Underground, Overground and No Wombles!

The Tale Of The Shepherds

It was very much Overgound but it is now Underground.

The Central London Railway claimss to be the very first "proper" Underground line in the world by which is meant and line that is still operational. We now call it the Central Line. It ran from Bank to Shepherds Bush and was later extended to start at Liverpool Street.

At its western end there were two extensions.

The first was just one stop to Wood Lane, followed by a more significant push to Ealing. Here are the relevant dates.

There was a depot immediately north of the Shepherds Bush terminus so when the need for a one-stop extension came the company just built a loop round the depot ...

... and plonked a station, called Wood Lane, on the top left of the loop. It was on a curve as seen here much much later.

Why 1908? White City is why!

In 1908 land to the west of Wood Lane was the site of a big "Exhibition" with most of the temporary building covered with white plaster - hence the nickname which stuck. There was a huge pedestrian overbridge and walkway to the exhibition entrance from Wood Lane station ...

... also in white.

Exhibitions on the site continued until 1914.

But there was a problem in 1903. The Central London Railway replaced its loco hauled trains ...

... with multiple unit trains in concept similar to today's stock. The coaches had multiple doors and needed a longer platform. But a junction for the depot sidings was in the way. So they built a pivoted moving chunk of platform.

Here is a terminating train with the platform having done it sliding for the siding job.

Or was it going straight on?

But the 1920 extension to Ealing created some more problems.  Instead of just a simple station on the loop, the set-up was now needed for through trains.

Trains departed from Shepherds Bush running conventionally on the left hand line then they dropped under the eastbound tracks via the so-called Caxton Curve, named after a road just west of Shepherds Bush Station.

It is the sharpest "corner" on the Underground.

But now trains were running on the right of the depot and would continue north on the wrong side of the double track.

So, cleverly, after leaving the depot, the track swapped over ...

... and left hand running is restored. 

Some who think they know all about railways in the UK can be caught out as they wait on the wrong platforms at Wood Lane and risk being whisked off in the wrong direction.

Another problem is that the original platforms were on the loop and thus useless for through running to Ealing. This diagram shows what had to be done.

So it was that in 1920 the "loop" platforms closed and were replaced by straight platforms. The loop line was also closed and replaced with a link from the north into the depot, seen below looking south.

The westbound line to Ealing and beyond is on the left of the picture and the line to central London is on the right, The depot link is, guess where, in the middle.

With the lack of exhibitions to serve, the whole station closed in 1947 and remained so until the new Wood Lane, a little further north, opened in 2008 ...

... to offer potential interchange with  White City on the line to Hammersmith.

By now, you are thoroughly confused but this Carto map of the area today might nelp!

... and an enlargement is even better!

But the biggest change to the area came with the opening of the huge (even huger than huge) Shepherds Bush Westfield Centre, retail therapy at its best worst!. The depot was rebuilt as simple sidings and hidden under the shopping centre.

It is the only traditional Underground depot that is under the ground. The Waterloo and City depot always was underground, but that doesn't count as it was built by The Southern Railway! Its annexing by the Underground is a relatively recent development.

The link to the modem sidings at Wood Lane is also now underground.

Of course the old depot was a real depot with repair shops, being the only one on the Central London Railway. Later extensions out east took such work to a new site at Newbury Park.

Here are the original train sheds at Wood Lane (north is on the left) ...

... and the ancillary buildings slightly further north and adjacent to the original Wood Lane platforms.

Those two still stand, sitting somewhat incongruously beside a very modern bus station!

The old road entrance to the depot is still there at  northern end of the aforementioned Caxton Road ...

... but all that exists beyond the big gates is a lower level of the southern walkway alongside the thrill-a-minutes shopping centre.

It is all rather boring compared with what was visible before!

Such is progress!

Isn't it?

Underground Overgound - time for an irrelevant song!!

 Next Underground Overground blog : Friday 9th Jan