Windsor and Eton Central railway station
Encyclopedia
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Although a small part still functions as a railway station, the station structure has largely been converted into a tourist-oriented shopping centre, known as Windsor Royal Shopping. It is situated on the High Street, almost immediately opposite Castle Hill, the main public entrance to Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
.
Originally named simply Windsor, the station was renamed twice: first to Windsor & Eton on 1 June 1904; and then, following Nationalisation, to Windsor & Eton Central on 26 September 1949.
The station is served by a shuttle service of trains from Slough
Slough railway station
Slough railway station, in Slough, Berkshire, England, is served by local services operated by First Great Western from to and intercity services on the Great Western Main Line, the original line of the Great Western Railway...
operated by First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
and is the terminus of its Windsor Branch. It should not be mistaken for the nearby Windsor & Eton Riverside station, which is the terminus for the South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
service from Waterloo.
Construction
The Windsor Station opened on 8 October 1849, on the completion of the branch line from Slough, but only after considerable opposition from the powers at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, who were convinced that the proximity of a railway would lead the Eton boys astray.
An extension of the branch was planned in 1871–72 to connect to the south via Dedworth and Ascot. It was planned to diverge west from the viaduct, just to the south of the river bridge. Despite reaching an advanced stage of design and with some property purchased plus the construction of a possible station building, the plans were never completed and were abandoned completely by 1914.
At one time, trains ran to various destinations including Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
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...
.
The Metropolitan and District railways
When, in 1863, the Metropolitan RailwayMetropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
opened the world's first underground railway, between Paddington and Farringdon Street
Farringdon station
Farringdon station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Clerkenwell, just north of the City of London in the London Borough of Islington...
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, 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...
ran regular through services to Windsor from Farringdon (initially these were broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
trains, as the original Metropolitan was laid for mixed standard
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
and broad gauges, and, for some months, the engines and coaches were hired from the GWR). By 1865, there were ten trains daily on this route.
Not to be outdone, the Metropolitan District Railway
Metropolitan District Railway
The Metropolitan District Railway was the predecessor of the District line of the London Underground. Set up on 29 July 1864, at first to complete the "Inner Circle" railway around central London, it was gradually extended into the suburbs...
was expanding its services to the west of London as fast as it could. Hence, on 1 March 1883 they started a service to Windsor from Mansion House
Mansion House tube station
Mansion House is a London Underground station in the City of London, near Mansion House . It is a sub-surface station served by trains on the Circle and District Lines. It is between Blackfriars and Cannon Street stations. The station is located at the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Cannon...
, using the GWR mainline. These trains were not popular, possibly because of the unsuitability of using four-wheel coaches for the nonstop section between Ealing Broadway and Slough
Slough railway station
Slough railway station, in Slough, Berkshire, England, is served by local services operated by First Great Western from to and intercity services on the Great Western Main Line, the original line of the Great Western Railway...
and possibly because Windsor was too affluent and too far from the City (at the time) to make commuting an attractive proposition. The service was discontinued on 30 September 1885.
The structure
The station is approached by a 2035-yard brick viaduct and Windsor Railway BridgeWindsor Railway Bridge
Windsor Railway Bridge is a wrought iron 'bow and string' bridge in Windsor, Berkshire, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It carries the ex-GWR branch line from Slough to Windsor into Windsor and Eton Central station...
, Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
's oldest surviving railway bridge. The original building was little more than a glorified train shed. This was completely rebuilt by the GWR
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...
for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, with a much grander frontage and an interior reminiscent of Paddington. Two island platforms and a bay on the south side were provided.
The goods yard
To the north of the station, a large goods yard was laid out between the station and the River ThamesRiver Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
at ground level. Since the station was built somewhat higher up, the yard had to be reached by a steep incline built against the side of the viaduct. It sloped down towards a short headshunt, near the river bridge, which allowed switchback access to the yard sidings. This arrangement limited the number of wagons that could be transferred to and from the sidings in one go. In addition to serving the populace of Windsor and surrounding area, the yard provided a connection to Windsor Gas Works; a siding was laid through one of the bridge arches in order to supply the works with loads of coal, and remove loads of coke and tar.
When freight services were stopped in the 1960s, the goods yard and incline were removed. The yard became a coach park, but on the side of the viaduct, it is still possible to see where the incline was.
Decline
On 17 November 1968 platforms 3 and 4 were taken out of use, and on 5 September 1969 platform 2 was also decommissioned. Later on, the remaining platform was also truncated, twice, at each rebuild of the station.The Tussauds years
In 1982 British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
and Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
restored the station, creating an exhibition called Royalty and Railways. (It was later renamed Royalty and Empire). The exhibition recalled a magnificent Royal occasion, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, using displays of wax models and an audio-visual show featuring Audio-Anamatronic figures (the first of their kind seen in Europe at that time).
After entering the exhibition via the ticket office, visitors would be greeted by a scene on the platform depicting the arrival of The Royal Train, complete with figures of station staff and a full size replica train.
A full-size replica steam locomotive GWR 3031 Class
GWR 3031 Class
The Dean Single, 3031 Class, or Achilles Class was a type of steam locomotive built by the Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1899. They were designed by William Dean for passenger work...
named The Queen was built at Steamtown, Carnforth, and this was combined with an ex-LBSCR tender (in later life, a sludge tanker at Guildford loco depot) and fittings from a GWR tender. The locomotives bogie and rear wheels are also from another GWR tender, however the large driving wheels are only half complete (the lower half) and they do not sit directly on the rail. This allowed the loco to be rolled into position when the exhibition was built. The replica loco was completed in December 1982 and delivered by road. Two mobile cranes hoisted it onto the viaduct, the then it was rolled into position on temporary track.
Tussaud's fitted smoke and steam generators, so steam was omitted from the cab, whistles, safety valves and smoke from the chimney. A sound unit was also fitted.
A couple of carriages were also used to form the replica of the Royal Train. Directly behind the loco was these No.229 and was a replica coach, mounted on an ex-BR 'BG' Full Brake underframe and contained wax figures of various royals. The second coach was the original Royal Day Saloon No.9002 and was rescued for the exhibition from a cliff top in Aberporth
Aberporth
Aberporth is a community and small town in Ceredigion on the west coast of Wales. The population was 2,485 in 2001.- Location :The town lies at the southern end of Cardigan Bay about six miles north of Cardigan and ten miles south of New Quay approximately one mile west of the A487, on the...
, Wales.
After leaving the platform, visitors could see the restored royal waiting room with figures of Queen Victoria and The Prince and Princess of Wales, before entering 'The Royal Parade' area. A walkway was constructed up and around the canopy, allowing visitors to view figures of the royal party exiting the waiting room and The Queen boarding her Ascot landau. Over seventy wax figures of 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards formed part of this scene.
The last part of the exhibit was the 'Sixty Glorious Years' audio-visual show. The show outlined the growth of Great Britain using slides and projections, before the screen sank to reveal moving animatronic figures of some of the great personalities of the Victorian age, including Queen Victoria herself.
The exhibition closed in the late 1990s, and almost all of the exhibits were taken away. The Locomotive The Queen was too expensive to remove, and so rather than being cut up, it was instead incorporated as a feature of a restaurant on the concourse. It is still in situ today, although looking a little tired. The tender – the only original (and historic) part of the replica engine – was sold to a scrap dealer and cut up, although the springs and axleboxes were salvaged for use in the replica LBSCR Atlantic project at the Bluebell Railway
Bluebell Railway
The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers...
, and part of one side was rescued by the Slough & Windsor Railway Society, where it is now on display.
The original Royal Saloon No.9002 was preserved at STEAM, Swindon. It is not know what happened to the replica coach.
The Royal Waiting Room is also part of a restaurant on the concourse.
The station today
In 1997 the station buildings were bought by Axa Life and enlarged and remodelled into a shopping complex called Windsor Royal Shopping. The single platform was truncated still further, and can now handle no more than a three-coach train.In film
Being within close proximity of Pinewood StudiosPinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, Central station was extensively used in Carry On Loving
Carry On Loving
Carry On Loving is the twentieth Carry On film, and was released in 1970. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw alongside newcomers Richard O'Callaghan and Jacki Piper . Carry On Loving featured...
, one of the Carry On films. The film was released in 1970, at which time much of the original station was still intact. In the opening sequence, the station doubles as 'Much-Snogging-On-The-Green', where Terry Scott
Terry Scott
Owen John "Terry" Scott was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven Carry On films. He also appeared in BBC1's popular domestic sitcom Terry and June with June Whitfield...
's character boards a British Rail DMU
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
. Later in the film, the taxi rank and approaches to the station are used as Sidney Bliss (Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
) boards a taxi after being followed into the toilets by Charles Hawtrey
Charles Hawtrey (film actor)
George Frederick Joffre Hartree , known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English comedy actor and musician.Beginning at a young age as a boy soprano, he made several records before moving on to the radio...
in disguise.
Services
Windsor & Eton Central station is served by a First Great Western operated shuttle service from Slough stationSlough railway station
Slough railway station, in Slough, Berkshire, England, is served by local services operated by First Great Western from to and intercity services on the Great Western Main Line, the original line of the Great Western Railway...
. At Slough, connection is made with the same company's stopping and semi-fast commuter services between London Paddington and Reading
Reading railway station
Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames...
. The shuttle service runs every 20 minutes. The journey to or from Slough takes 6 minutes, and typical journey times to Reading and Paddington are 20 and 30 minutes respectively.