Primrose Hill railway station

Primrose Hill
The station in 1986
Location
Place	Primrose Hill
Area	London Borough of Camden
Coordinates	51°32′35″N 0°09′17″W / 51.543179°N 0.154672°W / 51.543179; -0.154672Coordinates: 51°32′35″N 0°09′17″W / 51.543179°N 0.154672°W / 51.543179; -0.154672
Operations
Original company	North London Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Platforms	2 (originally 4)
History
9 June 1851	Original station opened as Hampstead Road[1]
5 May 1855	Second station opened due West[1]
1 December 1862	Renamed as Chalk Farm[1][2]
1 January 1917	Closed[2]
10 July 1922	Re-opened[2]
25 September 1950	Renamed as Primrose Hill[2][3]
28 September 1992	Closed[3]
December 2008	Platform buildings demolished
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

[v · d · e]Location of Primrose Hill station
Legend West Coast Main Line Watford DC Line South Hampstead Primrose Hill tunnels Northern line Edgware branch Chalk Farm Primrose Hill (1855-1992) WCML to Euston North London Line to Richmond Northern line Barnet branch Camden Town Camden Road North London Line to Stratford

Primrose Hill was a railway station at Primrose Hill, in the London Borough of Camden, London, England.

It was opened on 5 May 1855 as Hampstead Road,^[1] replacing an earlier station of that name (opened 9 June 1851). It was renamed Chalk Farm on 1 December 1862^[2] and became Primrose Hill on 25 September 1950.^[3] The station closed on 28 September 1992.^[3]

History

Diagram of the railways around Primrose Hill in 1914; the station appears here as Chalk Farm

The station was at the junction of the line west from Camden Road on the North London Line and the West Coast Main Line. There were platforms on both lines; they could be seen from trains using Euston. The platforms serving Euston closed in 1915. The remaining passenger service was, usually peak hours only, between Broad Street and Watford Junction. After Broad Street closed in 1986 the service ran to Liverpool Street, and by the time Primrose Hill station closed only one passenger train a day was using the line.

When the sweep of the North London Line through Hampstead Heath is closed for emergencies or engineering work, the route through Primrose Hill is a viable diversion for North London Line services to access Willesden Junction (Low Level).

The area is served by the nearby Chalk Farm station on the Northern Line of the London Underground.

The station building still exists, and is occupied by a shop. It is on Bridge Approach at one end of the pedestrianised bridge over the railway tracks. Nearby is The Roundhouse, an 1847 turntable engine shed, now used as an entertainment venue.

Future plans

The possible future London Overground network

It has been proposed to re-open Primrose Hill station by bringing the short stretch of line between South Hampstead and Camden Road stations back into the regular passenger service by incorporating it into the London Overground network.

Transport for London have suggested that the Bakerloo Line might take over the Watford DC Line entirely (currently a National Rail route which is shared with the Bakerloo line for part of the route). This would leave the Kilburn High Road and South Hampstead stations with no service. Thus it is suggested new services run on the North London Line between Queen's Park and Stratford via Primrose Hill and Camden Road.^[4].

The platform canopies and the buildings supporting them were demolished by Network Rail in December 2008.^[5]

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Camden Road		North London-Watford Link (LNWR suburban system)		South Hampstead

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Butt (1995), page 113
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Butt (1995), page 57
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Butt (1995), page 191
4. ^ Always Touch Out "London Overground & Orbirail" - Accessed 12 September 2007
5. ^ "Disused rail station demolished". BBC News (BBC Online). 2009-01-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7809747.stm. Retrieved 2009-01-04. "Network Rail said the buildings had fallen into disrepair and the track was still live so, for safety reasons, they were demolished. Campaigners maintained the station should have been reopened to ease congestion on other lines." 

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137. 
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687. 
• London's Abandoned Stations - Primrose Hill BR - photos of the station

See also

• List of closed railway stations in London
• North London Railway
• West Coast Main Line
• London Overground