from North Acton
North Acton tube station
North Acton tube station is in North Acton, west London in the London Borough of Ealing. The station is on the Central line of the London Underground, between East Acton and Hanger Lane...
to West Ruislip alongside the NNML under the 1935-1940 New Works Programme
New Works Programme
The "New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940" was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board , commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolleybus and bus services in the capital and the surrounding areas...
delayed by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
See also
- High Speed 2High Speed 2High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...
- North and West London Light Railway (proposal)
- List of closed railway stations in London