| Overview | |
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| Headquarters | Bow, London |
| Locale | London, United Kingdom |
| Dates of operation | 1850–1922 |
| Successor | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
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TheNorth London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with thePort of London further east. The main east to west route is now part ofLondon Overground'sNorth London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disuse but were later revived as part of theDocklands Light Railway, and London Overground'sEast London Line. The company was originally called theEast and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway (E&WID&BJR) from its start in 1850, until 1853. In 1909, it entered into an agreement with theLondon and North Western Railway which introduced common management, and the NLR was taken over completely by the LNWR in 1922. The LNWR itself became part of the LMS from the start of 1923. The railways were nationalised in 1948 and most LMS lines, including the North London route, then came under the control of the London Midland Region of British Railways.
| East and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway Act 1846 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for making a Railway from the East and West India Docks to join the London and Birmingham Railway at the Camden Town Station, to be called "The East and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway." |
| Citation | 9 & 10 Vict. c. cccxcvi |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 26 August 1846 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The East and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway was incorporated by an act of Parliament, theEast and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cccxcvi), on 26 August 1846. It was empowered to construct a railway from the district ofPoplar and the docks toCamden Town in north London.[1] The railway's headquarters andlocomotive works were initially inBow.
| North London Railway Act 1853 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 16 & 17 Vict. c. xcvii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 8 July 1853 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
TheNorth London Railway Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c. xcvii) renamed the company to the North London Railway.
At first, it ran trains from Bow Junction on theLondon and Blackwall Railway (L&BR) toIslington, starting on 26 September 1850. The line was extended toCamden Town railway station[2] from 7 December 1850 and to Hampstead Road station (later renamedPrimrose Hill) from 9 June 1851. Another extension via the L&BR was opened on 1 January 1852, from Bow Junction toPoplar railway station, and from there toBlackwall and the East India Docks;[3] a connection at Bow allowed trains to run toFenchurch Street. This arrangement lasted until 1865, when an extension fromDalston Junction toBroad Street was opened; Broad Street became the main terminus, and the Poplar line became a branch. In the meantime, in 1864, a banker on a train from Fenchurch Street to Chalk Farm became thefirst victim of a murder on a British train.
In 1869, the line was extended along theNorth and South Western Junction Railway (a joint enterprise by the LNWR, Midland Railway and the NLR) fromWillesden Junction to aLondon and South Western Railway branch toRichmond. A bypass line from Camden to Willesden Junction viaGospel Oak andWest Hampstead opened in 1860. Meanwhile, at the eastern end, a spur line connecting the NLR toStratford fromVictoria Park opened in 1854 but was not used by passenger services. The line between Camden Town andDalston Junction was quadrupled in 1871.[3]
The LNWR took over the working of the railway under a common management arrangement on 1 February 1909.[4] The company still existed until 1922, with its own board of directors and shareholders, when it was absorbed by the LNWR. The last board meeting and last shareholders meeting were both held on 23 November 1922, the latter giving the shareholders' approval of amalgamation. The board minutes were signed by A Holland-Hibbert, the chairman, who added "Goodbye!". Beneath this was typed, "This was the last Board Meeting of the North London Railway Company, the Undertaking being absorbed under “The London and North Western Railway (North London Railway and Dearne Valley Railway) Preliminary Absorption Scheme 1922” by the London and North Western Railway Company as from 1 January 1922."[5]
The LNWR, which half-owned Broad Street station, was responsible for electrification of the Broad Street to Richmond and Kew Bridge lines in 1916.
The Kew Bridge service was withdrawn as a wartime economy measure in 1940, which proved to be permanent.
The line from Dalston Junction to Poplar was heavily damaged duringthe Blitz of World War II. Passenger services from Broad Street to Poplar via Victoria Park andBow were suspended on 15 April 1944 and officially closed on 14 May 1944. A substitute bus service was provided until 23 April 1945 but the service was finally withdrawn at the end of the war. The northern section of theEast Cross Route (A12) built in the late 1960s ran parallel to the rail line betweenOld Ford andVictoria Park stations, both of which were demolished for the road's construction.
TheCrosstown Linkline service reinstated passenger service over the Dalston Junction to Victoria Park Junction section of the Poplar branch from 14 May 1979, running from Camden Town to Stratford and then over the formerEastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway to North Woolwich. The remaining freight line from Victoria Park Junction to Poplar Docks via Bow Junction closed on 3 October 1983.[3] From 13 May 1985, the Camden to North Woolwich Crosstown Linkline was combined with the Richmond to Broad Street service and ceased to serve Dalston Junction and Broad Street, which finally closed on 30 June 1986.
The line between Willesden Junction and Camden via Primrose Hill is now primarily used (in 2014) for empty coaching stock movements between theNorth London Line and Willesden Depot, freight trains and, during engineering work, diverted passenger services to and from theWatford DC Line.Primrose Hill station has been closed.
Since 31 August 1987,Docklands Light Railway has followed the path of the North London Railway fromBow Church toPoplar.[3]
TheEast London Line Extension took over the abandoned stretch between Dalston Junction and Shoreditch from April 2010, incorporating it into theLondon Overground network.
Among the first locomotives bought by the railway from outside contractors were five0-4-2ST engines. After that, all were constructed atBow, London.
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Bow railway works was built in 1853 and had a sizeable wagon repair shop. When the railway was merged into theLMS it was the smallest of 15 workshops. It repaired NLR locomotives and from 1927 those from the formerLondon, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR).
In the 1930s, the works developed and manufactured the Hudd automatic control system for the LTSR, which led to aBritish Rail (BR) team from the national headquarters setting up in Bow to develop BR's standardAutomatic Warning System. The workshop was badly damaged duringthe Blitz and the wagon workshop destroyed.
In 1956, the workshop repaired diesel-electriclocomotives for themotive power depot at Devons Road (the first to become all-diesel). After a while it was receiving locos in the morning and turning them round by the evening, which initially confused the statistical returns since locos were entering and leaving the works on the same day. The works closed in 1960.
Richmond to Willesden Junction (joined NLR 1856):
Willesden Junction to Camden via Primrose Hill (opened 1851–2, passenger services between South Hampstead and Camden withdrawn 1992):
Willesden Junction to Camden via West Hampstead & Gospel Oak (opened 1860):
Camden Road to Dalston (opened 1850):
Dalston to Broad Street (opened 1865, closed 1986, mostly reopened 2010):
Dalston to Poplar (opened 1850, closed to passengers 1944, Dalston- Stratford reopened 1980):
Bow to Plaistow (1869 to 1916):
At Poplar, the line connected toMillwall Junction, allowing goods trains to run toBlackwall and theEast India Docks, or along theMillwall Extension Railway, which served theWest India Docks.
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