Oliver Green - Londons Great Railway Stations
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London has more mainline railway stations than any other city in the world and many of them are amongst its grandest architectural monuments. Its earliest terminals opened in the late 1830s when lines between the capital and the regions were built in the first railway boom. The original station at London Bridge, the capitals first passenger terminus, was opened in December 1836, six months before Queen Victoria came to the throne. The last main line to London, the Great Central Railway to Marylebone, was opened in March 1899, two years before Victoria died.
Ever since they originally opened, these stations have been at heart of London life and activity and have dominated the architectural landscape. Many are now in the midst of major reconstructions and are the centrepieces for the transformation of whole swathes of London, from Paddington to Kings Cross.
This comprehensive story combines a historical overview, archive illustrations and specially commissioned photography, covering the origins of the earliest stations up to the latest reconstructions and renovations.
Written by the expert author Oliver Green, this is an essential gift for anyone interested in the history of London and its transport.
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Sir John Betjeman (190684), the Poet Laureate who loved railways, now has his own statue at St Pancras, gazing up at the great roof he helped to save. Betjemans enthusiasm for Londons great stations, large and small, was an inspiration to everyone who worked for their restoration and protection. Without him we would have lost a lot more of them.
Railway Stations
Oliver Green
Photography by Benjamin Graham
The new departures concourse building on the west side of Kings Cross station, with its spectacular roof support structure, opened in 2012.
One of the great joys of my working life has been, and is, the privilege of being the temporary custodian of great buildings, both in my time as Commissioner of Transport for London and now as Chair of Network Rail. The railway, and later the underground railway, were both originally brought to life in Britain, and have not only changed our society and economy, but bequeathed us some glorious buildings as well. Describing railway hardware as assets is questionable many of the earthworks and structures are actually expensive liabilities but it would be heartless to describe most stations in the same way. The architecture of the great railway era has for the most part aged extraordinarily well, and the country, and particularly London, is all the richer for our great stations, which is why this book, written by transport historian Oliver Green, and featuring Benjamin Grahams wonderful photographs, is so welcome.
Londons greatest Victorian gothic building, the former Midland Grand Hotel commissioned by the Midland Railway to front their enormous trainshed at St Pancras, seen to the right.
As buildings, they are monuments to the steam (and less often, the electric) age; with travellers and visitors in them they take on lives of their own, with individual characters. Paddington, Im sure youd agree, is a grand place, the start of many significant journeys; in my case, when I was small, travelling on the Cornish Riviera Express to the seaside. The bustle of Charing Cross and Cannon Street is obviously suburban; an express would look out of place (both did have them, though not many).
And the stations have shaped the neighbourhoods around them, too. The regal hotels at Paddington, St Pancras and Charing Cross are dominant and set more than the tone of just the stations; they command the surrounding areas, leaving no one in any doubt about the importance of those buildings to the appearance, life and economy of the neighbourhood.
The main staircase of the Midland Grand, now restored to become the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. The re-opening took place on 5 May 2011, 138 years to the day after the original opening in 1873.
Benjamins newly commissioned photographs will remind you of just how fabulous many of these stations are, and how much we should treasure them. Unlike some times in the past, Network Rail and Transport for London both now do their best to do just that, and we also try hard to build new and replacement stations as functional and elegant as those of our inheritance. Id like to think that the new London Bridge, the Jubilee line and certainly the new Elizabeth line stations all qualify.
As you turn the pages and follow the fascinating story, please savour the beautiful photographs of our railway inheritance. The buildings are ours to maintain, but these images, and the stations themselves, are for all of you to admire, travel through (virtually and actually) and enjoy.
Sir Peter Hendy CBE
Chair, Network Rail
London has more main-line railway stations than any other city in the world, all of them first built in the Victorian period. Its earliest terminals were opened in the late 1830s, when the first lines between the capital and the regions were planned. The original station at London Bridge, the capitals first passenger terminus, opened in December 1836, six months before Queen Victoria came to the throne. The last main line to London in the nineteenth century, terminating at Marylebone, opened in March 1899, two years before the elderly queen died.
More than one hundred years later, two additional main lines (HS1 and HS2) have been under development to bring high speed trains to and from the capital. Although both are completely new railways on physically separate alignments from the Victorian main lines, both will operate from existing termini that have been rebuilt and extended. High Speed One (HS1) was opened to the renamed St Pancras International in 2007 and HS2 is now under construction to a new station alongside Euston, where it will open in the late 2020s.
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