A second line, from Nine Elms initially to Richmond and later extended to Windsor, opened on 27 July 1846. Nine Elms was closed on 11th July 1848 when the line was extended to Waterloo. Nine Elms became a goods depot until closure in 1968. The line to Victoria opened by 1860. Clapham Junction station opened on 2 March 1863 as a joint venture between

When the station was built Battersea was regarded as a poor district while Clapham, a mile east, was more fashionable. The railway companies, seeking to attract a middle and upper class clientele, adopted the grander of the two names although the station is actually in Battersea.

The station brought development to the area around it, the population rose from 6,000 in 1840 to 168,000 by 1910.

Additional station buildings were erected in 1874 and 1876 with numerous changes to the station layout in later years. In the 20th century West London Line trains used platforms 1/2 and 16/17 in almost equal numbers until Clapham Junction 'A' signalbox (which was on a steel frameworks straddling the lines to the north of the station) collapsed in 1965. After that date

Today only Platform 2 is is used by West London Line trains, the track in Platform 1 having been lifted although there are numerous proposals to reinstate the platform. there are now two entrances, both from the subway: one at the north end onto Grant Road, and the small bus station, and the main one through a small shopping centre onto St John's Hill. Both were rebuilt as part of the station redevelopment in the 1980s and have ticket offices. There used to be another entrance from the footbridge onto St John's Hill, but this has been closed although there are proposals to reopen it.

Additional source: Wikipedia

For more pictures of Clapham Junction Station in the 50's and 60's see Mike Morant's 'Old Pics Brought to the Fore' web site.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WEST LONDON LINE
As part of a general improvement of transport in West London, the Kensington Canal was opened on the 12th August 1828 running north from the Thames at Chelsea to a basin near Kensington.

During the 1830's, the impending establishment of the London and Birmingham Railway (in 1833) and of the Great Western Railway (in 1835) was causing uncertainty about the future development of communications throughout west London. Neither company had yet decided upon the site for its permanent London terminus. But even before their

The Birmingham, Bristol & Thames Junction Railway was authorised by an Act of Parliament of June 1836 with powers to buy the canal and to build a railway northward to the London and Birmingham Railway at Willesden across the proposed route of the Great Western which opened to Bristol in 1838; thus creating a through route mainly for freight traffic from Bristol and Birmingham to the River Thames, the capital's main commercial artery. The directors of the new company expected the Great Western and the London & Birmingham to use their proposed new line as the most convenient route to the Thames. They also hoped the line would generate passenger revenue from the L & B and GWR if it was extended from their proposed southern terminus at Kensington to a new terminus near Hyde Park Corner, the gateway to London.

Construction started in 1836 with Sir William Hosking as engineer. The new line left the London & Birmingham Line at Willesden running south across the Great Western on the level where an interchange station was to be built with platforms on both lines. A further station was to be provided at Shepherds Bush before the line reached its southern passenger

Having purchased the ailing Kensington Canal Company for £36,000 the new company was itself in financial difficulty and a second Act of Parliament was required in 1840 to raise extra capital; at this time the company's name was shortened to the West London Railway. Trials to show-off the potential of the atmospheric railway system were held from 1840 to 1843 on a half-mile section of track adjacent to Wormwood Scrubs, leased to the system's promoters; but in the event, the line proceeded with conventional power.

The 2.5 mile single line officially opened between West London Junction, Willesden and Kensington on 27 May, 1844, with regular passenger services beginning on 10 June with a 30-minute interval service.  By this time the L & B and GWR had chosen their London termini and were no longer interested in using the West London Railway. The terminus at Kensington was some distance from Kensington itself and any potential commuters, and the line ran through open country throughout; from the outset it was not a commercial success.

It is said that the first train had one passenger with little improvement in the following months. In September and October 1844 passenger receipts were only £15 10s per month and according to the company minutes of 25th October 1844 "The 5.55pm from Kensington was delayed so long at the crossing that it didn't reach West London Junction until 7pm and the solitary passenger had missed the last train to Harrow." The minimal level of passenger returns became such a regular target of Punch magazine that the line started being called Punch's Railway "leading from nowhere to nowhere". The company blamed the failure of the line on the refusal of the L & B and GWR to stop their to stop their long distance trains at the respective junctions with the West London and with losses of £50 per week the line was forced to close after the last train on 30 November 1844 after less than six months.

An Act of 1845 authorised the Great Western and the London and Birmingham to take out a joint lease of the West London Railway in 1846 but passenger services were not restarted and the line was only used to carry coal.  On 31st July 1854 the company was vested jointly in the London & North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway. The rubbish-strewn

Another source of problems for the line was the flat junction with the Great Western south of Willesden with a number of serious collisions taking place at the level crossing. This was eventually overcome by realigning the West London Line over the Great Western to the west of the crossing; this was brought into use in October 1860.

The northern end of the Kensington Canal was infilled in 1861 with much of its course being used for the WLER. The new double track line between Willesden and Clapham Junction opened to passenger traffic on 2 March 1863. Kensington & Shepherds Bush (renamed Uxbridge Road) stations were rebuilt a little to the south of the original sites with new stations provided at Chelsea and Battersea and a further station opening at West Brompton on 1st September 1866. A third rail was laid to allow broad gauge trains to use the extension but this had limited use with broad gauge passenger trains running into Victoria until October 1866 and freight trains running to Chelsea Basin until November 1875.

Unlike its predecessor, the West London Joint Railway as it became known, was an immediate success. A spur from the Hammersmith & City line at Latimer Road opened on the 13th July 1864 which gave Great Western trains direct access to the line from the London direction. On 1st January 1869, the London & South Western Railway opened a line from Richmond

The new multiplicity of connections led to considerable development of transfer freight traffic between the northern and southern lines while the former also opened depots south of the river. In spite of the equivalent possibilities for through passenger traffic, this didn't begin until 1904 and never attracted the expected passenger revenue.

The first section of the West London Line to be electrified was between the Latimer Road spur and Kensington in 1909 allowing Metropolitan trains to reach Kensington. Further electrification took place in 1914 when LNWR trains ran into Earls Court. On 16th April 1917 the GWR opened a link between its Birmingham line and the North London line at North

During the 1923 Grouping the West London Railway nominally retained its independence although the West London Extension Railway was absorbed.

Despite the early heavy passenger numbers use of the line dwindled with the construction of the deep-level underground network and the introduction of trams and motor busses which provided a quicker and more convenient route for commuters to reach central London. Local north-south passengers also deserted the line in favour of road transport. WW2 hastened the demise of the now uneconomic passenger services. Following severe bomb damage, the advertised steam services from Clapham Junction - Kensington ceased on 20th October 1940 and the electric services, LMSR from Willesden and LT now from Edgware Road on 3rd and 20th October respectively.

The line remained in service as an important freight link. After the war only the short section of line between Kensington and Earls Court was reopened for passenger traffic with the service being provided by London Transport’s District Line from 19th December 1946, but only when there was an exhibition at Olympia. A workmen's steam hauled passenger service

The line remained busy with 30 freight trains in each direction daily and holiday excursions and special cross country workings were common. On

Despite this set back for the line, a renaissance began in 1986 when the District Line recommenced a full service, joined in 1994 by a rejuvenated service on the West London Line, from Willesden Junction to Clapham Junction and from Watford Junction to Brighton. A new station was opened at West Brompton on the site of the original station on 30th

The line is electrified at 750 V DC third rail from the south to the North Pole depot, where the electrification changes to 25 kV AC overhead. The work was carried out as part of Channel Tunnel infrastructure improvements in 1993.

Local trains run every half hour and are operated by London Overground. Hourly Southern trains run between East Croydon (formerly Brighton) and Milton Keynes (previously Watford Junction), not stopping at Willesden Junction.  The twice daily cross country services from Brighton to Birmingham New Street via Reading was discontinued in December 2008.

The line still carries considerable freight traffic and was used by Eurostar trains between Waterloo International and the depot at North Pole Junction prior to November 2007. Recent timetable changes have meant that some London Overground peak hour trains now continue beyond Willesden Junction onto the North London Line to Stratford.

Tickets from Michael Stewart Bradshaw from Chris Hind

Sources:

• A regional History of Railways of Great Britain - Volume 3 Greater London by H.P.White Pub: David & Charles 1971 ISBN 0 7153 5337 3
• West London Line by Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith Pub: Middleton Press 1996 ISBN 1 873793 84 7
• The West London Joint Railway by J. Atkinson Pub: Ian Allen 1984
  ISBN: 0 7110 1381 0
• British History Online - The Kensington Canal, Railway and related developments
• Wikipedia - The Free Online Encyclopedia
• Kensington Olympia Station - Qype

Click on the station name to see other stations on the West London Line: Battersea, Imperial Wharf NEW STATION, Chelsea & Fulham, West Brompton REOPENED, Kensington (1st site), Kensington (2nd site), Kensington Olympia, Uxbridge Road REOPENED AS SHEPHERDS BUSH 3rd SITE, Shepherds Bush (2nd site), Shepherds Bush(1st site), St. Quintin Park & Wormwood Scrubbs (1st site), St. Quintin Park & Wormwood Scrubbs (2nd site), West London Junction (1), West London Junction (2) & Willesden Junction STILL OPEN

See also Hammersmith (Grove Road) & Shepherds Bush on the
Richmond - Kensington line