Notes: The station was originally called Harrow although it was in Wealdstone not Harrow. It was renamed Harrow & Wealdstone on 1st May 1897.

At Harrow station the branch platform was signed 'Harrow Junction change for LNW railway', it differed in fittings and appearance from the rest of the building, an indication of the line's independent origins.

In 1912 the station was completely rebuilt in connection with the LNWR widening and suburban electrification scheme. This work included a 540ft island platform (No 7) for the Stanmore trains, with the up slow line on the opposite face (No 6).The new platform was slightly to the north west of the earlier platform, part of which had been to the south east of the adjacent road bridge.

There was class distinction on the platform after the opening of Belmont station brought 'working class' commuters to the branch; there was a 'general waiting room' a 'gentleman's waiting room' and a 'ladies waiting room'

After the rebuilding the station running-in boards stated 'Harrow and Wealdstone change for Stanmore' but it later years they just had the station name with no indication that the station was a junction.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HARROW & WEALDSTONE - STANMORE BRANCH
With a population of only 1,400 and three stations within easy reach there was little demand for a branch line to Stanmore.  London hotel owner Fredrick Gordon acquired the Bentley Priory estate in 1882 with the intention of converting it into a country retreat and resort for his London hotel guests. To bring customers to his new 'resort', Gordon resurrected an earlier failed proposal to bring a railway to Stanmore by proposing his own Harrow and Stanmore Railway Bill; his line was authorised in 1886.

After failing to raise sufficient capital, Gordon proposed a second Bill in 1887 for a shorter 2 1/8 mile route from a junction with the London & North Western Railway at Harrow & Wealdstone to a terminus at Stanmore. By a further Act in 1891 the LNWR agreed to work the short branch with the Harrow & Stanmore Railway building and maintaining a single track line with a passenger and goods station at Stanmore and interchange sidings at Harrow. The act also allowed for an intermediate

The H & SR was sold to the LNWR under 'The LNWR (Additional Powers) Act’ of 1st July 1899 before the line was completed with the first train running on 18th December 1890. The first timetable shows ten down and nine up trains Mondays to Fridays with one extra train on Saturdays. There were no Sunday trains as part of the initial deal secured by Fredrick Gordon.

In 1912 Harrow & Wealdstone Station was rebuilt as part of the LNWR widening and suburban electrification scheme. The branches from Watford to Croxley Green and Rickmansworth were both electrified but because of the position of the junction the Stanmore branch was not included which, in the long run, led to the demise of the line after the Metropolitan Railway (now the Jubilee line) opened their line to Stanmore on 10th December 1932 once urban development reached the area.

Gordon's hopes for the line failed to materialise and traffic was always light.  Although there was some early development around the station the branch ran through open countryside until the 1920's. Gordon's Bentley Priory scheme was not a success and Bentley Priory eventually became a girls' school.  Passenger traffic was further depleted after 1913 when the first motor busses arrived in the area. In 1923 the LNWR and with it the Stanmore branch were vested into the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS)

Passenger numbers improved in the 1930's when urban development finally reached the area between Harrow and Stanmore.  To cater for this, the LMSR opened a wooden halt at Belmont on 12 September 1932, on the site of the former Kenton Lane siding, to serve a planned housing estate. Although the Metropolitan line from Wembley Park reached Stanmore shortly after Belmont opened fares were cheaper from Belmont and the new station attracted commuters.  A Sunday service was introduced in 1934 and in order to cater for the added demand, Belmont was rebuilt in 1937. In 1938 the service had increased to 71 trains in each direction on weekdays with a ten minute interval during rush hours. Freight traffic also improved; with the ongoing urban development there was a demand for large quantities of bricks which were delivered to the yard at Stanmore and eventually a temporary siding was laid at Belmont to cater for some of this traffic.

The branch survived WW2 with only a short disruption to the service when a bomb left a crater near the track. In 1946 there was a fuel shortage and the Sunday service which had initially been very popular was temporarily suspended. When it was reinstated most passengers had found alternative means of transport and never returned to the railway so the Sunday service was permanently withdrawn from 27 July 1947.  Although Belmont remained busy and was now the principal station on the line few passengers used the terminus at Stanmore and in 1952 the average daily usage was only 700 so it came as no surprise when BR announced closure of the branch which was making an annual loss of £4000.   There was a robust campaign by residents of Belmont to keep their section of the line open; this was successful and from 15th September 1952 the passenger service was cut back to Belmont.  Stanmore remained open being served by a daily freight train.

Diesel Multiple Units began operating the Belmont service on 15th March 1954 when British Railways' experimental ACV diesel railcar was transferred from the St. Albans Abbey branch but it returned to St. Albans the following year and steam returned to Belmont.  During the next seven years the line was worked intermittently by a variety of steam locomotives and DMU’s with the last steam service running on 15th December 1962. Off peak travel to Belmont became very light in the late 1950's while

After closure a local campaign to reopen the line was started and this was considered by the Minister of Transport six months after closure and again in 1965 but the Minister decided "there is no economic or social justification for reopening the line".

The first few chains out of Harrow were retained until 1968 as a headshunt for the Harrow goods yard and a test track for tamping machines. On 9th June 1965 the branch came back to life for one day when it was used by the BBC for an episode of 'The Londoners' TV series with a two car train shuttling up and down the branch all day.  Only one other train went beyond the

Track lifting beyond the retained siding took place in January 1966 and the remaining siding was lifted at the end of 1968.

Despite a campaign in 1967 to renovate Stanmore Station as an arts centre and railway museum the station site was sold to a local property developer in 1969 while Harrow Council bought the remainder of the track bed much of it has now been developed although the central section of the branch is now a public footpath between Christchurch Road through Belmont to Wolverton Road.   

Other web sites: Abandoned Tube Stations & Dewi's Trains, Trams & Trolleys

Source: London's Local Railways by Alan A. Jackson - Published by David & Charles - 1978 & (2nd edition) 1999 - ISBN 0 7153 7479 6.
Harrow & Stanmore Railway by Peter G. Scott - Hartest Productions 1972 and (2nd edition) 1981 ISBN 0 9506469 1 1. Tickets from Brian Halford   

Further reading: The Stanmore Village Branch - A photographic journey by I. Baker & J.E. Connor - 1998 Connor & Butler ISBN 978-0-947699-26-0

To see other stations on the Stanmore branch click on the station name:
Belmont & Stanmore Village