Trivia: Stations which have been renamed?

[robertclark125]

St Boltophs to Colchester Town - around 20 years ago, to make it more obvious it was in Colchester Town Centre

Was actually renamed in 1991, during the NSE era.

There's a station in North Yorkshire called Clapham. It used to be a junction, and used to be called Clapham Junction!

 

[xotGD]

In BR days, Boldon Colliery became Brockley Whins, and it retained that name after conversion to Tyne and Wear Metro. Staying with the Metro, the only other station I know of to be renamed after it opened to Metro is Smiths Park, which became Meadowell.

Three stations on the Glasgow Subway were renamed, during the 1977-80 rebuilding. Partick Cross became Kelvinhall, to promote travel to the exhibition centre of the same name. Govan Cross became Govan, and Copland road was renamed Ibrox, to advertise its close proximity to Ibrox Stadium, home of Glasgow Rangers FC.

Staying in Scotland, Dundee Tay Bridge station became plain Dundee.

On the T&W Metro, Old Fold was renamed Gateshead Stadium before it even opened.

 

[richard1976]

Llanrwst and Trefriw > Llanrwst > North Llanrwst

 

[Mojo]

In 2007, ‘one’ railway renamed the following stations:

Walton-on-Naze -> Walton-on-the-Naze
Clacton -> Clacton-on-Sea
Frinton -> Frinton-on-Sea
Whittlesford -> Whittlesford Parkway
Woodham Ferrers -> South Woodham Ferrers
Fambridge -> North Fambrige

(the latter two have already been posted by MidnightFlyer)

 

[IanXC]

Bradford Exchange became Bradford Interchange in 1983.

Staying in Scotland, Dundee Tay Bridge station became plain Dundee.

Is there not a historic station closer to the Tay Bridge than Dundee - makes the original choice of name for what is now Dundee station rather unfortunate!

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Aldersgate is now Barbican
West End Lane became West Hampstead
two "&"s dropped were Boxmoor (from Hemel Hempstead) and Abbots Langley (from Kings Langley)

..and a third "&" was Bowdon (from Altrincham)

three "fors" dropped New Ferry (Bebington) and Penketh (Sankey) Leeswood then just Lees (Penyffordd)

 

[Graham Hall]

West Hartlepool changed to Hartlepool after the two towns of Hartlepool & West Hartlepool were merged in 1967.

 

[mirodo]

Queen’s Road (Battersea) became Queenstown Road (Battersea) in 1980... somewhat belatedly, as the street itself had been renamed in 1937. The original station name still features prominently on the front of the building.

 

[martinsh]

Cardiff General became Cardiff Central c1973
Sandwell and Dudley was Oldbury prior to 1984. (And I think it was Oldbury & Spon Lane prior to that)
Tutbury & Hatton was just Tutbury prior to being reopened
Dore was previously Dore & Totley
Bilbrook was previously Birches and Bilbrook

 

[Strathclyder]

Glasgow's Exhibition Centre has previously been named Stobcross (it's original name from it's opening in November 1894 to it's closure in August 1959) & Finnieston (from it's reopening as part of the Argyle Line project in November 1979 to 1986, gaining it's current name after the then-recently opened Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC)).

One station to the east, Anderston was previously Anderston Cross (from August 1896 to it's August 1959 closure), 'Cross' being dropped when the Argyle Line was opened in November 1979, possibly due to the fact that Anderston Cross itself had been all but wiped off the map thanks to the M8 in the late 1960s.

 

[richard1976]

Dore was previously Dore & Totley

and it had now returned to Dore & Totley

 

[DJames]

Sandwell and Dudley was known as Oldbury until 1984, and while it's not the same station, Smethwick Galton Bridge replaced Smethwick West which is a really short distance away, I'm pretty sure the old platforms are visible from one of the platforms at Galton Bridge. Also, Smethwick West was called Smethwick Junction until 1956, so I guess that would count too.

Another one in my area would be Tipton, which was known as Tipton Owen Street until 1968, and technically Wolverhampton's current station would've been known as Wolverhampton High Level until the low level lines closed in 1972.

 

[Karl]

Preston Junction was changed to Todd Lane Junction in the '50s to avoid confusion for passengers thinking they were in Preston!

 

[Kendalian]

A few that quickly come to mind....

Midcalder - Kirknewton
Balloch Central - Balloch (after Pier closed)
Tyndrum Upper - Upper Tyndrum (radio signalling)
Crianlarich Upper - Crianlarich (after Lower closed)
Oxenholme - Oxenholme the Lake District
Penrith - Penrith North Lakes

 

[robertclark125]

Balloch central and Balloch are not the same station. Balloch central closed and was replaced by Balloch which is across the road.

 

[Dore & Totley]

The Midland Railway station at St Albans was named thus from its opening, until it became part of the LMS on grouping, when it was given the suffix 'City' in 1924 to distinguish it from the former London & North-Western station, now also part of the LMS and already known as St Albans Abbey station. The 'City' suffix was removed in 1968 by British Rail. It was restored a couple of years ago after a senior member of the then Thameslink TOC visited the preserved St Albans South signal box, where one of the original British Railway's running-in boards was on display. Within six months the station nameboards were once again bearing the City suffix!

Further up the line, Elstree was opened as such in 1868, in 1869 it was renamed 'Elstree and Boreham Wood', which it kept until 1904, when it reverted to 'Elstree'. In 1953 it became 'Elstree & Borehamwood' (note the minor change in the second name) and stayed that way until 1974 when, yet again, it reverted back to 'Elstree', only in 1988 to switch back to 'Elstree and Borehamwood'. Those of us connected with the area (I used to work near the station) are inclined to think that the shorter name was used to save money when the nameboards needed replacing when money was short!

As a former Woodite when the station was just Elstree it used to annoy and vex people when non locals would alight and ask how to get to Borehamwood and the strange look you got when you explained to them they were already there

 

[Julia]

Squirrels Heath & Gidea Park -> Gidea Park & Squirrels Heath -> Gidea Park

 

[racyrich]

Stepney East became Limehouse in 1987, and has been plain Stepney until 1923.

 

[pdeaves]

Something to add interest or confusion: How many of these name changes did not appear in all of:

• the timetable;
• publicity;
• station name sign?

 

[Paul180]

Ash Vale was North Camp and Ash Vale 1870, Ash Vale 1924.
North Camp has been North Camp, Aldershot 1858, Aldershot Camp in 1863, Aldershot (North Camp) in 1879, Aldershot (North Camp) & South Farnborough 1910, Aldershot North 1923, North camp 1924.
Dorking West was Dorking 1849, Dorking Town 1923, Dorking West 1987,
Dorking Deepdene was Box Hill and Leatherhead Road / Box Hill 1851, Dorking Deepdene 1923.
Dorking has been Dorking 1867, Dorking North 1923, Dorking?
Witley was Witley and Chiddingfold.
Woking was Woking Common.

 

[edwin_m]

In BR days, Boldon Colliery became Brockley Whins, and it retained that name after conversion to Tyne and Wear Metro.

Wasn't it Brockley Whins when first opned, being renamed to Boldon Colliery some time later?

 

[Dr_Paul]

Upper Halliford on the Shepperton branch lost its Halt suffix at some point in the 1970s. Some of the announcers at Clapham Junction kept on using the suffix long after it had officially gone.

 

[Millisle]

Bradford Exchange became Bradford Interchange in 1983.



Is there not a historic station closer to the Tay Bridge than Dundee - makes the original choice of name for what is now Dundee station rather unfortunate!

Dundee Esplanade, a minor local station, (cl 1939) is on the approaches to the Tay Bridge, however, Dundee Tay Bridge was always the principal station for the Fife lines. It is a good hike from the city centre to Esplanade.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

There is a whole set of "&"s that have disappeared from the old Southern region....
Walton-on-the-Hill (Tadworth), Burgh Heath(Kingswood), Upper Tooting(Balham), Sutton-at-Hone(Farningham Road), Branbridges(Beltring), Thurnham(Bearsted), Tankerton(Whitstable), Swalecliffe(Chestfield), Orlestone(Hamstreet), Nonnington(Snowdown), Burford Bridge(Box Hill)

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Chestfield is still suffixed '& Swalecliffe' isn't it? On the same stretch of line I think it is only in recent years that Westgate and Birchington have gained their seaside suffixes.

 

[Waldgrun]

Two of the stations on Portsea Island have changed their names! Fratton station became Fratton & East Southsea after the closure of the branch line to Southsea during W.W.1, however the good people of Southsea objected to there towns name being linked with Fratton too much of a down market area! (So they said!) So to please those good people, Portsmouth Town station became Portsmouth and Southsea, while Fratton & East Southsea became Fratton once more! One strange thing, to this day a lot of people still refer to the "Town" station, as do modern road signs.

 

[Harbornite]

Knowle station became Knowle and Dorridge, then renamed Dorridge in the seventies.

 

[trash80]

Loads of stations have been renamed, some examples i've visited recently are Earlswood Lakes to Earlswood, Balham & Upper Tooting to Balham and Churchill & Blakedown to Blakedown.

 

[Howezy_21]

Midgham, a station which is actually in the village of Woolhampton rather than Midgham. It opened as Woolhampton in 1847, but was changed to Midgham in 1873. It became Midgham Halt in 1964 and then Midgham again in 1969.

All of that just to avoid confusion between the small village of Woolhampton and the larger city of Wolverhampton

 

[DJames]

Hamstead is another one, it opened as Hamstead and Great Barr in 1837, it was renamed to Great Barr in 1875, before being renamed to the current Hamstead in 1974. Another one, just down the line, is Bescot Stadium, which was called just Bescot until the nearby stadium opened in 1990.