Whitechapel and Bow Railway

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Whitechapel and Bow Railway
Stepney Green station building.jpg
Stepney Green station
Overview
StatusPart of London Underground
Owner District Railway and London, Tilbury and Southend Railway and successors
Locale London, England
Stations4
Service
Type Rapid transit
History
Opened2 June 1902 (1902-06-02)
Technical
Number of tracks2
CharacterSub-surface
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map

Contents

Legend
BSicon tCONTg.svg
District Railway
BSicon tHSTea.svg
 Whitechapel
BSicon tHST.svg
 Stepney Green
BSicon tHST.svg
 Mile End
BSicon tHSTe@f.svg
 Bow Road
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BSicon ABZg+r.svg
Campbell Road Junction
BSicon HST.svg
 Bromley
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London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
This diagram:

The Whitechapel and Bow Railway was an underground railway in London, England, that is now entirely integrated into the London Underground system. The railway has its origins in a failed 1883 scheme to connect the sub-surface Metropolitan Railway in the west with the above-ground London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) in the east. The scheme was revived in 1897, this time with the District Railway as the western sub-surface partner. The short 2 miles (3.2 km) line allowed the District Railway to access suburban traffic and relieved pressure on LTSR services. The railway opened on 2 June 1902. Three new stations were opened with the line. Built to accommodate steam trains, the railway was fourth rail electrified in 1905. It was run by a joint committee until 1920 and then by the District Railway on behalf of the joint owners. The railway made it possible to run through trains from Ealing Broadway to Southend-on-Sea from 1910 to 1939. Ownership was fully transferred to the London Transport Executive in January 1950 as part of the Transport Act 1947 provisions. It now carries the London Underground District and Hammersmith & City lines.

History

Origins

The railway had its origins in a scheme promoted by the Metropolitan Railway, under chairman Edward Watkin, to connect St Mary's station in Whitechapel with the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) at Campbell Road in Bromley via underground railway. [1] The purpose of the proposed line was to relieve pressure on the LTSR terminus at Fenchurch Street by routing local trains on to the Metropolitan Railway. [2] The Metropolitan and LTSR agreed to jointly promote the scheme in 1883. [2] The route trains would take to reach the Metropolitan Railway avoided Whitechapel station and 850 yards of track that were both exclusively owned by the District Railway. [a] However, trains would still need to pass through a section of the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Joint Railway. The District Railway was able to block Metropolitan/LTSR through services on this basis and chairman James Staats Forbes made clear his intention to oppose the necessary legislation for the new line. The LTSR withdrew from the partnership with the Metropolitan. [4] In 1897 the District Railway revived the scheme, seeking permission from shareholders in February and receiving legislative consent in August. [5] The District scheme was identical, except trains would run to their Whitechapel station and the line would not avoid it. [6] Further legislation in 1898 established a joint committee of the District Railway and LTSR. They agreed to jointly fund the new line and a third act in 1900 confirmed how it would be operated. [5]

Construction

Short section of District Railway track at Whitechapel Completing the Circle.svg
Short section of District Railway track at Whitechapel

286 people were displaced to build the railway. They were rehoused in 1901 in the Wellington Buildings flats that were constructed on Wellington Street. [7] Whitechapel District Railway station [b] was closed for reconstruction on 2 February 1902 and was transferred to Whitechapel and Bow Railway ownership. [8] [7] The railway included a bridge over the East London Railway to the east of Whitechapel station. Most of the railway was in cut-and-cover tunnel under Whitechapel Road and Mile End Road. It passed under the Regent's Canal in a short section of tube tunnel. [9] East of Bow Road, the railway had a steep incline to meet up with the LTSR. [8] Signalling was provided by Saxby and Farmer to District Railway specifications. [10] The 2 miles (3.2 km) line opened on 2 June 1902. [11] It linked a short section of District Railway track to the west of Whitechapel station with the LTSR at the above-ground Campbell Road Junction at Bromley, to the west of Bromley station. 450 feet (140 m) long platforms were built to accommodate LTSR trains. [5] The line from Whitechapel to Campbell Road Junction, and on to East Ham, was fully fourth rail electrified on 20 August 1905. [12]

Management

Railway Clearing House diagram of the Whitechapel area in 1906 Aldgate, Bishopsgate, Haydon Square, Liverpool Street, Mansion House, Spitalfields & Whitechapel RJD 45.JPG
Railway Clearing House diagram of the Whitechapel area in 1906

From 1902 to 1950 the Whitechapel and Bow Railway was owned as a joint venture. Initially the arrangement was between the District Railway and the LTSR. They formed a joint board, headquartered in the LTSR offices. The board consisted of three directors from each company and included the chairman of each of them. [13] The line was initially operated by a joint committee. Both companies went through a series of amalgamations over time. The LTSR was purchased by the Midland Railway in 1912. In 1920 the joint committee was dissolved and thereafter the District operated the line on behalf of the Whitechapel and Bow Railway. [14] The Midland was subsequently grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923 and was nationalised in 1948 as part of British Railways. The District Railway was part of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and was absorbed into the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. This was nationalised as the London Transport Executive in 1948. Both the Railway Executive and the London Transport Executive were subsidiaries of the British Transport Commission. The Transport Act 1947 provided for complete ownership of the Whitechapel and Bow Railway to pass to the London Transport Executive and this took place on 23 January 1950. [15]

Services

The District Railway had running rights as far east as Bromley. [9] Regular steam services to East Ham were provided by the District Railway with joint stock, [c] with some trains going as far as Upminster. After electrification, services terminated at East Ham from 30 September 1905 and Barking from 1 April 1908. [17] The LTSR had running rights as far west as Whitechapel and operated a return Whitechapel to Southend steam service on Sundays during the summer of 1905. They were the only LTSR passenger services that ran on the Whitechapel and Bow. [18] Failing to establish a suitable terminus, the LTSR gave up plans to run regular services over the Whitechapel and Bow Railway to destinations west of Whitechapel in 1908. [19]

Fares to Fenchurch Street via the LTSR and Mark Lane via the Whitechapel and Bow were the same and tickets were interchangeable. [11] [d] A regular jointly-operated Ealing Broadway to Southend through service was run daily from 1910 to 1939, with traction west of Barking provided by the District Railway's electric locomotives. [19] The LMS extended the electrified local tracks east from Barking and electric District Railway trains reached Upminster on 12 September 1932. [21] The Metropolitan line provided a peak time service from 1936, in effect finally realising the original Metropolitan/LTSR proposal. On 30 July 1990, the Metropolitan line service running over the Whitechapel and Bow section gained a separate identity as the Hammersmith & City line. [22] From 13 December 2009, off-peak Hammersmith & City line service was extended from Whitechapel to Barking with a daily all-day service. [23]

Design

The stations were designed by the engineer Cuthbert Arthur Brereton. [24] Stepney Green and Bow Road station buildings survive from 1902. [25] Mile End station, that had been identical to Stepney Green, was rebuilt in 1945 as part of the eastern extension of the Central line. [25] Bow Road station was built to a unique design because of the constrained site. The station building had half the frontage of the other two stations and has been a grade II listed building since 27 September 1973. [25] [26] Station exteriors had brown glazed bricks below the windowsills and red brick above. The windows and doors had terracotta surrounds. The interiors had white glazed bricks. [24] Underground platforms had vents for steam trains that were unnecessary after 1905. [24] Brereton also designed the Wellington Buildings flats adjacent to Bow Road station. [25]

List of stations

The stations were as follows:

StationFirst servedNotes
Whitechapel 2 June 1902Existing District Railway station, rebuilt and ownership transferred [7]
Stepney Green 23 June 1902New station
Mile End 2 June 1902New station, planned to be named "Burdett Road" [27]
Bow Road 11 June 1902New station, planned to be named "Wellington Road" and then "Bow" [27]

Notes

  1. ↑ Formally known as the Metropolitan District Railway. [3]
  2. ↑ There was also an adjacent Whitechapel East London Railway station.
  3. ↑ Six trains were purchased, three by each company, to cover the extended service. [16]
  4. ↑ An arrangement maintained to the present day. [20]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Kay 1997, p. 95.
  2. 1 2 Horne 2018, p. 160.
  3. ↑ Lee 1988, p. 6.
  4. ↑ Horne 2018, p. 161.
  5. 1 2 3 Horne 2018, p. 163.
  6. ↑ Kay 1997, pp. 95–96.
  7. 1 2 3 Kay 1997, p. 96.
  8. 1 2 Horne 2018, p. 165.
  9. 1 2 Horne 2018, p. 164.
  10. ↑ Horne 2018, p. 166.
  11. 1 2 Horne 2018, p. 167.
  12. ↑ Horne 2019, p. 108.
  13. ↑ Horne 2018, p. 194.
  14. ↑ Horne 2018, p. 168.
  15. ↑ Lee 1988, p. 53.
  16. ↑ Horne 2018, p. 275.
  17. ↑ Horne 2019, p. 127.
  18. ↑ Kay 1997, p. 99.
  19. 1 2 Kay 1997, p. 100.
  20. ↑ Wells, David (28 November 2025). "FOI request detail: List of routes where interavailability rules apply". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 12 April 2026. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  21. ↑ Horne 2019, p. 310.
  22. ↑ "Salmon pink for new LUL line". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 136, no. 1074. October 1990. p. 646.
  23. ↑ "Review of the New Sub-Surface Railway Service Pattern Introduced on 13 December 2009" (PDF). Transport for London. 8 February 2011. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  24. 1 2 3 Kay 2012, p. 38.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Kay 2012, p. 36.
  26. ↑ Historic England. "Bow Road London Transport Underground Station (Grade II) (1357787)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  27. 1 2 Kay 1997, p. 97.

Sources

  • Horne, Mike (2018). London's District Railway: A History of the Metropolitan District Railway Company. Twentieth Century. Volume one. Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN   978-1854144256.
  • Horne, Mike (2019). London's District Railway: A History of the Metropolitan District Railway Company. Twentieth Century. Volume two. Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN   978-1-85414-430-0.
  • Kay, Peter (1997). The London, Tilbury & Southend Railway: A History of the Company and Line Volume 2. Wivenhoe: P. Kay. ISBN   189-9-89019X.
  • Kay, Peter (2012). London's Railway Heritage: Volume One: East. P. Kay. ISBN   978-1899890453.
  • Lee, Charles Edward (1988) [1956]. The Metropolitan District Railway. The Oakwood Library of Railway History (2nd ed.). Headington: Oakwood Press. ISBN   0-85361-361-3.
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