The West London Joint Railways - J B Atkinson

In 1836 a railway was authorised to link the London to Birmingham and London to Bristol Railways. The project was at first to seem an ill-fated and comical one: construction was absurdly slow, Punch wickedly lampooned ‘our own little railway in London’, and the boiler of the line’s only engine furred up because of the hardness of the Kensington Canal water! Needless to say, events could only take a turn for the better, and money was found for the completion of the line. The opening of the ‘Extension’ to Kensington attracted a considerable passenger traffic, and the through working of many of the major companies provided financial stability for the network.

J. B. Atkinson’s work on both the West London Railway and the West London Extension Railway is a truly comprehensive one; he has covered the complete history of the line, its stations, and the trains and traffic that worked it — the first disasters, the expansion of the line, the prosperity of the late 19th century, the military traffic of two world wars, reorganisa-tions, the age of diesel and electric, and much more. Illustrated by over 200 rare and valuable photographs and line drawings this fascinating history of an important but neglected railway should be a companion to any rail enthusiast or historian.