London, Chatham and Dover Railway - History - Second London Line

Second London Line

On 1 June 1864 the railway reached the City of London, when the line from Herne Hill to Blackfriars Bridge station (south of the river), was extended from Elephant & Castle. The next year the LCDR crossed the Thames on a bridge and on 1 June 1865 Ludgate Hill station opened (closed 3 March 1929). The line continued north under Snow Hill and a junction was made with the Metropolitan Railway. On 1 January 1866, LCDR and Great Northern Railways (GNR) joint services from Blackfriars Bridge began operating via Snow Hill tunnel under Smithfield market to Farringdon and northwards on to the GNR.

In 1874 a terminus opened at Holborn Viaduct. In 1886, St Pauls station (later renamed Blackfriars) was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, reached by a parallel bridge across the river. Blackfriars Bridge station closed at this time.

Stations on the City Branch were

  • Herne Hill (opened 1862)
  • Loughborough Junction (opened 1 March 1863 on west chord as Loughborough Road, renamed when City line and east chord platforms opened in 1872, west platforms closed 1916, east platforms closed 1925)
  • Camberwell (opened as Camberwell New Road 6 October 1862, closed 1916)
  • Walworth Road (opened as Camberwell Gate 1 May 1863, closed 1916)
  • Borough Road (opened 1 June 1864, closed 1907)
  • Elephant & Castle (opened 6 October 1862)
  • Blackfriars Bridge (opened 1 June 1864, goods only from 1885, closed 1964) Now part of its site is the southbank entrance for Blackfriars station.
  • Blackfriars (opened 1886 as St Pauls, renamed 1937)
  • Ludgate Hill (opened 1865, closed 1929)
  • Holborn Viaduct (opened 1874, closed 1990)
  • Holborn Viaduct (Low Level) (opened 1874 as Snow Hill, renamed 1912, closed 1916)

Read more about this topic:  London, Chatham And Dover Railway, History

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