North Woolwich railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| North Woolwich | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Place | North Woolwich |
| History | |
| Opened by | Eastern Counties Railway |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Key dates | Opened 14 June 1847 Closed 9 December 2006 |
| Replaced by | King George V (DLR) |
North Woolwich railway station was a railway station in North Woolwich in east London. It was the former eastern terminus of the North London Line and was in Travelcard Zone 3. The next station along was Silvertown.
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[edit] History
The station opened on 14 June 1847 as the southern terminus of the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway from Stratford. The line to Stratford was later extended to Palace Gates, but the service was trimmed back to Stratford in 1963, when steam traction also changed over to diesel. The route was extended onto the North London Line in 1979, and in 1984 changed over from diesel to 3rd rail electric trains, which then ran an extended route from North Woolwich round inner north London to Richmond.
The route to North Woolwich was double track but in the 1980s was reduced to a single track in the tunnel under the Royal Docks and on to the terminus. As part of these changes the main North Woolwich station platforms and building were closed (to later become the museum; see below) and a new minimalist terminal platform and shelter were built on the south side.
[edit] Closure
The station closed at end of service on 9 December 2006[1] to allow the section of the North London Line between Stratford and Canning Town to be converted to become part of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). The line between Canning Town and North Woolwich has closed completely; however, the new extension of the DLR from Canning Town to King George V (which opened in December 2005) follows a similar route and will provide a suitable replacement service; the nearest station on the DLR to North Woolwich is King George V.
[edit] Preservation
The original station buildings and one of the two platforms are occupied by the North Woolwich Old Station Museum, a museum dedicated to the history of the Great Eastern Railway.
[edit] A new beginning
During 2006, the council of the London Borough of Newham endorsed a plan to launch a new museum, with heritage railway, at the site. The new museum would take a new direction: rather than concentrating on the GER, the museum will become a focus for the heritage of London Rail – ie, the local and suburban local lines in London and the south east which have been part of National Rail.
The Royal Docks Heritage Railway, which will be based at North Woolwich, will make use of the line from there to Custom House. The intention is to run heritage train services as well as training trains, and to do this the line between the stations will be restored to double track. (Only one track was in use for North London Line services, but the second track is still in place for much of the route, albeit heavily overgrown.) The modern station building, recently vacated by Silverlink, will become the public entrance to the museum site.
The website does not mention what form of propulsion will be used for the public train service, but if the third rail is retained it could become Britain's first mainline electric preserved railway, as the route uses the conductor rail system from Camden Road.
The Royal Docks Heritage Railway official website includes details of the visions for the museum plus pictures of the line, taken from a special train run the day after the last public service ran[2].
It is expected that the plans for the museum will become more firm during 2008.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- North Woolwich railway station is at coordinates Coordinates:
| Disused Railways | ||||
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| Preceding station | Silverlink | Following station | ||
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toward Richmond
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North London Line
North Woolwich branch
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Terminus | ||
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