Hammersmith & Chiswick railway station
Hammersmith & Chiswick was a railway terminus in west London that was opened in 1858 by the North & South Western Junction Railway and closed in 1917, during the First World War.
Hammersmith & Chiswick | |
---|---|
![]() Map of station, 1894 | |
![]() ![]() Hammersmith & Chiswick Location of Hammersmith & Chiswick in Greater London | |
Location | Chiswick |
Owner | North & South Western Junction Railway |
Number of platforms | 1 |
Key dates | |
8 April 1858 | Opened as Hammersmith |
1 July 1880 | Renamed Hammersmith & Chiswick |
1 January 1917 | Closed to Passengers |
3 May 1965 | Closed Completely |
Replaced by | Stamford Brook |
Other information | |
WGS84 | 51.4935°N 0.2477°W |
![]() |
Originally named Hammersmith but renamed Hammersmith & Chiswick in 1880,[1] the station was located midway between Chiswick and Hammersmith and was intended to serve both areas.
History
Hammersmith station was opened on 8 April 1858 by the North & South Western Junction Railway (N&SWJR) on the site of a goods yard, which had opened on 1 May 1857, on Chiswick High Road in what was then a rural area.[2] The station was at the end of a 1.5 mile (2.5 km) branch line which ran northward from the North London Railway (NLR) line at South Acton and turned sharply to run south into Hammersmith & Chiswick.
The station building was not purpose-built but was a converted private house. In 1904, a writer described it as "abounding with flowers, and resembling rather the terminus of some far distant country branch line than what one might expect to find at a place bearing the dual distinction of the names of two west London suburbs".[3]
Until the interchange station at South Acton was opened on 1 January 1880, the branch line to Hammersmith & Chiswick employed an unusual mode of operation. Southbound NLR trains to Kew (which was on the western chord to the Hounslow Loop near the current Kew Bridge station) included a carriage for passengers travelling to Hammersmith & Chiswick. This carriage was uncoupled from the rest of the train immediately south of the junction. The N&SWJR's sole locomotive would then reverse onto the mainline, be attached to the carriage, and take it down the short branch to Hammersmith & Chiswick.[1] From 1 January 1880, on the station opening at South Acton, passengers could change there from Broad Street to Richmond trains onto the Hammersmith & Chiswick services.
Before the interchange at South Acton opened, one train per hour served the branch, while thereafter until closure there was one train every half-hour.[2]
In an effort to boost passenger numbers, which had been badly affected by the opening of the nearby District line station at Stamford Brook, three intermediate halts were opened on 8 April 1909: Rugby Road Halt, Woodstock Road Halt, and Bath Road Halt. These were little used, so trains stopped only on request.
![](../I/Hammersmith_%2526_Chiswick_station_site_geograph-3596502-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg.webp)
During the First World War, in 1917, all passenger services on the branch were suspended as a wartime economy measure and were never resumed. The three halts were closed only eight years after their opening. Hammersmith & Chiswick remained in use as a goods yard, primarily to serve a large coal depot. As the demand for coal reduced the branch was permanently closed on 3 May 1965.[2]
The station site was redeveloped in the 1980s and no trace remains.
References
- Catford, Nick (28 January 2005). "Hammersmith & Chiswick". Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1996). Willesden Junction to Richmond. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-71-5.
- Clegg, Gillian. "Travel". Chiswick History. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
External links
- Subterranea Britannica entry on the station with photographs of the station in the last days of operation
- Disused Railways entry on the branch
- Photographs of the remaining structures on the route (2005)
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Bath Road | North & South Western Junction Railway Hammersmith branch |
Terminus |