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120 - London Bridge Station

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In Folder: Historical Engineering Collection

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120 - London Bridge Station

The first station at London Bridge was opened at Tooley Street on 14 December 1836 by the London & Greenwich Railway (LGR), along with its line as far as Deptford. The original station was not grand; a simple building providing a booking hall and company offices, and two platforms at the end of the new viaduct without a trainshed to cover passengers and trains. It was only a small company, but the LGR realised its money could be made by leasing its line and terminus to the many railway companies wanting access to London from the south east. The first agreement reached by the LGR was with the London & Croydon Railway (LCR). The LCR made use of LGR tracks, but in June 1839 the company opened its own station building to the north of the LGR station, setting in motion a complicated future of for London Bridge. As more railways between London and the south east were authorised, further agreements were entered into by both the LGR and the LCR for access to London Bridge. By the 1840s four companies were now using the viaduct approach to the station and paying high tolls to the LGR per passenger to do so; to increase capacity the LGR widened the viaduct. The arrangement of the busy lines going into London Bridge meant there was often a dangerous crossing of the tracks in order for trains to reach their respective sides of the station. So in 1844 the railway companies swapped stations; the now joint station of the London & Croydon, the London & Brighton and South Eastern railway companies was established in the London & Greenwich terminus to the south of the station site, while the London & Greenwich used the old London & Croydon station buildings to the north. The combined companies set about demolishing the original LGR station to build a new joint terminus that could cope with demand. This new station opened in 1844 but was only partially built. In 1846 the LCR and the London and Brighton railways merged to form the London Brighton & South Coast Railway. This new company could not agree future plans for the joint station with the South Eastern Railway, who left the partnership at London Bridge to establish its own station at Bricklayers Arms. The LBSCR took over the unfinished joint station building and demolished it in 1849. Bricklayers Arms did not function well as a passenger station and the SER came back to London Bridge having agreed new terms with the LGR. In 1850 the SER built a dividing wall, physically separating their north side of the London Bridge station site from the LBSCR, and set about building their own terminus. The LBSCR did the same on their south side of the site. During the 1850s and 1860s traffic and passenger numbers at London bridge steadily increased as new lines were developed taking the railway further into the City and the west end. In 1864 the SER side of the station turned into a through station with the line extension northwards and to the new SER terminus at Charing Cross. The LBSCR station remained a terminus with platforms added to cope with traffic associated with day trippers to the re-located Crystal Palace, and holidaymakers to Brighton. In 1923 the Southern Railway took control of both stations and set to work uniting the two by opening out the dividing wall and building a footbridge between the two. But the layout was still confusing and congested for passengers. In 1940 the station was damaged during a bombing raid the damage and repairs doing little to help the situation. By the late 1960s London Bridge had once again reached capacity and British Rail undertook a major redevelopment of the station installing a new signalling scheme and new station concourse which included new office block accommodation and a new frontage which incorporated a bus station which opened in 1978. In the 21st century, the station once again found itself at the centre of major change. Since 2013 the Government-sponsored Thameslink Programme has transformed the station with a five-year, £1bn redevelopment, completed in 2018, to help meet the infrastructure demands of the future. Improvements included new entrances on Tooley Street and St Thomas Street, a huge new concourse which unifies the station for the first time and step free access to every platform, following the installation of new lifts and escalators. The track layout at the station was also reconfigured and new platforms created to accommodate Thameslink trains. The redevelopment is also ensuring that the station becomes a destination in its own right, with new shops, cafes, bars and restaurants all helping transform the surrounding area. Following the redevelopment, London Bridge station was officially reopened by HRH Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge, on Wednesday 9 May 2018.

Network Rail Corporate Archive

Level of Description: Series

Reference Code: NRCA120031 - NRCA180066

Title: London Bridge Station

Extent and Medium: 49 drawings

Creator: South Eastern Railway

Date: 1836-1978

Scope and Content: 49 drawings from the South Eastern Railway, the London Brighton and South Coast Railway and the Southern Railway showing London Bridge Station.

Contract Number: London Bridge Station

Drawing Number: n/a

Drawing Office Number: n/a

Keywords (Country): England

Keywords (Structure Name): London Bridge Station

Keywords (Structure Type): Station

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Title

Description

Date

London Brighton and South Coast Railway London Bridge Station – Enlargement Elevation of Part of South West Wall

One drawing on one sheet showing internal elevation of part of south west wall

21 December 1864

British Railways Board – Artist Impression of London Bridge Station

Watercolour of station frontage showing people and vehicles signed Richard Reid

1960-1973

London Brighton and South Coast Railway London Bridge Station – Roof Joint

Drawing is a sketch relating to London Bridge Station. [On back, reads relates to drawing No. L27 London Bridge Station Roof.

1855-1865

South Eastern Railway London Bridge Station – Part of Station Roof over Subway

Five drawings on one sheet [relating to London Bridge Station]. First drawing is of a plan, second drawing is of section CD, third drawing is of a section showing line layout and including Old North Kent Subway and present subway, fourth drawing is of cross section AA, fifth drawing is of cross section BB.

1835-1855

London Brighton and South Coast Railway London Bridge Station – Roof Details of Purlins A & C

Sixteen drawings on one sheet of details of purlins A and C. Drawings include details, sections and elevations. Drawing has been signed by FD Banister and [W Rishton for the (unclear company name) limited].

07 October 1861

British Railways London Bridge Station – Elevation of Refreshment Room and Snack Bar

3 drawings on one sheet showing elevation of refreshment rooms and snack bar.

30 November 1938

London Brighton and South Coast Railway London Bridge Station – Enlargement Elevations of Part of South West Wall

Enlarged elevations of part of the South West Wall - external elevations

21 December 1864

Southern Railway London Bridge Station – Details of New Door and Window to Enquiries

2 drawings showing new window and door to enquiries

1923-1960

South Eastern Railway London Bridge Station – Proposed Arcade Basement Plan

One drawing on one sheet showing basement plan of proposed arcade at London Bridge Terminus

January 1853

London Brighton and South Coast Railway London Bridge Station – Internal and External Elevation of North West Wall

Eight drawings on one sheet showing external elevations and internal elevations of the north west wall at London Bridge Station

21 December 1864

South Eastern Railway London Bridge Station – Proposed Alterations

One drawing on one sheet showing proposed alterations to the London Terminus, coloured red and yellow on the plan. Layout includes Greenwich booking office and ladies waiting room, North Kent booking offices with waiting rooms, lamp rooms and staff rooms, and the main line booking office showing first and second class counters and third class pay windows, waiting rooms and refreshment rooms.

January 1853

South Eastern Railway London Bridge Station – London Terminus Elevation

West Elevation - this is heavily annotated with a separate sketch this is stamped by the South Eastern Railway

January 1853

South Eastern Railway London Bridge Station – Proposed Arcade East and West Elevations

Two drawings on one sheet showing east elevation next booking office and west elevation, entrance to arcade west elevation (North Kent Line, Gravesend &c).

January 1853

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