Willesden Junction Station

Willesden Junction is a Network Rail station in Harlesden, north-west London, UK. It is served by both London Overground and the Bakerloo line of the London Underground. HistoryThe station developed on three contiguous sites: The West Coast Main Line (WCML) station was opened by the London & North Western Railway on 1 September 1866 to replace the London and Birmingham Railway's Willesden station of 1841 which was 0. 5mi to the northwest. Passenger services ended in 1962 when the platforms were removed during electrification of the WCML to allow the curvature of the tracks to be eased. Later the bridges for the North London Line (NLL) were rebuilt. The High-Level station on the NLL was opened by the North London Railway in 1869 on a track crossing the WCML roughly at right angles. In 1894 a new high level island platform was built, together with a new entrance. By 1897 199 passenger and 47 goods trains passed through the High Level station each day. The 'Willesden New Station' or Low-Level station on the Watford DC Line was opened in 1910 to the north of the main line with two outer through platforms and two inner bay platforms at the London end. The bay platforms were originally long enough for four-coach Bakerloo trains when such trains ran outside peak times, but were shortened in the 1960s when a new toilet block was installed; in more recent times the platform buildings have been reconstructed and the bay length increased due to the addition of a fourth coach to class 378 trains, followed in October 2014 by a further westward excavation in preparation for the addition of a fifth coach to these trains. In 1896 staff totalled 271, including 79 porters, 58 signalmen (in 14 signal boxes) and 58 shunters and yard foremen. They issued 1, 006, 886 tickets to passengers in 1896, up from 530, 300 in 1886. Many of them were housed in what is now the Old Oak Lane conservation area, built by the LNWR in 1889 and which included an Institute, reading room and church.

Willesden Junction is a Network Rail station in Harlesden, north-west London, UK. It is served by both London Overground and the Bakerloo line of the London Underground. HistoryThe station developed on three contiguous sites: The West Coast Main Line (WCML) station was opened by the London & North Western Railway on 1 September 1866 to replace the London and Birmingham Railway's Willesden station of 1841 which was 0. 5mi to the northwest. Passenger services ended in 1962 when the platforms were removed during electrification of the WCML to allow the curvature of the tracks to be eased. Later the bridges for the North London Line (NLL) were rebuilt. The High-Level station on the NLL was opened by the North London Railway in 1869 on a track crossing the WCML roughly at right angles. In 1894 a new high level island platform was built, together with a new entrance. By 1897 199 passenger and 47 goods trains passed through the High Level station each day. The 'Willesden New Station' or Low-Level station on the Watford DC Line was opened in 1910 to the north of the main line with two outer through platforms and two inner bay platforms at the London end. The bay platforms were originally long enough for four-coach Bakerloo trains when such trains ran outside peak times, but were shortened in the 1960s when a new toilet block was installed; in more recent times the platform buildings have been reconstructed and the bay length increased due to the addition of a fourth coach to class 378 trains, followed in October 2014 by a further westward excavation in preparation for the addition of a fifth coach to these trains. In 1896 staff totalled 271, including 79 porters, 58 signalmen (in 14 signal boxes) and 58 shunters and yard foremen. They issued 1, 006, 886 tickets to passengers in 1896, up from 530, 300 in 1886. Many of them were housed in what is now the Old Oak Lane conservation area, built by the LNWR in 1889 and which included an Institute, reading room and church.