Blackfriars Engraving by Waterloo East

[DynamicSpirit]

Cycling around Waterloo a few days ago I came across this: As shown in the picture below, a very old engraving that says, Charing Cross Railway, and Blackfriars Station. This is under the railway bridge just to the East of Waterloo East station, where the SouthEastern tracks go over Blackfriars Road. It seems to be claiming that this is Blackfriars station, but is actually not only on the wrong tracks but also is quite some distance from where Blackfriars Station used to be (bearing in mind that until recently, the only entrance to Blackfriars was on the North bank of the Thames), so I'm curious what the engraved sign was for. Was there once another Blackfriars station on the Charing Cross lines?

 

[PeterC]

Cycling around Waterloo a few days ago I came across this: As shown in the picture below, a very old engraving that says, Charing Cross Railway, and Blackfriars Station. This is under the railway bridge just to the East of Waterloo East station, where the SouthEastern tracks go over Blackfriars Road. It seems to be claiming that this is Blackfriars station, but is actually not only on the wrong tracks but also is quite some distance from where Blackfriars Station used to be (bearing in mind that until recently, the only entrance to Blackfriars was on the North bank of the Thames), so I'm curious what the engraved sign was for. Was there once another Blackfriars station on the Charing Cross lines?



View attachment 153525

Replaced by Waterloo Junction (later Waterloo East). According to Wikipedia it was only open for about 5 years

 

[steamybrian]

I agree with PeterC above .
Further details see "Disused Stations" website http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/blackfriars_ser/index.shtml

 

[Gloster]

The London Railway Atlas, 4th Edition (Brown, Ian Allan, 2015) says it was only open from 11 January 1864, the opening date of London Bridge-Charing Cross, to 1 January 1869. It seems to have had a single platform to the north of the northernmost line and an island platform between the two southernmost lines, but nothing on the second line from the north.

 

[Rescars]

I believe there is a potted history on the blue plaque shown the right of your photo.

 

[swt_passenger]

I believe there is a potted history on the blue plaque shown the right of your photo.

There’s also a decent photo of the blue plaque on the disused stations link above.

To add to the confusion there was also a south bank passenger station called Blackfriars on the Herne Hill lines (now Thameslink) that was used for a short time before the railway bridges to Ludgate and St Paul’s (later Blackfriars) were built, and that closed passenger station became a goods station by about 1885?

 

[Cricketer8for9]

Don’t forget different companies were in the habit of giving their station in a town or area the same name. South Eastern Railway on the extension from London Bridge to Charing Cross were bitter rivals of the London Chatham and Dover (what we now know as Blackfriars was on the latter company‘s City Extension.)

 

[zwk500]

Also remember that stations used to change their name quite a lot in the early days, when it didn't have quite the same impact on other functions as it does today. What is now called Blackfriars station was opened as St Pauls, as there was another station on the South Bank named Blackfriars Bridge. AIUI (from disused stations) it only got it's current name long after the station in the OP closed.

 

[LBMPSB]

The London Railway Atlas, 4th Edition (Brown, Ian Allan, 2015) says it was only open from 11 January 1864, the opening date of London Bridge-Charing Cross, to 1 January 1869. It seems to have had a single platform to the north of the northernmost line and an island platform between the two southernmost lines, but nothing on the second line from the north.

When The South Eastern Railway (the company that ran the Charing Cross Railway) opened their Blackfriars station, there was only three lines between what is called Metropolitan Junction today (then Cannon Street West Junction) into Charing Cross. The northern three lines there today. A fourth line was added by widening the viaduct south in the early 1900s. The site of the northern single platform is still visable, but the additional fourth line on the south and track realignment removed any evidence of the island platform.

 

[James H]

It was restored about a decade and a half ago and the plaque was added: https://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/3028

Sir William McAlpine, chairman of the Railway Heritage Trust, visited Blackfriars Road this week to unveil a plaque marking the restoration of the facade of the former Blackfriars railway station.

 

[MPW]

Jago Hazzard did a couple interesting videos on the railway in this area:

 

[NSEWonderer]

Jago Hazzard did a couple interesting videos on the railway in this area:

Was about to post his videos on the topic. Very good content in them