West Brompton is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

and

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

station on

Old Brompton Road Old Brompton Road is a major street in the South Kensington district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It starts from South Kensington Underground station and runs south-west, through a mainly residential area, until i ...

( A3218) in

West Brompton West Brompton is an area of south-west London, that straddles the boundary between the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The centuries-old boundary was traced by Counter's Creek, now lost ...

, located in west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and is on the

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...

and West London Line (WLL). It is immediately south of the demolished

Earls Court Exhibition Centre Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...

and west of

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...

in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

. The station is on the branch of the District line between and stations. On the WLL,

services are provided by

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and

, in between and stations. The station's location on the WLL forms a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

boundary and its tracks are shared between Kensington & Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Since 2000 it has been a Grade II (starting category)

Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

History

The West London Extension Joint Railway (WLEJR) was opened in the early 1860s. It joined the southern end of the West London Joint Railway at Kensington (Olympia) station with Clapham Junction station and ran through West Brompton although a station was not opened until 1866. The original station was designed by the chief engineer of the Metropolitan and District Railway, Sir John Fowler and thus has local railway associations that go back to 1838. The current Lillie (road) bridge dates from 1860 and is the work of Fowler. The soon to disappear Lillie Bridge Railway and Engineering Depot, opened in 1872, is close by. Other historic associations are with the

Lillie Bridge Grounds The Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of West Brompton, London. It opened in 1866, coinciding with the opening of West Brompton station. It was named after the local landowner, Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) a ...

, a noted 19th c. athletics, cricket, ballooning and cycling venue adjacent to the West of the station and

adjacent to the East. From 1887, the station gave access to John Robinson Whitley's Earl's Court exhibition grounds and from 1937 to 2014 it was the alternative access to

, now demolished. On 12 April 1869, the

District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the first par ...

(DR, now the District line) opened its own station adjacent to the WLEJR station as the terminus and only station on its extension from station (Earl's Court station did not open until 1871). The original plan was to connect the DR to the WLEJR but this did not take place. On 1 March 1880, the DR opened an extension south from West Brompton to . In 1906 a heat wave affected the railway such that one of the Underground's electric rails was warped at the station; trains coasted over the affected track until it was repaired. In 1940, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, several WLL stations sustained bomb damage. Passenger services on the WLL between and were withdrawn on 21 October 1940. The Underground station remained in use and the WLL continued in use for freight traffic. The WLL station buildings and platforms were subsequently demolished. Full passenger services resumed on the WLL in 1994, but it was not until 1 June 1999 that new Network Rail platforms were opened at West Brompton by the then Minister of Transport,

Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...

. There is a commemorative plaque to this effect on the Western lift tower. The station design was by Robinson Kenning and Gallagher of Croydon. The lift tower design is an echo of the decorative brickwork by the 19th c. City of London architect and surveyor,

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

designer of the nearby Empress Place and Lillie Road terrace in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

. The works were funded by the

and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on whose border the station lies. The WLL platforms do not have a separate entrance and access is from the Underground station. The District line serves platforms 1 and 2 and the WLL serves platforms 3 and 4. There is a fence between platforms 2 and 3, but they are on the same level and it is possible to pass directly between them. There are lifts to both overground platforms for wheelchair access, and this means there is also step-free access to the eastbound District line platform, but not the westbound one. The station is in a cutting that is covered at one end.

Services

Typical off-peak services per hour: London Underground District line * 3 eastbound to * 3 eastbound to Barking via Tower Hill * 6 eastbound to * 12 westbound to London Overground * 4 northbound to , of which 2 continue to . * 4 southbound to Clapham Junction. Southern * 1 northbound to . * 1 southbound to . Additional District line services operate at peak times, with many trains continuing to , or , while all 4 London Overground services per hour continue to . Some additional Southern services also operate between

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character ...

and Clapham Junction. Late evening London Overground services only run between and Clapham Junction. On Sundays, Southern services only run between Watford Junction and Clapham Junction.

Image gallery

File:West Brompton Station 1974041 71c1cfef.jpg, Station, entrance on Old Brompton Road in 1963 File:WestBrompton2.jpg, West Brompton underground station platforms, with northbound train arriving ''(September 2006)'' File:WestBrompton3.jpg, West Brompton underground station footbridges ''(September 2006)'' File:WestBrompton4.jpg, West Brompton overground station – southbound

Class 377 Electrostar service at the platform ''(September 2006)'' File:West Brompton sign2.jpg, London Overground branded sign at West Brompton Station. File:West Brompton.jpg, Vintage sign, from before the Johnston typeface was standardised File:West Brompton station MMB 08.jpg, Green verges beside the track into West Brompton station, adjacent to

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
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West Brompton
SubBrit disused stations project * {{DEFAULTSORT:West Brompton Station District line stations Tube stations in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Railway stations in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Former West London Extension Railway stations London Underground stations located above ground Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1866 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1940 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1999 Reopened railway stations in Great Britain Former Metropolitan District Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1869 Railway stations served by London Overground Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Station 1866 establishments in England 1940 disestablishments in England