Station Name: GLOBE ROAD & DEVONSHIRE                          STREET

[Source: Nick Catford]


Date opened: 1.7.1884 (Goods yard opened 1850s)
Location: Between Globe Road and Morpeth Street and on the north side of Devonshire Street (now Bancroft Road)
Company on opening: Great Eastern Railway
Date closed to passengers: 22.5.1916
Date closed completely: Goods yard closed 6.11.1967
Company on closing: Great Eastern Railway
Present state: The entrance gates and three brick pillars survive on the south side of the Globe Road bridge. The gates now give access to businesses in the arches. One gate pillar from the Morpeth Street entrance survives.
County: London
OS Grid Ref: TQ355826
Date of visit: June 2017

Notes: The Eastern Counties Railway was incorporated in 1836 to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Yarmouth. At that time this was the longest line sanctioned by a single Act of Parliament with a total length of 126 miles.

Construction began in late March 1837 on the first nine miles at the London end. John Braithwaite was the as engineer and the gauge was set at 5ft compared to the national standard of 4ft 8½ in. Progress east of Stratford was relatively easy as the land was largely arable. West of Stratford, the line had to cross the unstable Bow Marshes and after that the built-up nature of the area meant that the railway had to be built on expensive viaducts.

The double-track railway opened on 20 June 1839 from a temporary terminus at Devonshire Street in Mile End, as far as Romford in Essex. On 1 July 1840 the ECR opened an extension at the London end to its permanent terminus at Shoreditch (renamed Bishopsgate in 1846) and at the country end to Brentwood. Mile End was retained as an intermediate station although re-sited from the original terminus at Devonshire Street.

By 1840 it was clear that additional money would be required to complete the ECR line to Colchester. On 25 February 1843 a special inspection train left Shoreditch for Colchester. However, the train was stopped at Brentwood as a timber viaduct at Mountnessing had subsided and it was unsafe to continue. On 7 March 1843 goods trains started operation followed by the commencement of passenger services on 29 March 1843.

Robert Stephenson advised a change of gauge to the national standard of 4ft 8½in. Conversion of the line to this gauge was completed in two months from September to October 1844.

In about 1850 the ECR opened the Devonshire Street goods and coal depot immediately west of the Regents Canal. The main line was built on a viaduct at this point; the viaduct was widened on the south side and by the 1860s this carried eight sidings. These were constructed as coal drops with a coal depot being sited beneath the viaduct. A signal box was provided at the west end of the yard on the up side. A continuous pilot coaling stage was built on the embankment at the west end of the yard in 1888. It remained in use until c1957 when diesel shunters took over from steam.

By the 1870s an incline had been built reached from points trailing in the down direction at the east end of the yard and running down to ground level to serve the area on the north side of the main line. A conventional goods yard was established here with five sidings interconnected with wagon turntables at each end of the yard and in the centre. At the west end of the yard, a siding, connected by two wagon turntables ran north to a wharf alongside the Regents Canal to allow interchange between the ECR and canal boats. The road entrance to the goods yard was at the end of William Street.

In 1862 the ECR merged with a number of other companies to form the Great Eastern Railway. As the East End of London expanded two new stations between Shoreditch and Stratford were opened: Old Ford (later renamed Coborn Road), opened on 1 February 1865 with Bethnal Green opening as a replacement for Mile End on 24 May 1872 to coincide with the opening of the Stoke Newington line. Two years later, the main line was extended a short distance from Bishopsgate to Liverpool Street on 2 February 1874. 

In 1879 the GER was planning to quadruple the line between James Street and Bow Junction by widening the viaduct on the north side. On 17 July 1883 the contract for this work was approved at a cost of £31,585; it was awarded to Perry and Co who stated that they would complete within 23 weeks. As part of this work, a further intermediate station between Old Ford and Bethnal Green was authorised by the GER. The station, which was originally to be known as Devonshire Street, would be provided with platforms on the slow lines as at nearby Coborn Road and would have an entrance at both ends.

On 28 June 1884 the new station was inspected by Major C S Hutchinson on behalf of the Board of Trade. In his report, he described it as having ‘a very elaborate character’. On 29 June, the quadrupled line was brought into use and on 1 July 1884 Globe Road & Devonshire Street station was opened; it was 1 mile 54 chains east from Liverpool Street and close to the site of the former Devonshire Street terminus which had closed in 1840.

As part of the quadrupling retaining walls were built to contain the incline down to the ground level part of Devonshire Street goods yard and the new lines were carried over the foot of the incline on a girder bridge. The incline was rebuilt to the west of its original position. Further sidings and sheds were also added at ground level.

Globe Road & Devonshire Street station was provided with two facing platforms with a slight stagger and generous canopies stretched almost the full length of the platforms, built to a style that had been popular with the GER since the 1870s. The structure consisted of a series of ridges and furrows, and the deep, serrated valance mirrored the ridges and furrows with a series of curves which produced a lively and attractive appearance. The canopies were supported by a brick wall topped with terracotta coping to the rear and cast iron columns and spandrels on the platforms.

The Globe Road entrance was on the south side of the road bridge and comprised a pair of cast-iron gates hung from substantial brick pillars; to the west of the gate there were iron railings and a third pillar. Above the gates was a curved cast-iron sign showing the station name in raised lettering; a globular gas lamp was mounted above the sign.

Beyond the gates, the booking hall was located in the first arch which was rendered with Portland cement, and a glazed frontage and a small canopy provided protection from the weather. Once again the station name appeared this time in gilt wood block lettering across the full width of the arch and above it ‘Great Eastern Railway’ in recessed cement letters. The two stairways leading up to the platforms were roofed with panes of rolled ribbed glass.

At track level there was a generous range of facilities on both platforms. The buildings were of timber construction. The up platform had three buildings in which the facilities were, from west to east: gents’ toilet, general waiting room, first/second class waiting room, drinking fountain, bench seat, first class ladies’ room, second class ladies’ room then the stairs down to the Devonshire Street entrance. Beyond the stairs was a third range of buildings which comprised the stationmaster’s office, porters’ room, lamp room, store and another gents’ toilet.

The down platform had two buildings comprising the following facilities from west to east: gents’ toilet, general waiting room, first class waiting room, drinking fountain, bench seat, second class ladies’ room, first class ladies’ room, unknown room and stairs down to the Devonshire Street entrance.

The Devonshire Street entrance was similar to that at Globe Road with the booking hall located in the second arch west of the Morpeth Street bridge. The entrance was also protected by a small canopy and approached through two pairs of gates on the north side of Devonshire Street, diagonally opposite the Carlton public house. An additional entrance gateway, similar to that at Globe Road, was provided on the west side of Morpeth Street on the north side of the line. From here a path ran under the viaduct to the Devonshire Street booking office.

The station was provided with two signal boxes. Grove Road Junction box was sited above the tracks towards the London end of the station in a similar position to the box at Coborn Road. The box was fitted with a McKenzie & Holland frame and Major Hutchinson’s report recorded that it had twenty levers of which four were spare. To the east of the station there have been four Devonshire Street boxes. The first which opened with the yard was just a block hut. The second 10 lever box was moved c1876. It was renewed again in 1877 and again on 29.6.1884 when the line was quarrupled. This new box was built on infill to the east of the up platform between the new viaduct and the original line and was also fitted with a McKenzie & Holland frame with 21 working levers and nine spare. It was enlarged to 33 levers by 1921 and renamed Devonshire Street West in 1929. The box closed 5.9.1948.

There was also a box at the east end of the yard. Canal Box was moved in 1877; at this time it had 13 levers. It was replaced with a 26 lever box as part of the quadrupling immedialy west of the original site on 29.6.1884. It was enlarged to 32 levers in 1927 and renamed Devonshire Street East in 1929. It closed 6.2.1949.

The East London Observer, reported the opening of the station on 5 July 1884. "The station is entered from either Globe-road or Devonshire-street. It is a double station, having a spacious booking office at Devonshire-street and Globe-road respectively. The platforms are approached from the booking offices on street level, by staircases 9 feet in width, constructed of 'Hedges patent wood treads'.

The platforms are 600 feet in length, by an average width of 25 feet, and are covered from end to end by a light ornamental glass, iron and zinc roof. The platforms are paved with 'Victoria Stone' throughout. This material is well-known, but these platforms will serve as an excellent specimen of the pavement. On each platform are well arranged ladies and gentlemen's waiting-rooms for each class of passenger. A drinking fountain for the use of the passengers is placed on each platform. Offices for staff are provided, the platforms are well lighted throughout, and every improvement and modern requirement for a London suburban station, has been carefully studied and provided.

The works have been carried out by Messrs. Perry & Co. contractors, Bow, Messrs. Lead & Co. of Stratford carrying out the gas lighting arrangements. All the works have been designed and executed by the company's engineer-in-chief and staff. There is a very frequent service of trains to Liverpool-street and Stratford, about 80 trains calling at the station on week-days. The journey to Liverpool-street is done in seven or eight minutes, and the return fares are 6d first class, 5d second class, and 4d third class."

This was a significant suburban station for east London and if we assume services were running between 04:00 and midnight, then 80 trains a day is 2 trains an hour to Liverpool Street and the same to Stratford.

In the same newspaper, the results for the first half of 1884 of the North Metropolitan Tramway Company were reported. The area covered by the company included the trams not far from Globe Street and Devonshire Road station. The company had carried 17,428,145 passengers during the half year, however there was an outstanding issue of fares for short journeys and the report in the paper ended with a reference to the new station "We would remind the directors that the subject of penny fares for short distances is a matter worthy of consideration, especially in view of the opening of the new station by the Great Eastern Railway Company at Devonshire-street, Mile End".

At some time the Devonshire Street goods yard was expanded at ground level on the south side of the viaduct. It was entered initially via a wagon turntable giving access to a line that passed through one of the viaduct arches. This was soon replaced by a sharply curving line which passed under the viaduct towards the east end of the yard with a second line passing round the end of the viaduct alongside the Regents Canal. A short elevated line also ran off the end of the viaduct passing over one of the lines running under the viaduct before running south along the canal bank. This served chutes for loading coal directly onto canal boats. Another line ran diagonally under the centre of the viaduct to serve the coal depot that was located beneath the viaduct.

On 20 March 1894, the GER’s Way & Works Committee agreed to the closure of Globe Road Junction signal box with its duties being transferred to the Devonshire Street box. Although the changes would cost the company £235 to implement, the closure of the box would lead to an annual saving of £230 in wages.

Little of any consequence happened at the station other than general maintenance. A contract for £649 was awarded to J Holliday on 4 October 1898 for repairs and repainting. Another contract for £376 was awarded to Osborn on 3 April 1913 for station repairs and painting.

In its early days, the station was well used but this was to be short-lived as other forms of transport began to erode passenger numbers in the early years of the twentieth century. The station’s importance began to decline with the opening of Stepney East station at the junction of Whitechapel and Globe Road in 1902 following the opening of the Whitechapel & Bow Railway. The two-mile-long line opened in linked the Metropolitan District Railway at Whitechapel with the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway at Bow. Traffic was further eroded when the line was electrified in 1905 bringing a fast and convenient route into Central London

In 1908 the first electric trams ran along the Mile End Road. They were not an immediate success as they initially used an experimental and unreliable stud contact system, but once this had been replaced two regular service (routes 61 and 63) between Aldgate and Stratford and beyond started.

The final extension to the goods depot took place just before WW1 when further land on the south side of the viaduct was acquired to provide space for five long sidings served by car roads. Road access to the enlarged yard was from Mile End Road just west of the Globe bridge over the Regents Canal with a secondary entrance at the end of Longnor Road. The yard on the south side handled coal and rough goods such as bricks and other building materials.

The original yard to the north of the viaduct handled general merchandise, perishable goods and traffic to and from the Regents Canal. Heavy machinery could be lifted by means of a 30-ton capacity steam crane, a capacity unrivalled by a fixed crane elsewhere on the GER system. Engines and vans on wheels could also be handled and the depot had the distinction of being the only one in the London area at which fish for manure purposes would be accepted. The yard was worked by small GER Class B77 (LNER classification Y4) 0-4-0T locomotives. These powerful, for an 0-4-0, but somewhat lumbering locomotives warrant further explanation. The first example, No.227, appeared in 1913 with the remaining four of the total of five appearing between 1914 and 1921. These were Nos.210 and 226/8/9 with No.210 actually being the final example despite its lower number. Of these, Nos.226/8 were built with cut-down cabs, domes and chimneys. The original No.227 was classified B74 by the GER with the two 'cut downs' being classified B77. Nos.210/29 were modified to cut down form retrospectively. Sources vary regarding whether No.227 was also similarly modified, although photographs survive showing her in LNER days still in original form. Either way, the entire class of five was lumped together as Class Y4 by the LNER and this was perpetuated by British Railways. At Devonshire Street the Y4s are believed to have replaced the Neilson 'Coffee Pot' 0-4-0STs; GER 209 class, LNER Class Y5.

The need for cut-down locomotives at Devonshire Street was reduced headroom beneath a bridge carrying the main line over the tracks linking the north and south side goods sidings. However, whether this problem existed with just one bridge or all them remains unclear. Also unclear is whether the reduced headroom limited the ground level sidings on the south side to flat and open wagons and this question cannot be answered without knowing how many bridges were affected. One of the Y4s, No.210, was to enter departmental service at Stratford Works. At nationalisation she became British Railways No.68129 and in 1952 became Departmental No.33. She was destined to become the final survivor of the class, the rest having gone between 1955 and 1957, finally bowing out in December 1963. She was also among the final surviving British Railways locomotives to have dumb buffers. Shunting at Devonshire Street, by then known as Mile End Yard, was taken over by examples from the motley collection of diesel shunters on Stratford's books. Photographs of locomotives, steam or diesel, at Devonshire Street/Mile End have proved frustratingly elusive but one of the diesel shunters known to have worked at the location was the Brush 0-4-0 D2999. Others likely to have made appearances are Rustons D2957/8 and Barclays D2953-6; all of these would have been able to negotiate the low bridge(s) and sharp curves found in the yard. Click here to see a photo of a Class Y4.

In 1910 local services between Liverpool Street and lines serving Barking, Chelmsford, Hertford, Ongar and Woolwich called at Globe Road. With the rapid decline in passenger numbers, Globe Road & Devonshire Street was closed as an economy measure during WW1 due to a shortage of staff with many railway workers leaving to serve at the Front. This closure affected a number of inner London stations. Great Eastern Railway records state that the closure was to occur on 1 May 1916 but following some local opposition to the closure, on 29 April a postponement to 22 May was announced. Other East End stations scheduled for closure were Bethnal Green, Coborn Road, Cambridge Heath, London Fields, Leman Street, Shadwell and Bishopsgate Low Level. On 12 May a reprieve was granted for Bethnal Green.

Sir Walter Preston, the MP for the Mile End constituency at the time, asked Sir Eric Campbell-Geddes, the Minister of Transport, if the Railway Executive Committee would consider reopening the station as the closure was causing local people great hardship. While some of the stations that had been closed were reopened after the war, Globe Road & Devonshire Street was not. 

The GER renamed the goods depot Mile End & Devonshire Street on 1 September 1922 and the LNER shortened the name to Mile End in 1938. Globe Road & Devonshire station remained largely intact until the spring of 1938 when the platforms and buildings were demolished leaving little evidence that the station had ever existed.

The area around Globe Road and Devonshire Street came through WW2 largely unscathed but the immediate surroundings did not, and railway staff reputedly had to jump into the adjacent canal to avoid fire on one occasion. Damage by conventional HE (High Explosive) bombs and incendiaries was too vast to be detailed here but worthy of mention are attacks by V1 Flying Bombs in the immediate vicinity of the goods yard. There were three such attacks. One V1 decided to dive very close to the south side goods viaduct and destroyed a house on the corner of Bradwell Street and what was then Buckeridge Street (now part of Moody Street) and damaged others to extents varying from serious to minor. Part of the goods viaduct was also damaged but quickly repaired. Another V1 came down on the corner of Bancroft Road and Moody Street destroying at least one house, severely damaging others and causing damage to the Jews' Burial Ground (not to be confused with the nearby Jewish Cemetery). A third V1 came down on the south side of Mile End Hospital, very close to the Jewish Cemetery and the railway sidings on the site of what is now Queen Mary University. Conventional bombings and V1 attacks were horrific enough but fortunately the immediate environs of the Devonshire Street goods yard were to escape attacks by V2 rockets. The first V1 attack on London occurred further east adjacent to Grove Road bridge and not at Globe Road. A blue plaque is fixed to Grove Road bridge and it is not unknown for 'blue plaque tourists' to confuse the locations and erroneously look for a blue plaque at Globe Road

The Mile End goods yard remained operational until 6 November 1967. After closure of the yard at viaduct level, sand and ballast traffic from the Southminster line continued to be handled using the former coal drops. Mile End Sidings, as they were then known, remained in use for sand traffic until the 1980s. A single siding remained, parallel to the main line, used for stabling of on-track plant but this has now been lifted.

The cast-iron name sign above the station entrance gates was removed at the end of 1964 but the gates and brick pillars still survive. At the Devonshire Street entrance ‘Great Eastern Railway’ could still be seen in the cement panel above the entrance arch until the 1970s but this has now disappeared. The entrance gates in Devonshire Street (now Bancroft Road) have gone but on the north side of line the two brick gate pillars were still standing in the 1990s; today only one of them remains.

The south side of the viaduct on the north side of Bancroft Road which includes both entrances arches for Globe Road and Devonshire Street station was Grade II listed by English Heritage on 4 September 2007. The viaduct was built by John Braithwaite, engineer, for the Eastern Counties Railway and comprises a row of ten elliptical arches. The viaduct is among the earliest, and longest, examples of a first-generation railway structure to survive in London. A further section of the viaduct between Globe Road bridge and Cambridge Heath Road was separately Grade II listed at the same time.

An interesting account of an excursion from Globe Road was sent to me today. It was published in East London Observer on the 27 August 1887: "A Mile End Excursion. It was one of the jolliest and most pleasant excursions in which we have ever taken part that started off from Globe-road station, in the very early hours of Tuesday morning. There was nothing stiff and starched about either the excursion or the excursionists - it and they were as delightfully and pleasantly informal as the origin of the Association in whose aid it was held - the Mile End Old Town Victoria Park Hospital Association. It was then the annual excursion which had drawn so many Mile-enders together on the Globe-road Station on Tuesday morning. In point of numbers, the gathering could scarcely be said to equal those of previous years - a result due rather to the vacillation and delay experienced at the hands of a railway company with whom the Association had first attempted to arrange, than to any lack of energy and perseverance on the part of the officers of the Association.

But no regretful consideration such as that was allowed to weigh with the excursionists; they were out for a day's excursion to Harwich and Dovercourt, and like the thoroughly honest and hard working, genial Mile-enders as they were, they were determined to enjoy themselves to the uttermost. And everything on Tuesday seemed to favour that determination.

The day was one of the best and brightest with which the Metropolis has ever been favoured, and the round, red faced sun peered from behind the misty heat, and gave promise of even more charming weather in store. The special train too, hired for the conveyance of the excursionists, seemed to heartily enter into the spirit of the thing, and flew shrieking, past houses, villages, woods, fields and rivers, until, with a snort of satisfaction, it drew up at quiet, sleepy Dovercourt, with its breezy common, its golden sands, and its magnificent stretch of sea."

They spent the day enjoying everything that Dovercourt had to offer before returning to Globe Road Station on their special train, a journey of a couple of hours through the Essex countryside.

Tickets from JE Connor except 3733 Michael Stewart. Bradshaw Nick Catford

Click here for a rear cab view video Mile End - Liverpool made by Nick Belton in June 2017. The sites of Devonshire Street & Mile End goods yard, Devonshire Street station, Globe Road & Devonshire Street station, Mile End station and Bishopsgate Low Level station are all seen.

Sources:

See Also: Mile End, Devonshire Street, Coborn Road (2nd) & Coborn Road (1st)


Globe Road & Devonshire Street Station Gallery 1:
Early 20th C - 1931

The bridge over Morpeth Street, with the station entrance on the right and thus looking south, sometime in the very early twentieth century. Morpeth Street bridge carried, and indeed still does carry four tracks. There was also a siding terminating at buffers adjacent to Globe Road bridge. Part of the siding remained in use into the 1980s for sand traffic in conjunction with the adjacent (at the east end of the site) Regents Canal and has latterly been used for the stabling of on-track plant. The groun- level site of the goods yard is now built on having closed in 1967. It was on the north side of the line and road access to the yard was along the road seen in the left foreground. The bridge marks the boundary between Mile End and Bethnal Green. In this photograph Devonshire Street runs right to left beyond the bridge with Portelet Road veering left straight ahead. The arched section of the bridge is believed to date from the original Eastern Counties Railway line. The flag fixed to the bridge abutment on the right appears to bear the bell logo of the National Telephone Company (NTC). The NTC was taken over by the GPO (General Post Office) in 1911, suggesting that the photograph may predate that year. Note the delightful globular gas lamp over the station entrance. Through the entrance gates there was a subway under the viaduct taking passengers to the Devonshire Street booking office. The standard mounted lamp uses an early form of incandescent mantle; an upright type, meaning that it is mounted at the bottom and supported at its top by a wire frame. Today the arched section of the bridge remains but the girder section now uses concrete beams. The cobbles have long gone, although probably still exist beneath the tarmac, as have the gas lamps and the station entrance ornate gates on the right. The gatepost still stands, however, and some of the glazed bricks beneath the bridge can still be seen. The building seen beyond the bridge is The Carlton public house. Formerly The Carlton Arms; it dates from 1854 at which time its address was 2 Devonshire Street. In 1861 the address was 2 Carlton Terrace, Devonshire Street and it later became 238 Devonshire Street. Still there today, the address is now 238 Bancroft Road, E1. Devonshire Street no longer exists or at least not in name. It ran east from Cambridge Heath road, the first section now being part of Cephas Street, before turning north-east along what is now Colebert Avenue. It then crossed Globe Road before turning eastwards to run parallel the railway before joining Bancroft Road which runs south-east to eventually join the Mile End Road. Precisely when Devonshire Street, the name, ceased to exist is unclear but the process appears to have begun shortly before the war and to have been completed by, or immediately after, the end of the war. True to form, however, to this day the railways still refer to Devonshire Street in their track and signalling diagrams. Click here to see a larger version of this picture with a more detailed caption.
Photo from John Mann collection

 Stanfords 6" map of London c1887.
From Bill King collection

1876 1:2,500 OS map. This map shows the original layout of the Devonshire Street goods yard before the yard expanded onto the south side of the viaduct. At this time Globe Road and Devonshire Street station had not been built and the viaduct was yet to be widened. The steep incline trailing in from the down line is highlighted in yellow. Small turntables for moving wagons around the yard are shown at both ends of the lower yard and in the centre. At the east end of the yard a siding runs alongside the Regents Canal for transhipment of goods between the canal and railway. Two cranes are shown in the centre of the lower yard with another alongside the Regents Canal. Wagon turntables are also seen at the east end of the upper yards. The upper yard comprised a series of coal drops with the coal depot located beneath the viaduct. There was no direct rail access to the depot with coal being transferred to road vehicles. Access to the lower yard was at the end of Warley Street and access to the coal depot was at the north end of Bancroft Road. Weighbridges are shown at both entrances. A signal box is shown but not named at the west end of the yard on the up side. Click here for a larger version.

1896 1:1056 OS Town Plan. This map shows the layout of Globe Road station as built. There are two facing platforms which are slightly staggered. They are covered by a canopy for most of their length but the canopy is not shown here. There were entrances at both ends of the station. The Globe Road entrance gates are show immediately south of the bridge. The booking office was located in the first arch which is indicated here by a subway. The canopy in front of the entrance is not shown. A triangular compound on the north side of Devonshire Street is the entrance to the Devonshire Street booking office located in the second arch west from the bridge; here the small canopy in front of the entrance is shown. On the north side of the Morpeth Street bridge another entrance gateway is shown with a path leading to the subway. The four stairways are shown; staggered stairs at the Grove Road end and facing stairs at the Devonshire Street end. The room layout of the platform buildings is clearly seen. There are three blocks of buildings on the up platform with a gents' toilet at either end. The first two buildings (left to right) are waiting rooms and ladies’ rooms. The third building is the stationmaster's office and other staff rooms. The down platform has two blocks of buildings comprising waiting rooms and ladies rooms with a gents' toilet at the west end. The Grove Road Junction signal box is shown spanning the tracks towards the west end of the station. The Devonshire Street signal box is seen between the tracks to the east of the down platform. This box was opened in 1884 and replaced and earlier box nearby.
Click here for a larger version.

1896 1:1056 OS Town Plan. There have been many changes in the layout of the goods yard since the 1876 map. The incline (indicated in yellow) to the lower yard on the north of the viaduct has been rebuilt further west. It trails of the down fast line and immediately dives under the new lines to emerge in the lower yard. It is clear from this map that the headshunt at the foot of the incline was nowhere near long enough to accommodate a train of more than, perhaps half a dozen wagons. Much of the north yard has been re-laid and a number of lines (indicated in red) are seen passing beneath the viaduct. Two of these, at the east end, emerge on the south side of the viaduct to serve an extension of the yard on that side; the other three do not emerge on the south side and would have served the coal depot located below the viaduct. These are likely to have been connected to another line running under and parallel to the viaduct but there is no documentary evidence of this. The yard on the south side of the viaduct handled coal and building materials. As well as the original entrance to the south side, at the north end of Bancroft Road there is also an entrance with a weighbridge (WM) at the end of Longnor Road. The entrance to the yard on the north side at the end of Warley Road now has two weighbridges. The Devonshire Street coaling stage is seen on the edge of the embankment just west of the Bancroft Street weighbridge (by the letters F.A.). The siding alongside the Regents Canal at the east end of the north yard has now gone but an elevated siding continues off the end of the viaduct running above other sidings to serve coal chutes alongside the Regents Canal on the south side. Two signal boxes are shown: Devonshire Street at the west end of the yard and Canal alongside the Regents Canal. Click here for a larger version.

1950 1:2,500 OS map. The final extension to the goods depot occurred just before WW1 when further land on the south side of the viaduct was acquired to provide space for five long sidings served by car roads. The main road access to the enlarged yard was from Mile End Road just west of the Globe bridge over the Regents Canal. The elevated siding running alongside the Regents Canal has gone. Devonshire Street West signal box closed 5.9.1948 and iis not showd so is assumed to have been quickly demolished The East box (formerly Canal) closed 6.2.1949 but is still shown. A Corporation Yard has opened within the goods yard alongside the Regents Canal. In the north yards most of the wagon turntables have gone leaving just two at the east end of the yard. Click here for a larger version

From Railtrack's Waterloo Archive

GER 209 class No.227 stands at the Devonshire Street coal stage, with ash pile on the right, in the early 20th century. There were eight of these diminutive locomotives, nicknamed 'Coffee Pots' and those which survived into LNER days becoming Class Y5. Originally a standard Neilson 0-4-0ST with open cabs, the first two, Nos.209 and 210 were purchased 'off the shelf' in 1874/5. Their purpose was shunting at Devonshire Street and the Pepper Warehouses at Blackwall (accessed from Canning Town and often referred to as such). The coaling stage seen in this view was located at the west end of Devonshire Street goods yard on the edge of the embankment and on the south side of the main line. The stage was abolished circa 1957 when diesel shunters took over. Click here to see a second picture of the coaling stage and a more details description of the 'Coffee Pots.'
Photo from James Lake collection


Aerial view of Globe Road & Devonshire Street station seen from the south in 1931, 15 years after the station closed. Devonshire Street runs left to right across the picture. Morpeth Street bridge is seen on the far right and to its left is the entrance to the Devonshire Street booking office with the parapet above the arch being rendered with Portland cement. Great Eastern Railway appears in recessed letters in the render; see drawing above. This section of the viaduct (only the south side) is now Grade II listed as it is among the earliest, and longest, examples of a first-generation railway structure to survive in London.
Photo from Britain from Above, reproduced with permission

Aerial view of the east end of Globe Road & Devonshire Street station seen from the south in 1931, 15 years after the station closed. The Globe Road booking office is located in the first arch east of the Globe Road bridge. The two staggered stairways are roofed with panes of rolled ribbed glass. The was no entrance on the north side of Globe Road bridge as the Globe Road Mission Hall butts up to the viaduct. At the other end of the station there are entrances on both sides of the line.
Photo from Britain from Above, reproduced with permission

Aerial view of Globe Road & Devonshire Street station seen from the east in 1931, 15 years after the station closed. The station remained largely intact until demolition in 1938. The Grove Road Junction box which was sited above the tracks towards the London end of the station has been demolished. It closed in 1894 and was probably demolished soon after closure. Photo from Britain from Above, reproduced with permission

Click here for Globe Road & Devonshire Street Station Gallery 2: 1931 - June 2017


 

 

 

[Source: Nick Catford]




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