View source for North London Railway

{{Short description|Defunct English railway company}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox rail 
| railroad_name     = North London Railway
| logo_filename     = 
| logo_size         = 
| system_map        = 
| map_caption       = 
| map_size          = 
| marks             = 
| image             = 
| image_size        = 
| image_caption     = 
| locale            = [[London]], United Kingdom
| start_year        = 1850
| end_year          = 1922
| predecessor_line  = 
| successor_line    = [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]]
| gauge             = {{track gauge|uksg|allk=on}}
| old_gauge         = 
| electrification   = 
| length            = 
| hq_city           = [[Bow, London|Bow]], London
| website           = 
}}
{{North London Railway diagram}}
The '''North London Railway''' ('''NLR''') company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the [[Port of London]] further east. The main east to west route is now part of [[London Overground]]'s [[North London Line]]. Other NLR lines fell into disuse but were later revived as part of the [[Docklands Light Railway]], and London Overground's [[East London Line]]. The company was originally called the '''East 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 the [[London 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.

==History==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = East and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway Act 1846
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| 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."
| year                  = 1846
| citation              = [[9 & 10 Vict.]] c. cccxcvi
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 26 August 1846
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/9-10/396/pdfs/ukla_18460396_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:Railway map central London 1899.gif|thumb|right|Railway map of London, 1899, from ''The Pocket Atlas and Guide to London'']]

The East and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway was incorporated by an act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|East 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 of [[Poplar, London|Poplar]] and the docks to [[Camden Town]] in north London.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCarthy |first1=Colin |last2=McCarthy |first2=David |title = Railways of Britain – London North of the Thames |publisher = Ian Allan Publishing |location= Hersham, Surrey |isbn=978-0-7110-3346-7 |year=2009 |page=6}}</ref> The railway's headquarters and [[Bow railway works|locomotive works]] were initially in [[Bow, London|Bow]].

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = North London Railway Act 1853
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1853
| citation              = [[16 & 17 Vict.]] c. xcvii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 8 July 1853
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/16-17/97/pdfs/ukla_18530097_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The '''{{visible anchor|North 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 the [[London and Blackwall Railway]] (L&BR) to [[Islington]], starting on 26 September 1850. The line was extended to [[Camden Road railway station|Camden Town railway station]]<ref>Renamed Camden Road on 25 September 1950</ref> from 7 December 1850 and to Hampstead Road station (later renamed [[Primrose Hill railway station|Primrose Hill]]) from 9 June 1851. Another extension via the L&BR was opened on 1 January 1852, from Bow Junction to [[Poplar (East India Road) railway station|Poplar railway station]], and from there to [[Blackwall railway station|Blackwall]] and the East India Docks;<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite book |last1=McCarthy |first1=Colin |last2=McCarthy |first2=David |title = Railways of Britain – London North of the Thames |publisher = Ian Allan Publishing |location= Hersham, Surrey |isbn=978-0-7110-3346-7 |year=2009 |pages=13–14}}</ref> a connection at Bow allowed trains to run to [[Fenchurch Street railway station|Fenchurch Street]]. This arrangement lasted until 1865, when an extension from [[Dalston Junction railway station|Dalston Junction]] to [[Broad Street railway station (London)|Broad 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 the [[Franz Müller|first victim of a murder on a British train]]. 

In 1869, the line was extended along the [[North and South Western Junction Railway]] (a joint enterprise by the LNWR, Midland Railway and the NLR) from [[Willesden Junction station|Willesden Junction]] to a [[London and South Western Railway]] branch to [[Richmond station (London)|Richmond]]. A bypass line from Camden to Willesden Junction via [[Gospel Oak railway station|Gospel Oak]] and [[West Hampstead railway station|West Hampstead]] opened in 1860. Meanwhile, at the eastern end, a spur line connecting the NLR to [[Stratford station|Stratford]] from [[Victoria Park railway station (London)|Victoria Park]] opened in 1854 but was not used by passenger services. The line between Camden Town and [[Dalston Junction railway station|Dalston Junction]] was quadrupled in 1871.<ref name="McCarthy" />

The LNWR took over the working of the railway under a common management arrangement on 1 February 1909.<ref>The National Archives, RAIL 529/32 – NLR Board Minute No 6940 of 14 January 1909</ref> 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."<ref>The National Archives RAIL 529/34 NLR Board Meeting 22 November 1922</ref>

The LNWR, which half-owned Broad Street station, was responsible for electrification of the Broad Street to Richmond and Kew Bridge lines in 1916.

==Legacy==
[[File:Camden Road Station Sept. 2016 01.jpg|thumb|Camden Road station is one of the few remaining examples of the NLR's yellow-brick, "Venetian" architectural style. It was designed by [[Edwin Henry Horne]].]]
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 during [[the Blitz]] of World War II. Passenger services from Broad Street to Poplar via Victoria Park and [[Bow railway station|Bow]] 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 the [[East Cross Route]] ([[A12 road (Great Britain)|A12]]) built in the late 1960s ran parallel to the rail line between [[Old Ford railway station|Old Ford]] and [[Victoria Park railway station (London)|Victoria Park]] stations, both of which were demolished for the road's construction.

The [[Crosstown 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 former [[Eastern 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.<ref name="McCarthy" /> 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 the [[North London Line]] and Willesden Depot, freight trains and, during engineering work, diverted passenger services to and from the [[Watford DC Line]]. [[Primrose Hill railway station|Primrose Hill station]] has been closed.

Since 31 August 1987, [[Docklands Light Railway]] has followed the path of the North London Railway from [[Bow Church DLR Station|Bow Church]] to [[Poplar DLR Station|Poplar]].<ref name="McCarthy" />

The [[East London Line]] Extension took over the abandoned stretch between Dalston Junction and Shoreditch from April 2010, incorporating it into the [[London Overground]] network.

==Stock==

Among the first locomotives bought by the railway from outside contractors were five [[0-4-2]][[Tank engine#Saddle tank|ST]] engines. After that, all were constructed at [[Bow, London]].

* [[Locomotives of the London and North Western Railway#Locomotives of the North London Railway|List of locomotives]]
* [[LNWR electric units]]

==Workshop==

{{unreferenced section|date=April 2020}}

[[Bow railway works]] was built in 1853 and had a sizeable wagon repair shop. When the railway was merged into the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway|LMS]] it was the smallest of 15 workshops. It repaired NLR locomotives and from 1927 those from the former [[London, Tilbury and Southend Railway]] (LTSR).

In the 1930s, the works developed and manufactured the Hudd automatic control system for the LTSR, which led to a [[British Rail]] (BR) team from the national headquarters setting up in Bow to develop BR's standard [[Automatic Warning System]]. The workshop was badly damaged during [[the Blitz]] and the wagon workshop destroyed.

In 1956, the workshop repaired diesel-electric [[locomotive]]s for the [[motive 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.

==Stations==
[[File:NLR War Memorial rededication Hendy Westcott.jpg|thumb|right|The NLR erected a First World War memorial to fallen staff at Broad Street. On that station's closure it was moved first to Richmond, then in 2011 to [[Hoxton railway station|Hoxton]].]]
Richmond to Willesden Junction (joined NLR 1856):

*[[Richmond station (London)|Richmond]] (opened 1846)
*[[Kew Gardens station (London)|Kew Gardens]] (opened 1869)
*[[Gunnersbury station|Gunnersbury]] (opened 1869)
*[[South Acton railway station (England)|South Acton]] (opened 1880)
*[[Acton Central railway station|Acton Central]] (opened 1853)
*[[Willesden Junction station|Willesden Junction]] (opened 1866)

Willesden Junction to Camden via Primrose Hill (opened 1851–2, passenger services between South Hampstead and Camden withdrawn 1992):
*[[Kensal Green railway station|Kensal Green]] (opened 1916)
*[[Queen's Park station (England)|Queen's Park]] (opened 1879)
*[[Kilburn High Road railway station|Kilburn High Road]]
*[[South Hampstead railway station|South Hampstead]] (Loudon Road until 1922)
*[[Primrose Hill railway station|Primrose Hill]] (Hampstead Road until 1 December 1862, Chalk Farm until 25 September 1950; closed 1992)

Willesden Junction to Camden via West Hampstead & Gospel Oak (opened 1860):

*[[Kensal Rise railway station|Kensal Rise]]
*[[Brondesbury Park railway station|Brondesbury Park]]
*[[Brondesbury railway station|Brondesbury]]
*[[West Hampstead railway station|West Hampstead]]
*[[Finchley Road & Frognal railway station|Finchley Road & Frognal]]
*[[Hampstead Heath railway station|Hampstead Heath]]
*[[Gospel Oak railway station|Gospel Oak]]
*[[Kentish Town West railway station|Kentish Town West]]

Camden Road to Dalston (opened 1850):

*[[Camden Road railway station|Camden Road]] (Camden Town until 25 September 1950)
*[[Maiden Lane railway stations|Maiden Lane]] (closed 1917)
*[[Caledonian Road & Barnsbury railway station|Caledonian Road & Barnsbury]] (formerly Barnsbury)
*[[Highbury and Islington railway station|Highbury & Islington]]
*[[Canonbury railway station|Canonbury]]
*[[Mildmay Park railway station|Mildmay Park]] (closed 1934)
*[[Dalston Kingsland railway station|Dalston Kingsland]] (closed 1865, reopened 1983)

Dalston to Broad Street (opened 1865, closed 1986, mostly reopened 2010):

*[[Dalston Junction railway station|Dalston Junction]] (closed 1986, reopened 2010)
*[[Haggerston railway station|Haggerston]] (closed 1940 with the Poplar Branch, reopened 2010)
*[[Shoreditch railway station|Shoreditch]] (closed 1940 with the Poplar Branch)
*[[Broad Street railway station (London)|Broad Street]]

Dalston to Poplar (opened 1850, closed to passengers 1944, Dalston- Stratford reopened 1980):

*[[Hackney Central railway station|Hackney Central]] (formerly Hackney, reopened 1980)
*[[Homerton railway station|Homerton]] (reopened 1985)
*[[Victoria Park railway station (London)|Victoria Park]]
*[[Old Ford railway station|Old Ford]]
*[[Bow railway station|Bow]]
**[[Fenchurch Street railway station|Fenchurch Street]] (not served after opening of Broad Street link in 1865)
*[[South Bromley railway station|South Bromley]]
*[[Poplar (East India Dock Road) railway station|Poplar (East India Dock Road)]]

Bow to Plaistow (1869 to 1916):

*[[Bromley railway station|Bromley]]
*[[West Ham railway station|West Ham]] (served from 1901)
*[[Plaistow railway station|Plaistow]]

At Poplar, the line connected to [[Millwall Junction railway station|Millwall Junction]], allowing goods trains to run to [[Blackwall railway station|Blackwall]] and the [[East India Docks]], or along the [[Millwall Extension Railway]], which served the [[West India Docks]].

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|North London Railway}}
*[http://www.mernick.co.uk/thhol/camdento.html ''The Camden-Town Railway''] ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'' 15 November 1851, p.&nbsp;603-604 (Tower Hamlets History Society) &ndash; An account of a journey on the railway in 1851.

{{London Overground navbox}}
{{LMSconstituents}}

[[Category:North London Railway]]
[[Category:Pre-grouping British railway companies]]
[[Category:London Overground]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Camden]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Islington]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
[[Category:Transport in the City of London]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Hackney]]
[[Category:History of rail transport in London]]
[[Category:London, Midland and Scottish Railway constituents]]