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Westbourne Park BR station

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211120

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Is there a detailed history of the station available? All I’ve managed to find online is information about the Tube station.
 
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steamybrian

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The following article on Wikipedia contains a section on the BR station-

Westbourne Park tube station - Wikipedia
The GWR opened platforms on the Great Western Main Line on 30 October 1871, but these closed in March 1992.[9] The Up line through the station had a 30 mph (48 km/h) speed limit, which was unacceptable for the planned Heathrow Express services; instead of modifying the station's platforms, British Rail decided that it would be more cost-effective to dispense with them, and closure notices were posted on 13 December 1990.[10]

Royal Oak, another station on the Hammersmith & City line, was also once served by the GWR, but its services were withdrawn in 1934.[11] Today, the first stop out of Paddington is at Acton Main Line. Industrial archaeologists have found the remains of buildings including a broad gauge train shed for Brunel's original lines, a turntable, and engine sheds in excavations east of the station as part of the land clearance work for the Crossrail project.[
 
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MarlowDonkey

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As far as I recall from commuting, the platform on the down main was demolished in the 1970s in connection with getting the new 125s to Reading as rapidly as possible. Several other stations on the line lost their Platform 1 at the same time.
 

urbophile

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'Royal Oak, another station on the Hammersmith & City line, was also once served by the GWR, but its services were withdrawn in 1934.'
This station is of course now under LU ownership and management, but am I right in thinking that right up until the 1960s it was owned (though not served) by the GWR/BR? I seem to remember the station signs being Western Region brown totems rather than LT roundels. Rather like the Wimbledon branch of the District which was in BR branding until the 1990s.
 

topydre

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Westbourne Park was a standard GWR photograph point. National Library of Wales for instance has lots of photographs of early GWR locomotives, usually stationary at Westbourne Park.
 

Journeyman

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Am I right in thinking that services were very infrequent in the final years of the station? I can't ever remember being on anything that stopped there, so I'm wondering if it was peak hours only, or at the very least closed at weekends (which is when most of my journeys would have taken place).
 

JonathanH

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Am I right in thinking that services were very infrequent in the final years of the station? I can't ever remember being on anything that stopped there, so I'm wondering if it was peak hours only, or at the very least closed at weekends (which is when most of my journeys would have taken place).
Westbourne Park (and Acton Main Line) were served by the Greenford service - once an hour in the 1989 timetable - both were missed on the opposite half hour because the running time to Greenford from Paddington all stations was only just under 30 minutes with the first generation multiple units. Slightly more frequent service in the peaks and late calls in Maidenhead services.

With a station so close on the Hammersmith & City line, it wasn't really a hardship to see it closed.
 

Journeyman

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Westbourne Park (and Acton Main Line) were served by the Greenford service - once an hour in the 1989 timetable - both were missed on the opposite half hour. Slightly more frequent in the peaks.

Ah, right. I must have always been on the Greenfords that didn't call. Acton Main Line always looked pretty bleak and deserted.
 

davetheguard

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Westbourne Park (and Acton Main Line) were served by the Greenford service - once an hour in the 1989 timetable - both were missed on the opposite half hour because the running time to Greenford from Paddington all stations was only just under 30 minutes with the first generation multiple units. Slightly more frequent service in the peaks and late calls in Maidenhead services.

With a station so close on the Hammersmith & City line, it wasn't really a hardship to see it closed.
I'm sure you're right about the Greenfords, but I seem to remember the Slough (platform 6 bay) to Paddington stopping trains calling there as well; unless it was a rush hours only thing, and my memory is playing up. There were also a few Hayes & Harlington to Paddington trains which started from the bay platform at Hayes - I'm sure these were rush hours only.

Coming the other way, out of Paddington, you had to be sure you were routed by the signaller via the Down Relief line. If in error, the signaller routed you via the Down Relief 2 line, you couldn't physically stop alongside a platform at Westbourne Park.
 

JonathanH

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1989 weekday calls at Westbourne Park
Greenford 0553, 0628, 0708, 0728, 0808, 0828, 0908, 1008, 1108, 1208, 1308, 1408, 1508, 1608, 1648, 1728, 1808, 1848, 2008, 2108
Slough 1944
Maidenhead 2223, 2323

No Slough terminators during the off-peak in the 1989 timetable although they will have existed at other times, notably in the post-Paddington remodelling timetable - the off-peak pattern from Paddington in 1989 was:
1000 Reading (Ealing Broadway, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Langley, Slough, Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead, Twyford, Reading)
1005 Greenford (Westbourne Park, Acton Main Line, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Drayton Green, Castle Bar Park, South Greenford, Greenford)
1020 Maidenhead (Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Iver, Langley, Slough, Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead)
1040 Greenford (Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Drayton Green, Castle Bar Park, South Greenford, Greenford)
1045 Reading (Ealing Broadway, Hayes & Harlington, Slough, Maidenhead, Twyford, Reading)
 

davetheguard

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No Slough terminators during the off-peak in the 1989 timetable although they will have existed at other times, notably in the post-Paddington remodelling timetable

They certainly existed, but much more likely to be the norm in the pre-Paddington remodelling timetable than post-Paddington remodelling. Having said that, wasn't it a Turbo that ended up hitting the blocks in the bay platform 6 at Slough & demolished part of the awning?

I certainly regularly worked Slough to Paddington stoppers with first generation DMUs (class 117/119s) out of said bay platform, and often called at Westbourne Park. We're talking late 70s & most of the 80s. Clearly not in 1989 from your timetable evidence, but I'm sure most of those years we would have served Westbourne Park. I never worked a Greenford line train, so cannot have called there on one of those.

Perhaps someone with access to other timetables for the years I mention can assist?

I've just re-watched a Railfilms cab ride DVD filmed in the "early nineties". That starts at Reading on an up stoper formed of a class 117 DMU & heads towards Paddington. For some reason, rather than stay with the original train which would have run fast from Slough to Ealing Broadway & then Paddington only, they transfer the equipment to another 117 at Slough. This starts from bay platform 6, and is the inner suburban stopping train to Paddington.
As JonathanH suggests above, this indeed runs non stop from Ealing Broadway to Paddington & thus misses out Acton Main Line & Westbourne Park.

One further thought has occurred to me: traditionally, the "Greenford Car" as it was known locally, shuttled between Greenford & Ealing Broadway only. At some stage, probably in the 80s, it was extended to/from Paddington. Before that date, it must have been the main line train from Slough that served Acton Main Line & Westbourne Park, otherwise they'd have had no service. Perhaps those calls were removed when the Greenford train was extended to Paddington, with the Greenford Car picking up those stops instead.

With a station so close on the Hammersmith & City line, it wasn't really a hardship to see it closed.

The only fly in the ointment was the question of fare zones: Westbourne Park was in Zone 2, Paddington was of course in Zone 1. So if someone was, say, making a journey from Southall to Hammersmith, after closure of Westbourne Park B.R., they now needed a ticket that included the more expensive Zone 1.

I think season ticket holders for such journeys were given some sort of fare easement for a few years after closure so that they weren't financially out of pocket.
 
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WesternLancer

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Looks like an interesting book. Is it a pictorial only, or is there text too?
mix of both usually - the series is extensive, I'd expect any bookshop near you to have some in the series you could have a look at - or a local library - when both of those places are open of course.
 

RT4038

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In 1961 it was the hourly Paddington-Slough all stations service that stopped at Westbourne Park [at '20 past the hour], some extended to Windsor or Reading. The peak service was augmented by some all stations to Uxbridge trains (5.13am, 6.14am, 7.42am, 8.16am, 4.23pm) and some extra short workings to Hayes, West Drayton or Slough.
 

Sprinter107

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They certainly existed, but much more likely to be the norm in the pre-Paddington remodelling timetable than post-Paddington remodelling. Having said that, wasn't it a Turbo that ended up hitting the blocks in the bay platform 6 at Slough & demolished part of the awning?

I certainly regularly worked Slough to Paddington stoppers with first generation DMUs (class 117/119s) out of said bay platform, and often called at Westbourne Park. We're talking late 70s & most of the 80s. Clearly not in 1989 from your timetable evidence, but I'm sure most of those years we would have served Westbourne Park. I never worked a Greenford line train, so cannot have called there on one of those.

Perhaps someone with access to other timetables for the years I mention can assist?

I've just re-watched a Railfilms cab ride DVD filmed in the "early nineties". That starts at Reading on an up stoper formed of a class 117 DMU & heads towards Paddington. For some reason, rather than stay with the original train which would have run fast from Slough to Ealing Broadway & then Paddington only, they transfer the equipment to another 117 at Slough. This starts from bay platform 6, and is the inner suburban stopping train to Paddington.
As JonathanH suggests above, this indeed runs non stop from Ealing Broadway to Paddington & thus misses out Acton Main Line & Westbourne Park.

One further thought has occurred to me: traditionally, the "Greenford Car" as it was known locally, shuttled between Greenford & Ealing Broadway only. At some stage, probably in the 80s, it was extended to/from Paddington. Before that date, it must have been the main line train from Slough that served Acton Main Line & Westbourne Park, otherwise they'd have had no service. Perhaps those calls were removed when the Greenford train was extended to Paddington, with the Greenford Car picking up those stops instead.



The only fly in the ointment was the question of fare zones: Westbourne Park was in Zone 2, Paddington was of course in Zone 1. So if someone was, say, making a journey from Southall to Hammersmith, after closure of Westbourne Park B.R., they now needed a ticket that included the more expensive Zone 1.

I think season ticket holders for such journeys were given some sort of fare easement for a few years after closure so that they weren't financially out of pocket.
Hope this helps.
Trains from Westbourne Park on Weekdays
May 1977 to May 1978
00.16 Slough
05.26 Slough
05.46 Slough
06.06 Slough
06.26 Slough
06.46 Slough
07.06 Slough
07.26 Slough
07 46 Slough
08.02 Maidenhead
08.26 Slough
08.46 Hayes
Then at 06 and 36 past each hour to Slough until:
15.36 Slough
16.12 Hayes
16.32 Hayes
16.52 Hayes
17.12 Hayes
17.32 Hayes
17.52 Hayes
18.12 Hayes
18.32 Hayes
Then at 06 and 36 past each hour to Slough until:
23.36 Slough
Saturdays was a basic half hourly train to Slough, 00.16, 05.36, 06.01, 06.26 then at 06 and 36 past each hour til 23 36
No Sunday service.
 

swt_passenger

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Going back through old maps there seems to have been two different platform layouts, above pics suggest two islands, but the oldest maps I’ve found on NLS show a side platform with a “V” layout between the leftmost down line and the eastbound underground. Then an island, and then another single side platform on the up side.

So presumably the track layout along there was changed a few times in the early years, I don’t suppose the underground diveunder was the original layout...
 

davetheguard

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Hope this helps.
Trains from Westbourne Park on Weekdays
May 1977 to May 1978
00.16 Slough
05.26 Slough
05.46 Slough
06.06 Slough
06.26 Slough
06.46 Slough
07.06 Slough
07.26 Slough
07 46 Slough
08.02 Maidenhead
08.26 Slough
08.46 Hayes
Then at 06 and 36 past each hour to Slough until:
15.36 Slough
16.12 Hayes
16.32 Hayes
16.52 Hayes
17.12 Hayes
17.32 Hayes
17.52 Hayes
18.12 Hayes
18.32 Hayes
Then at 06 and 36 past each hour to Slough until:
23.36 Slough
Saturdays was a basic half hourly train to Slough, 00.16, 05.36, 06.01, 06.26 then at 06 and 36 past each hour til 23 36
No Sunday service.

Brilliant, thanks Sprinter107 - that's more like the sort of service I remember! Interesting to hear from RT4308 that there were through trains via West Drayton to Uxbridge too, before that branch's closure. Thanks again.
 
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Sprinter107

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Brilliant, thanks Sprinter107 - that's more like the sort of service I remember! Interesting to hear from RT4308 that there was through trains via West Drayton To Uxbridge too, before that branch's closure. Thanks again.
You're really welcome. I've got a 1960s Western Region timetable somewhere. I'll search it out.

Trains from Westbourne Park Sept 1958 - June 1959 Weekdays
00.11 Slough
00.58 Hayes
02.08 Hayes
04.15 Hayes
05.13 Uxbridge Vine Street
05.45 Windsor & Eton Central
06.08 Uxbridge Vine Street
06.36 Slough
06.42 Uxbridge Vine Street
06.53 Hayes
07.15 Uxbridge Vine Street
07.29 Reading General
07.36 Hayes
07.53 Reading General
08.21 Uxbridge Vine Street
08.49 Hayes
Then at 15 past each hour to Slough til
15.15 Slough
15.54 Slough
16.23 Uxbridge Vine Street
16.42 Slough
16.55 Slough
17.06 Reading General
17.21 Uxbridge Vine Street
17.49 Slough
18.05 Hayes
18.32 Hayes
18.56 Uxbridge Vine Street
19.16 Slough
20.35 Reading General
21.15 Windsor & Eton Central
21.55 Slough
22.35 Slough
23.11 Windsor & Eton Central

Saturdays were similar to weekdays, but with extra trains during lunchtime and early afternoon, but reduced peak services.

Sundays
00.58 Hayes
02.08 Hayes
06.23 Reading General
08.05 Windsor & Eton Central
09.05 Windsor & Eton Central
10.05 Windsor & Eton Central
11.05 Windsor & Eton Central
12.05 Slough
13.05 Windsor & Eton Central

Then at 05 minutes past each hour to Windsor & Eton Central except the 19.05 runs to Reading General, until:

22.05 Windsor & Eton Central
23.05 Slough
23.45 Southall.
 
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JonathanH

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I've got a 1971 timetable, which covers a period when Greenford services ran solely to Ealing Broadway. The service at Westbourne Park appears to be peak only.

Westbound departures
0543 Reading
0643 Slough
0703 All stations to Reading, then Oxford
0732 Hayes & Harlington
0806 Hayes & Harlington
0840 Slough
1541 Slough
1641 Slough
1713 Hayes & Harlington
1741 Hayes & Harlington
1812 Hayes & Harlington
1842 Slough

and that's it.
 

Sprinter107

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Theres a 2 part article about Westbourne Park in the London Railway Record. I've only got part 2, which deals with the 1950 to closure. It was January 2016, if you can get a copy. It does say that from the late 60s to the early to mid 1970s that the service was reduced. Never thought it was as bad as @JonathanH, has posted tho.
 

adc82140

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I've found this whole thread fascinating, as despite commuting in to Paddington for the best part of 10 years, I never knew that Westbourne Park had BR platforms.
 

Sprinter107

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Its interesting that a station that had such a frequent service, even trains through the night, went to just a peak hours service within just a few years.
It would be interesting to know if many passengers ever went into Paddington from the BR platforms, with the frequent underground service from the adjacent platforms.
 

matt_world2004

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When going past westbourne park on the GwR/TfL rail there seems to be a boarded up doorway on the LU platforms was there once a cross platform interchange between one of the British rail platforms and the LU eastbound platform. Because that is what it looked like.
 

xotGD

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There used to be a similar island platform where the Class 50 is passing.
You can see where the access to the former platforms has been bricked up in the station building.

BTW, you might want to take another look at the '50'. :D
 

Beebman

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Its interesting that a station that had such a frequent service, even trains through the night, went to just a peak hours service within just a few years.
It would be interesting to know if many passengers ever went into Paddington from the BR platforms, with the frequent underground service from the adjacent platforms.

I did use the BR platforms on one occasion sometime around 1990. At the time I was commuting daily into Paddington and then via the H&C line to Shepherds Bush. One day there was a total bus and Tube strike in London but even though the station was staffed by London Underground the BR platforms stayed open and I took a Greenford DMU for one stop back out of Paddington to Westbourne Park as I could walk to work from there (it took about 30 minutes on a warm but not too hot summer's day, but walking from Paddington would have been too far). I did the journey in reverse in the evening and I remember that the LU staff had to pause kicking a ball around on the footbridge to let me past! (I'm pretty sure I was the only person who boarded the train to go into Paddington.)
 

fgwrich

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Speaking of Westbourne Park, I came cross this article from an old Rail Magazine this evening which details the modernisation to the approach roads into Paddington Station and the resulting closure of Westbourne Park BR Station.
 

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