Modern Britain

The North Woolwich Line was opened in 1846 between Stratford and Canning Town as an extension of the branch from Victoria Park (on the Poplar line - see Homerton to Bow Church). The rest of the line opened the following year, and services were extended northwards to Palace Gates (see links) between 1887-1963. In 1979, the now-decaying route was incorporated into the North London Line, but services east of Stratford ceased in 2006.

While the line remained derelict between then and 2011, it has since been incorporated into the massive rebuilding work for the Crossrail project, so this 4.5km (2.8 mile) line has to be walked alongside the trackbed, rather than on it. Some particularly interesting amateur film footage from the late 1950s is available to view on YouTube, covering the entire rush hour route from North Woolwich to Palace Gates.

Twelve photos on this page copyright © Tom Burnham, one copyright © TunnelTalk, and one copyright © Newham Recorder, reproduced with permission.