West London Line

The West London Line is a short railway in inner West London that links in the south to Willesden Junction in the north. The line has always been an important cross-London link especially for freight services. Southern and London Overground provide regular passenger services; detailed below. HistoryOriginsThe Birmingham, Bristol & Thames Junction Railway was authorised in 1836 to run from the London and Birmingham Railway (L& BR), near the present Willesden Junction station, across the proposed route of the Great Western (GWR) on the level, to the Kensington Canal Basin. Construction was delayed by engineering and financial problems. Renamed the West London Railway (WLR) the line officially opened on 27 May 1844, and regular services began on 10 June, but before that trials to demonstrate the potential of the atmospheric railway system had been held from 1840 to 1843 on a half-mile section of track adjacent to Wormwood Scrubs, leased to that system's promoters; The WLR used conventional power but was not a commercial success. The low number of passengers became such a regular target of Punch magazine that the line was called Punch's Railway. After only six months it closed on 30 November 1844. An Act of 1845 authorised the GWR and the L& BR (which became part of the London and North Western Railway in 1846) to take a joint lease of the WLR. The line was used only to carry coal, and passenger service was not re-introduced.

The West London Line is a short railway in inner West London that links in the south to Willesden Junction in the north. The line has always been an important cross-London link especially for freight services. Southern and London Overground provide regular passenger services; detailed below. HistoryOriginsThe Birmingham, Bristol & Thames Junction Railway was authorised in 1836 to run from the London and Birmingham Railway (L& BR), near the present Willesden Junction station, across the proposed route of the Great Western (GWR) on the level, to the Kensington Canal Basin. Construction was delayed by engineering and financial problems. Renamed the West London Railway (WLR) the line officially opened on 27 May 1844, and regular services began on 10 June, but before that trials to demonstrate the potential of the atmospheric railway system had been held from 1840 to 1843 on a half-mile section of track adjacent to Wormwood Scrubs, leased to that system's promoters; The WLR used conventional power but was not a commercial success. The low number of passengers became such a regular target of Punch magazine that the line was called Punch's Railway. After only six months it closed on 30 November 1844. An Act of 1845 authorised the GWR and the L& BR (which became part of the London and North Western Railway in 1846) to take a joint lease of the WLR. The line was used only to carry coal, and passenger service was not re-introduced.