Holborn Viaduct railway station
Holborn Viaduct | |
---|---|
Location | City of London |
Owner | London, Chatham and Dover Railway |
Number of platforms | 6 |
Key dates | |
2 March 1874 | Opened |
29 January 1990 | Closed |
Replaced by | City Thameslink |
Other information | |
London transport portal |
Holborn Viaduct was a railway station in the
The station was opened in 1874 by the
Holborn Viaduct station became less used through the 20th century, serving a few local commuting services around southeast London and Kent. The station became redundant with the creation of the
Opening
The
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) had agreed to fund £310,000 to the LCDR, while the Great Northern Railway donated £320,000.[3] A shell company, the Holborn Viaduct Station Company, was set up to construct a 330-yard (300 m) branch from the Ludgate Hill-Farringdon line that would terminate at a new station located on Holborn Viaduct, which would also have a new hotel forming its frontage.[4]
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Holborn Viaduct was constructed as a six-platform terminus, with two island platforms and two side platforms, covered by a three-roof train shed.[5] Each of the platforms was 400 feet (120 m) long.[6] The redevelopment that began in 1963 saw the replacement of the train shed with shorter platform canopies, while a new concourse was constructed within the new office building on the ground floor level; the platforms were located at the first floor level.[7]
The station opened on 2 March 1874 with the intention that it be used as a terminus for main line and continental trains. These services were intended to operate to both the
On 10 May 1886,
Hotel
The Holborn Viaduct Hotel was designed by Lewis H. Isaacs, and opened on 17 November 1877.[8] It was so well-integrated with the station that it was difficult for the casual traveller in central London to spot the main entrance.[6]
The hotel was run by the caterers Spiers & Pond, who were already co-operating with the LCDR, and became official caterers to the LSWR in 1888, and the SER the following year. J. Lyons and Co. took over operations in 1905. It was used for wireless communications during World War I.[8]
Reorganisation
Passenger traffic through the Snow Hill Tunnel ceased on 3 April 1916, which saw the low-level platforms closed, and Holborn Viaduct become a terminus for passenger services from the south of London into the City.[10]
The station came under the control of the
The station was not directly damaged by any action in World War II, but the hotel was hit by a bomb on 26 October, and then destroyed by fire overnight on 10–11 May 1941. The station was closed until 1 June as a result. A signal box to the south of the station, and a nearby bridge over Southwark Street, were destroyed by overnight bombing on 16–17 April 1941. A temporary replacement opened on 29 September, with a permanent arrangement opening on 9 October 1942.[12]
Post-nationalisation
Following the war, services to Holborn Viaduct began to be withdrawn. The electrification of the Kent Coast route led to two basic services operating all day from the station: to Sevenoaks and West Croydon, with peak time services to a number of other destinations. The station was rebuilt between 1960 and 1963.[7] In 1963 the hotel, which had been heavily damaged during the Blitz, was demolished and redeveloped, with a new 10-storey office building replacing it. It opened on 9 September.[13] Two platforms were removed from the station in 1973, as services were reduced and parcel traffic stopped running.[14] The station was closed on Saturdays after 2 May 1970, and after 7:30pm on weekdays from 1 June 1981.[15] It remained popular for commuter services into the 1980s, serving over 22,000 passengers on 200 trains every day.[16]
In 1984, British Rail proposed using Snow Hill Tunnel as a bypass for the station;
The last train out of Holborn Viaduct was a special formed of two Class 411 units (8 CEP).[20] It was an "enthusiast special" which started at Holborn Viaduct at 19:40 on 26 January 1990, and visited several London terminals used at that time by Network SouthEast: Victoria, London Bridge, and Cannon Street. It terminated at Charing Cross.[21] Holborn Viaduct station was closed permanently by British Rail on 29 January 1990.[18] The frontage of the station buildings was incorporated into the new Thameslink station, which formed part of a new development funded by a commercial property company.[22]
Services
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Terminus | London, Chatham & Dover Railway |
Ludgate Hill Line and station closed | ||
Terminus | Network SouthEast City Line |
Blackfriars Line closed, station open |
See also
- List of closed railway stations in London
- Broad Street railway station
References
Citations
- ^ Jackson 1984, p. 191.
- ^ Jackson 1984, pp. 191–193.
- ^ Jackson 1984, p. 193.
- ^ Jackson 1984, p. 195.
- ^ Jackson 1984, p. 186.
- ^ a b c Maggs 2017, p. 157.
- ^ a b McCarthy & McCarthy 2009, p. 72.
- ^ a b c d Jackson 1984, p. 196.
- ^ Maggs 2017, p. 159.
- ^ a b Jackson 1984, pp. 201–202.
- ^ Maggs 2017, p. 179.
- ^ a b Jackson 1984, p. 203.
- ^ Jackson 1984, p. 202.
- ^ Jackson 1984, p. 369.
- ^ Jackson 1984, p. 360.
- ^ Body 1984, p. 111.
- ^ Lewis, Clive (24 June 1984). "BR to reopen London rail tunnel". The Observer. London. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Butt 1995, p. 121.
- ^ Haywood 2016, p. 225.
- ^ "Holborn Viaduct; the last train". Disused Stations.
- ^ Woodland 1990, p. 150.
- ^ Mogridge 1990, p. 239.
Sources
- OL 11956311M.
- Body, Geoffrey (1984). Railways of the Southern Region. P. Stephens. ISBN 978-0-850-59664-9.
- Clinnick, Richard (2011). "London's Lost Termini". Rail (664). Bauer Media: 62–65.
- Haywood, Russell (2016). Railways, Urban Development and Town Planning in Britain: 1948–2008. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-07164-8.
- Jackson, Alan (1984) [1969]. London's Termini (New Revised ed.). London: David & Charles. ISBN 0-330-02747-6.
- McCarthy, Colin; McCarthy, David (2009). Railways of Britain – London North of the Thames. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-3346-7.
- Maggs, Colin (2017). A History of the Southern Railway. Amberley. ISBN 978-1-4456-5271-9.
- Mogridge, Martin J.H. (1990). Travel in Towns: Jam yesterday, jam today and jam tomorrow?. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-11798-7.
- White, H.P. (1963). "London Railway History". A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Vol. III: Greater London. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5337-3.
- Woodland, Charles G. W. (March 1990). "Special Train Marks Holborn Viaduct Closure". News & Notes. Railway Magazine. Vol. 136, no. 1067. Cheam: Prospect Magazines. ISSN 0033-8923.
External links
- Disused Stations – Snow Hill
- Disused Stations – Holborn Viaduct
- London's Abandoned Stations – Holborn Viaduct
51°30′58″N 0°06′13″W / 51.5162°N 0.1036°W