arrow & Wealdstone station

Harrow & Wealdstone

Harrow & Wealdstone

Location of Harrow & Wealdstone in Greater London
Location Wealdstone
Local authority London Borough of Harrow
Managed by London Underground[1]
Owner Network Rail
Station code HRW
DfT category C1
Number of platforms 6
Accessible Yes[2]
Fare zone 5
London Underground annual entry and exit
2013

4.66 million[3]
2014

4.51 million[3]
2015

5.00 million[3]
2016

4.96 million[3]
National Rail annual entry and exit
201112

2.689 million[4]
201213

2.673 million[4]
201314

2.853 million[4]
201415

3.088 million[4]
201516

3.930 million[4]
Key dates
1837 Opened (L&BR)
1890 OpenedStanmore branch line(L&NwR)
1917 Started (Bakerloo line)
1952 Train crash
1964 ClosedStanmore branch line(BR)
1982 Ended (Bakerloo line)
1984 Restarted as terminus (Bakerloo line)
Listedstatus
Listed feature East side/bridge
West side/platforms
Listing grade II
Entry number 1253982[5]
1253986[6]
Added to list 6 September 1989
13 July 1990
Other information
Lists of stations DLRUndergroundNational RailTramlink
External links TfL station info pageDeparturesLayoutFacilitiesBuses
WGS84 51.5925N 0.3355W Coordinates:51.5925N 0.3355W

London Transport portal

UK Railways portal
Harrow & Wealdstoneis ainterchange stationinWealdstonein theLondon
Borough of Harrow. It is served byLondon Overground,London
Midland,SouthernandLondon Undergroundservices. The station is located
between The Bridge,Wealdstone, (which joins the southern end of High Street) and
Sandridge Close, Harrow with entrances leading to both.
TheHarrow and Wealdstone rail crashof 1952, killing 112 people, occurred at the
station. It remains Britain's worst peacetime rail disaster.

History[edit]

Harrow & Wealdstone station in 1916

The station was opened by theLondon and Birmingham Railway(L&BR)
asHarrowon 20 July 1837 in what was then ruralMiddlesex.[7]At the time the
station was built, the area was fields and the nearest large settlement was atHarrow
on the Hillabout 1.5 miles (2.4km) to the south. Wealdstone was a collection of
houses at the north end of what is now Wealdstone High Street, about 1 mile
(1.6km) north of the station. The station buildings on the south west (Harrow) side of
the station are the older part of the station, located beside what were the fast lines
until the platforms were used for the later Euston toWatford DC lineand the main
line tracks were re-routed through the previous slow line platforms and new
platforms (numbers 5 and 6) to the north east; a new, larger, station building was
also erected on this Wealdstone side of the station. The station footbridge was
originally constructed with a full-height central barrier with passengers using the
"London" side and railway and postal staff using the "country" side to move goods
and mail via lifts which were removed in the early 1970s, leaving two parcels
elevators serving the DC line platforms for the remaining postal traffic.
On 18 December 1890, a short branch line was opened by theLondon & North
Western Railway(LNWR, successor to the L&BR) toStanmoreto the north-east of
the main line. In 1932 an intermediate halt was constructed asBelmontto serve the
developing residential areas locally. The train was known affectionately as the
"Belmont Rattler".
By the end of the 19th century Wealdstone had developed in size and the station
was given its current name on 1 May 1897 to reflect more accurately its location.[7]
On 16 April 1917, Bakerloo line services were extended fromWillesden
JunctiontoWatford Junctionrunning on the newly electrified local tracks (the"New
Lines", which were originally steam-worked) and calling at Harrow & Wealdstone
from that date.[8]
On 15 September 1952, the passenger service to Stanmore - by then renamed
Stanmore Village to avoid confusion with theMetropolitan Railway's (laterBakerloo,
and nowJubilee) station opened in 1934 - was withdrawn. Freight traffic (particularly
the storage of bananas) continued sporadically until about 1965.

Oerlikon electric trainat Harrow & Wealdstone, 11 March 1956

During the early 1960s, as part of theWest Coast Main Lineelectrification, the
bridge carrying the A409 road (The Bridge/Station Approach) over the railway was
rebuilt easing the previous severe road gradients and offering higher clearance over
the tracks to allow for overhead catenary cabling.
On 5 October 1964, all services on the branch line to Belmont were withdrawn as
part of the cuts of theBeeching Axe. The permanent way north of Harrow and
Wealdstone station was removed but the disused platform 7 on the eastern side of
the station was left in place as a siding for a further few years until it too was
removed.
On 24 September 1982, Bakerloo line services to Harrow & Wealdstone ended when
services north ofStonebridge Parkwere ended.[8]However the closure was short-
lived, and the Bakerloo line to Harrow & Wealdstone was reinstated on 4 June 1984
with the station acting as the terminus.[8]
In the 1990s major reconstruction of local roads made to by-pass High Street,
Wealdstone sent a new road (Ellen Webb Drive) through what remained of the
station goods yard and part of the forecourt of the eastern entrance (1917) to the
station.
Accidents and incidents[edit]
On 7 August 1838Thomas Portwas fatally injured when he fell from a train and
was run over about 1.25 miles (2.01km) south of the station.
In 1870, a mail train was in a rear-end collision with a freight train. Eight people

were killed.[9]
On 8 October 1952, the station witnessedBritain's worst train crashin
peacetime when 112 people were killed and 340 were injured as a result of a
Scottish express train colliding with the rear of a local train standing at platform
4. Seconds later a northbound express hauled by two locomotives collided with
the wreckage causing further injury and demolished one span of the footbridge
and the northern end of platforms 2 and 3. A memorial plaque was placed above
the main entrance on the eastern side of the station to mark the 50th
anniversary in 2002.