Wembley Stadium area branch railway lines...

[Mcr Warrior]

With a nod towards today's FA Cup Final at Wembley, was having a look at a mid 1930's era OS map of the immediate area, which, as well as Wembley Stadium (Wembley Exhibition) station, shows various other presumably non-passenger lines to the East / North East side of the stadium.

View map: Ordnance Survey, Middlesex XI.13 (Wembley) - Ordnance Survey 25 inch England and Wales, 1841-1952

(Pic of 1930's OS map of Wembley Stadium area).

What premises were served by these lines, and when were the lines removed?

Would imagine there's nothing original much there now and everything's long since been built over.

Anyone able to add to the discussion...

P.S. Believe the station lasted until the late 1960's.

 

[zwk500]

The Stadium was originally built for the British Empire Exhibition (along with the two palaces visible on the map), see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire_Exhibition.

The loop line with the Exhibition station survived in service until 1968, removed in 1969, the Palace of engineering held various railway company exhibits (hence the spurs) and was demolished in the 70s. You'd have to go through maps or photos to see if the spurs survived that late.

Interestingly, the investment in the Wembley Area infrastructure to support the exhibitions spurred a great deal of residential development, as there were suddenly high-capacity roads, rail links, sewers and so on.

 

[30907]

I'm guessing that the line with balloon loops at each end running partly alongside the LNER loop is the Never-Stop Railway which worked a bit like a chairlift or the London Eye with the cars not quite stopping for people to board.
https://blog.railwaymuseum.org.uk/the-never-stop-railway/

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The loop line with the Exhibition station survived in service until 1968, removed in 1969...

Noted, thanks. So, which would have been the last match day event that would have seen passengers/spectators conveyed to/from Wembley Stadium?

Possible contenders would be the FA Cup final (18th May 1968), England vs Sweden (22nd May 1968) or maybe the European Cup final (29th May 1968)?

 

[steamybrian]

Wembley Stadium station was last used 18 May 1968
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wembley_Exhibition_railway_station. also confirmed by "Forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.E.Connor and B.Halford

 

[stuu]

If you look at aerial maps the path of the loop is still very clear, also the bridge where South Way crosses it is also still in place and the road has a noticeable hump over it

 

[Magdalia]

Trains ran from/to Marylebone via the stadium loop for big events at the stadium. In its last days these were DMUs.

But until 1965 the Wembley Stadium loop was also used by long distance loco hauled trains, notably for the Women's Hockey International and the England Schoolboys Football International. Trains off the Western Region would come in via Acton Wells Junction and Neasden Midland Junction. Trains from the Great Eastern lines came in via a reversal at Neasden Midland Junction. I think these came via Junction Road Junction and Dudding Hill but I'm not sure about that!

Note that the loop is not in the Pre Grouping Atlas because it was opened after Grouping.

 

[Snow1964]

The Palace of engineering was served by the spurs that passed under the loop and joined it further out.

The map has double track as rectangular boxes and single tracks as lines with cross marks, so clearly shows section to Wembley Hill as 4 track.

I assume the kennels were for greyhound racing

I think the loop station opened in April 1923 for that years FA cup final (which was presumably 5 weeks earlier in those days). So it appears to have opened just under 4 months after the Grouping

The Empire Exhibition was 23 April to 1 Nov 1924 and reopened after winter 9 May to 31 Oct 1925

Where the stadium was built there was part of a tower, usually called Watkins folly after the Metropolitan Railway Chairman who commissioned it to get daytrippers onto Met line. It was supposed to rival Eiffel Tower but only got to first level before money ran out. There is a story that one of the 4 solid concrete bases was under the pitch of old Wembley because didn't have equipment to break it up.

Linking history of the part built tower, which also shows some illustrations of stadium under construction in 1920s

Watkin's Wembley folly: London's 'Eiffel Tower' that never was

A Victorian rail magnate tried to build a taller tower than Eiffel's - but it did not go to plan.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Magdalia]

I think the loop station opened in April 1923 for that years FA cup final

The 1923 FA Cup Final was on 28 April 1923.

which was presumably 5 weeks earlier in those days

I think that I've read that 2023 is the first time that the FA Cup final has been played in June. This is because of the mid-winter break for the World Cup in Qatar.

In the last years of the stadium loop in the 1960s the traditional FA Cup Final date was first Saturday in May. However 1963 was an exception because of the difficulty in getting matches played during the 1963 Big Freeze. The Semi Finals were played on 27 April 1963, and the Final itself was on 25 May 1963.

I don't know why the 1968 Final was on 18 May.

I assume the kennels were for greyhound racing

Greyhound racing at the old Wembley was a big event, as was Speedway.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I don't know why the 1968 Final was on 18 May.

By no means a one-off. The 1967 FA Cup final had taken place on Saturday 20th May 1967.

Heading back on topic, what was the rationale behind the decision to permanently close the station? (Effective early September 1969)

 

[Dr_Paul]

This aerial photograph from 1946 shows the remains of the Never-Stop Railway and the lines that went into the exhibition hall; this one from 1940 shows where the lines into the exhibition hall left the Great Central (by then LNER) line. This 1956 50" OS map shows that the lines into the exhibition hall were disused as the connection with the main line had been severed.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Wembley Stadium station was a late recipient of totem signs. They were second hand Watford Junction ones that were then overpainted.
Not my photo.

 

[Gloster]

Brown’s London Railway Atlas (Fourth edition) shows the Palace of Engineering opening 23 April 1924, later becoming a goods station and closing on 3 December 1962. He gives Wembley Stadium as closing 18 May 1968, while Hurst’s Register of Closed Railways shows the loop line as closing on 1 September 1969.

 

[zwk500]

Brown’s London Railway Atlas (Fourth edition) shows the Palace of Engineering opening 23 April 1924, later becoming a goods station and closing on 3 December 1962. He gives Wembley Stadium as closing 18 May 1968, while Hurst’s Register of Closed Railways shows the loop line as closing on 1 September 1969.

How appropriate a name for registering the closure of Wembley Stadium!

 

[Dr Hoo]

The loop line did allow a move from the Dudding Hill line to ‘turn round’ and access Marylebone without reversal/run round. I.e another purpose not directly related to the station.

 

[zwk500]

The loop line did allow a move from the Dudding Hill line to ‘turn round’ and access Marylebone without reversal/run round. I.e another purpose not directly related to the station.

Was this facility used much? (I'd have thought at least one box needed for it would have been switched out unless a match was scheduled).

 

[Gloster]

Was this facility used much? (I'd have thought at least one box needed for it would have been switched out unless a match was scheduled).

Both ends of the Stadium Loop were controlled by Neasden North Junction Signal Box and, as it also controlled access to loops, Up and Down sidings and the Goods Line to Brent North on the Amersham line I would think the box was probably open continuously or at least nearly so. The movement might not have been made often, but if the box is open… (Source: signal box diagram on .signalbox.org .)

 

[150219]

Was this facility used much? (I'd have thought at least one box needed for it would have been switched out unless a match was scheduled).

Both ends of the Stadium Loop were controlled by Neasden North Junction Signal Box and, as it also controlled access to loops, Up and Down sidings and the Goods Line to Brent North on the Amersham line I would think the box was probably open continuously or at least nearly so. The movement might not have been made often, but if the box is open… (Source: signal box diagram on .signalbox.org .)

Neasden was a substantial site, both as carriage sidings and as a loco depot. A lot of this site is now under Tesco and the surrounding area.

There were regular timetabled moves to/from Neasden Midland Junction (the Acton-Dudding Hill line) through to Neasden North Junction and across to the Down Harrow line at Brent North Junction. This was still the case through the mid-60s, by which time a lot of these movements were being made by type 2 diesels (e.g., Class 27).

It is reasonable to assume that a number of movements could and would have used the Wembley Stadium loop, albeit these may have been trips (both published in special trip notices or ad hoc) and not in the associated WTTs of the day.

 

[P Binnersley]

If you look at aerial maps the path of the loop is still very clear, also the bridge where South Way crosses it is also still in place and the road has a noticeable hump over it

And the bridge number (WSL 1) is still visible on Google Maps.

 

[DerekC]

I'm guessing that the line with balloon loops at each end running partly alongside the LNER loop is the Never-Stop Railway which worked a bit like a chairlift or the London Eye with the cars not quite stopping for people to board.
https://blog.railwaymuseum.org.uk/the-never-stop-railway/

That has made me recall my dad describing the Never-Stop Railway - he would have been six or seven years old when the exhibition was on and lived in Ruislip - and here's a little film of it in operation, courtesy of the National Railway Museum:

Thanks for prompting the memory

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Recently acquired a copy of "Railways of Wembley" by Frank Goudie (1996 - Forge Books) but think that the author may have got it slightly wrong with his claim that the last train to use the (Wembley) Stadium station and loop was a "Rugby League special" on May 18th 1968.

Saturday 18th May 1968 was, as has already been mentioned upthread, actually the date of the F.A. Cup final that year, whereas the R.L Challenge Cup final was played the previous weekend (on Saturday 11th May 1968) which means that the dates don't quite check out.