London Waterloo station: Difference between revisions
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The station was opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway, and it replaced the earlier Nine Elms as it was closer to the West End. It was never designed to be a terminus, as the original intention was to continue the line towards the City of London, and consequently the station developed in a haphazard fashion, leading to difficulty finding the correct platform. The station was rebuilt in the early 20th century, opening in 1922, and included the Victory Arch over the main entrance, which commemorated World War I. | The station was opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway, and it replaced the earlier Nine Elms as it was closer to the West End. It was never designed to be a terminus, as the original intention was to continue the line towards the City of London, and consequently the station developed in a haphazard fashion, leading to difficulty finding the correct platform. The station was rebuilt in the early 20th century, opening in 1922, and included the Victory Arch over the main entrance, which commemorated World War I. | ||
==Location== | ==Location== | ||
The station's formal name is London Waterloo, and appears as such on all official documentation. It has the station code WAT.[8] It is in the London Borough of Lambeth on the south bank of the River Thames, close to Waterloo Bridge and northeast of Westminster Bridge. The main entrance is to the south of the junction of Waterloo Road and York Road.[9] It is named after the eponymous bridge, which itself was named after the Battle of Waterloo, a battle that occurred exactly two years prior to the opening ceremony for the bridge | The station's formal name is London Waterloo, and appears as such on all official documentation. It has the station code WAT.[8] It is in the London Borough of Lambeth on the south bank of the River Thames, close to Waterloo Bridge and northeast of Westminster Bridge. The main entrance is to the south of the junction of Waterloo Road and York Road.[9] It is named after the eponymous bridge, which itself was named after the Battle of Waterloo, a battle that occurred exactly two years prior to the opening ceremony for the bridge. | ||
==Background== | |||
Waterloo was built by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR). It replaced the earlier Nine Elms, which opened on 21 May 1838 and had connected London to Southampton since 11 May 1840.[12] By the mid-1840s, commuter services to Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Kingston upon Thames, Ditton Marsh and Weybridge had become an important part of L&SWR traffic, so the company looked for a terminus closer to Central London and the West End. An act of Parliament, the London and South Western Railway Metropolitan Extensions Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. clxv), was granted in 1845 to extend the line towards a site on York Road, close to Waterloo Bridge. The extension past Nine Elms involved demolishing 700 houses, and most of it was carried on a brick viaduct to minimise disruption. The longest bridge was 90 feet (27 m) long and took the line over Westminster Bridge Road. The approach to the new station carried four tracks, with the expectation that other companies would use it. The station was designed by William Tite and opened on 11 July 1848 as "Waterloo Bridge Station". Nine Elms closed for regular services at the same time, but Queen Victoria was fond of the privacy afforded by the old station, so it was kept open for her, and a replacement private station built on Wandsworth Road in 1854. Waterloo Bridge was not designed to be a terminus, but was originally laid out as a through station, as it was expected that services would eventually continue towards the City of London. The L&SWR purchased several properties along the route, before plans were cancelled following the Panic of 1847. In October 1882, Waterloo Bridge station was officially renamed Waterloo, reflecting long-standing common usage, even in some L&SWR timetables. | |||
===Expansion=== | |||
Throughout the 19th century, the L&SWR aimed to extend its main line eastward beyond into the City of London, and was reluctant to construct a dedicated grand terminus at Waterloo. Consequently, the station had none of the usual facilities expected of a terminus until 1853, when a small block was built on the far east side of the station. In 1854, the London Necropolis & National Mausoleum Company opened a private station inside Waterloo that provided services to Brookwood Cemetery. The station was demolished and replaced with a dedicated building in 1902, as part of the reconstruction of Waterloo in the early 20th century. | |||
Traffic and passengers to Waterloo increased throughout the century, and Waterloo was extended in an ad hoc manner to accommodate this. In 1860, new platforms were added on the northwest side of the station; these were known as the Windsor Station after its intended destination. An additional dock siding of the main station opened on 17 March 1869. A 5-chain (330 ft; 100 m) link to the South Eastern Railway (SER) line from London Bridge to Charing Cross opened in July 1865. It was diverted from London Bridge to Cannon Street on 1 February 1867, before being withdrawn the following year.The SER opened Waterloo Junction station on 1 January 1869 as a replacement, that allowed LSWR passengers to change and access services to Cannon Street. A further extension on the southeastern side of Waterloo, to provide more services, opened on 16 December 1878. A further extension to the north, beyond the Windsor Station, opened in November 1885. | |||
For each extension, the long-term plan was that the expansion was "temporary" until the line was extended past Waterloo, and these additions were added alongside and around the existing structure instead of an overall architectural plan. This resulted in the station becoming increasingly ramshackle. The platform numbering had grown in an ad hoc manner, resulting in the confusing situation of No. 1 being in the middle of the station complex, where it had been since 1848.[19] The original station became known as the "Central Station" as other platforms were added. The new platform sets were known by nicknames – the two platforms added for suburban services in 1878 were the "Cyprus Station", and the six built in 1885 for use by trains on the Windsor line became the "Khartoum". Each of these stations-within-a-station had its own booking office, taxi stand and public entrances from the street, as well as often poorly marked and confusing access to the rest of the station. | |||
By 1899, Waterloo had 16 platforms but only 10 numbers allocated in different sections of the station or on different levels; some numbers were duplicated.[21] This complexity and confusion became the butt of jokes by writers and music hall comics for many years in the late 19th century, including Jerome K. Jerome in Three Men in a Boat.[19] It was criticised and satirised in several Punch cartoons. | |||
=== Sources === | === Sources === | ||
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Waterloo_station | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Waterloo_station | ||
Latest revision as of 20:27, 30 December 2025
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Waterloo station (/ˌwɔːtərˈluː/),[5][6] also known as London Waterloo, is a major central London railway terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of the same name and is adjacent to Waterloo East station on the South Eastern Main Line. The station is the terminus of the South West Main Line to Weymouth via Southampton, the West of England main line to Exeter via Salisbury, the Portsmouth Direct line to Portsmouth Harbour which connects with ferry services to the Isle of Wight, and several commuter services around west and south-west London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.
The station was opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway, and it replaced the earlier Nine Elms as it was closer to the West End. It was never designed to be a terminus, as the original intention was to continue the line towards the City of London, and consequently the station developed in a haphazard fashion, leading to difficulty finding the correct platform. The station was rebuilt in the early 20th century, opening in 1922, and included the Victory Arch over the main entrance, which commemorated World War I.
Location
The station's formal name is London Waterloo, and appears as such on all official documentation. It has the station code WAT.[8] It is in the London Borough of Lambeth on the south bank of the River Thames, close to Waterloo Bridge and northeast of Westminster Bridge. The main entrance is to the south of the junction of Waterloo Road and York Road.[9] It is named after the eponymous bridge, which itself was named after the Battle of Waterloo, a battle that occurred exactly two years prior to the opening ceremony for the bridge.
Background
Waterloo was built by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR). It replaced the earlier Nine Elms, which opened on 21 May 1838 and had connected London to Southampton since 11 May 1840.[12] By the mid-1840s, commuter services to Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Kingston upon Thames, Ditton Marsh and Weybridge had become an important part of L&SWR traffic, so the company looked for a terminus closer to Central London and the West End. An act of Parliament, the London and South Western Railway Metropolitan Extensions Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. clxv), was granted in 1845 to extend the line towards a site on York Road, close to Waterloo Bridge. The extension past Nine Elms involved demolishing 700 houses, and most of it was carried on a brick viaduct to minimise disruption. The longest bridge was 90 feet (27 m) long and took the line over Westminster Bridge Road. The approach to the new station carried four tracks, with the expectation that other companies would use it. The station was designed by William Tite and opened on 11 July 1848 as "Waterloo Bridge Station". Nine Elms closed for regular services at the same time, but Queen Victoria was fond of the privacy afforded by the old station, so it was kept open for her, and a replacement private station built on Wandsworth Road in 1854. Waterloo Bridge was not designed to be a terminus, but was originally laid out as a through station, as it was expected that services would eventually continue towards the City of London. The L&SWR purchased several properties along the route, before plans were cancelled following the Panic of 1847. In October 1882, Waterloo Bridge station was officially renamed Waterloo, reflecting long-standing common usage, even in some L&SWR timetables.
Expansion
Throughout the 19th century, the L&SWR aimed to extend its main line eastward beyond into the City of London, and was reluctant to construct a dedicated grand terminus at Waterloo. Consequently, the station had none of the usual facilities expected of a terminus until 1853, when a small block was built on the far east side of the station. In 1854, the London Necropolis & National Mausoleum Company opened a private station inside Waterloo that provided services to Brookwood Cemetery. The station was demolished and replaced with a dedicated building in 1902, as part of the reconstruction of Waterloo in the early 20th century.
Traffic and passengers to Waterloo increased throughout the century, and Waterloo was extended in an ad hoc manner to accommodate this. In 1860, new platforms were added on the northwest side of the station; these were known as the Windsor Station after its intended destination. An additional dock siding of the main station opened on 17 March 1869. A 5-chain (330 ft; 100 m) link to the South Eastern Railway (SER) line from London Bridge to Charing Cross opened in July 1865. It was diverted from London Bridge to Cannon Street on 1 February 1867, before being withdrawn the following year.The SER opened Waterloo Junction station on 1 January 1869 as a replacement, that allowed LSWR passengers to change and access services to Cannon Street. A further extension on the southeastern side of Waterloo, to provide more services, opened on 16 December 1878. A further extension to the north, beyond the Windsor Station, opened in November 1885.
For each extension, the long-term plan was that the expansion was "temporary" until the line was extended past Waterloo, and these additions were added alongside and around the existing structure instead of an overall architectural plan. This resulted in the station becoming increasingly ramshackle. The platform numbering had grown in an ad hoc manner, resulting in the confusing situation of No. 1 being in the middle of the station complex, where it had been since 1848.[19] The original station became known as the "Central Station" as other platforms were added. The new platform sets were known by nicknames – the two platforms added for suburban services in 1878 were the "Cyprus Station", and the six built in 1885 for use by trains on the Windsor line became the "Khartoum". Each of these stations-within-a-station had its own booking office, taxi stand and public entrances from the street, as well as often poorly marked and confusing access to the rest of the station.
By 1899, Waterloo had 16 platforms but only 10 numbers allocated in different sections of the station or on different levels; some numbers were duplicated.[21] This complexity and confusion became the butt of jokes by writers and music hall comics for many years in the late 19th century, including Jerome K. Jerome in Three Men in a Boat.[19] It was criticised and satirised in several Punch cartoons.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Waterloo_station