History
West Drayton station is on the original line of the Great Western Railway, and was opened on 4 June 1838 at the same time as the line. However the original station was located slightly to the west of the current station, and was relocated to its current position from 9 August 1884 when the branch to Staines was opened. From 1 March 1883, the station was served by District Railway services running between Mansion House and Windsor. The service was discontinued as uneconomic after 30 September 1885.
| [ ] Uxbridge (Vine Street) Branch Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Legend
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Drayton was the junction station for both the Staines branch, and an earlier branch to Uxbridge Vine Street that opened in 1856. The Uxbridge branch closed to passengers in 1962, but part of the line was retained for freight traffic until 1979. The Staines branch closed to passengers in 1965, but the section of the line as far as Colnbrook remains open to freight traffic, latterly for the delivery of materials for the construction of Heathrow Airport's new terminal 5.
From 1895 the station was named West Drayton and Yiewsley; it reverted to the original name West Drayton on 6 May 1974.
Read more about this topic: West Drayton Railway Station
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“We aspire to be something more than stupid and timid chattels, pretending to read history and our Bibles, but desecrating every house and every day we breathe in.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Tell me of the height of the mountains of the moon, or of the diameter of space, and I may believe you, but of the secret history of the Almighty, and I shall pronounce thee mad.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)