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The 'Bakerloo Line' is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from the south-east to the north-west of London.

Contents

History

Former rolling stock

Current trains

Map

Stations

Surface section

Tunnelled section

Beyond Harrow & Wealdstone

Stanmore branch

See also

External links

History

Originally called the 'Baker Street & Waterloo Railway', the line was constructed by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited and opened in 1906. Prior to this, it had been financed by the mining entrepreneur and company promoter Whitaker Wright, who fell foul of the law over the financial proceedings involved and dramatically committed suicide at the Royal Courts of Justice after being convicted in 1904. The contraction of the name to "Bakerloo" rapidly caught on, and the official name was changed to match.
By 1913, the line had been extended from its original northern terminus at Baker Street to the west with interchange stations with the Great Central Railway at Marylebone and the Great Western Railway at Paddington, and a new station at Edgware Road.
In 1915 the line was extended further to Queen's Park, where it joined the DC lines of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) that ran alongside the LNWR's main line (now the West Coast Main Line) as far as Watford Junction. Bakerloo services to Watford were cut back in the 1960s and withdrawn in 1982, with Stonebridge Park the new terminus.
Services to Harrow & Wealdstone were gradually restored from 1984 and in 1989 the present all-day service was instituted. Bakerloo trains share the tracks with local Silverlink services from Euston between Queen's Park and Harrow & Wealdstone.
In 1939 a new section of line opened between Baker Street and Finchley Road, allowing the Bakerloo to take over the branch of the Metropolitan Line to Stanmore. The Stanmore branch remained part of the Bakerloo until 1979, when it became part of the new Jubilee Line.
An extension at the southern end of the line to Camberwell was proposed in 1949 but has not been built (though the destination appeared on some station signs, notably at Warwick Avenue where it was visible until the 1990s).
The line celebrated its centenary on March 10 2006, when various events were organised on the line [1]. Over the next few years the northern section of the line may again see changes following the decision in February 2006 to transfer responsibility for Euston-Watford suburban services (the DC lines) from the Department for Transport to Transport for London.
One oddity is that almost from its opening until 1917, it operated with the polarity of the conductor rails reversed, the outside rail negative and the centre rail positive. This came about because the Bakerloo shared a power source with the District Railway. On the Bakerloo, the outside conductor rail tended to leak to the tunnel wall, whereas on the District Railway, the centre rail shared a similar problem. The solution was to reverse the polarity on the Bakerloo line, so that the negative rail leaked on both systems. In 1917, the two lines were separated when the LNWR commenced its 'New Line' service between Euston and Watford Junction, which the Bakerloo would share north of Queen's Park. As a result, normal operation was restored.

Former rolling stock

When opened in 1906, the Bakerloo Line was operated by Gate Stock trains, built at Trafford Park, Manchester. To cope with the extension to Queen's Park, 12 extra motor cars of the London Underground 1914 Stock were ordered, ten from Brush of Loughborough and two from the Leeds Forge Company.
To operate services north of Queen's Park, 72 additional cars were built by the Metropolitan Carriage, Waggon and Finance Company of Birmingham. These trains, known as the Watford Joint Stock, were partly owned by the Underground and partly by the London and North Western Railway (later LMS). They were initially painted in LNWR livery. They were not equipped with air-operated doors and proved slow and unreliable, so they were replaced by new trains of Standard Stock in 1930 (although a few were retained by the LMS). For some years in the 1930s Watford trains had a distinctive blue stripe at window level.
In 1932, some carriages that had been built for the Piccadilly Line by Cammell Laird in Nottingham in 1919 were transferred to the Bakerloo Line. When built, these had been the first Tube trains to be have air-operated doors. These (and other trains) were later replaced by more trains of Standard Stock, in turn being replaced by 1938 Stock and 1949 Stock.
Prior to the opening of the Jubilee Line in 1979, the Bakerloo Line was worked by both 1938 Stock and 1972 Stock. The 1972 Stock was intended for the Jubilee Line, so from 1979 the Bakerloo Line (now minus the Stanmore branch) was again entirely operated by 1938 Stock. From 1983 the 1938 Stock began to be replaced by trains of 1959 Stock, but this was a temporary measure until 1972 Stock became available. The last 1938 Stock train was withdrawn on 20 November 1985. From 1986 the 1959 Stock was transferred to the Northern Line.
''- Reference: M.A.C. Horne, "The Bakerloo Line", Capital Transport, 2001. ISBN 1-85414-248-8''

Current trains

The Bakerloo Line is now operated entirely by Mark 2 1972 Stock, displaced from the Jubilee Line by 1983 Stock. The stock is maintained at Stonebridge Park depot.
All Bakerloo line trains are painted in the distinctive London Underground livery of red, white and blue and are the smaller size of the two sizes used on the network, since trains travel deep underground in small tunnels.
The interiors of these trains have recently been 'deep cleaned' and the upholstery has been replaced by a more appealing blue. The seating layouts are longitudinal and transverse, with some cars having longitudinal seating only.
These trains are currently scheduled for replacement in 2018 as part of the London Underground PFI.

Map

Stations

''in order from north to south''
''Note: For the former Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo line, see the Jubilee Line article.''

Surface section

The section of the line between Harrow & Wealdstone and Queen's Park runs along the Watford DC Line, serving stations owned by Network Rail and operated by Silverlink. National Rail fares, as well as TfL fares, apply to journeys on this section. These stations are unique in that they use Silverlink signage and branding, with only a small London Underground roundel on station signs; it is expected that the stations will have full TfL branding when the Silverlink Metro franchise is replaced by the London Overground in 2007.

★ 'Northern terminus:' Harrow & Wealdstone – First served: April 16, 1917. Closed: September 24, 1982. Service restored: June 4, 1984.

★ Kenton – First served: April 16, 1917. Closed: September 24, 1982. Service restored: June 4, 1984.

★ South Kenton – First served: September 3, 1933. Closed: September 24, 1982. Service restored: June 4, 1984.

★ North Wembley – First served: April 16, 1917. Closed: September 24, 1982. Service restored: June 4, 1984.

★ Wembley Central for Sudbury – First served: April 16, 1917. Renamed:(Wembley Central): September 5, 1948. Closed: September 24, 1982. Service restored: June 4, 1984.

★ Stonebridge park – First served: August 1, 1917.

★ Harlesden – First served: April 16, 1917.

★ Willesden Junction – First served: May 10, 1915

★ Kensal Green – First served: October 1, 1916

★ Queen's Park – First served: February 11, 1915

Tunnelled section

★ Kilburn Park – Opened: January 31, 1915

★ Maida Vale – Opened: June 6, 1915

★ Warwick Avenue – Opened: January 31, 1915

★ Paddington – Opened: December 1, 1913

★ Edgware Road – Opened: June 15, 1907

★ Great Central – Opened: March 27, 1907. Renamed Marylebone, April 15, 1917

★ Baker Street – Opened: March 10, 1906

★ Regent's Park – Opened: March 10, 1906

★ Oxford Circus – Opened: March 10, 1906

★ Piccadilly Circus – Opened: March 10, 1906

★ Charing Cross – Opened: March 10, 1906

★ Embankment – Opened: March 10, 1906

★ Waterloo – Opened: March 10, 1906

★ Westminster Bridge Road – Opened: March 10, 1906. Renamed Lambeth North: April 15, 1917

★ 'Southern terminus:' Elephant & Castle – Opened: August 5, 1906

Beyond Harrow & Wealdstone

Between 1917 and 1982, Bakerloo line trains continued along the DC line past Harrow & Wealdstone to Watford Junction. The stations continue to be served by Silverlink. Services were withdrawn because of duplication of the British Rail main-line service, having already been run down significantly prior to withdrawal, with Tube trains running only at peak periods. It has been proposed that the service should be restored and the Silverlink service withdrawn (see the London Overground for more details).

★ Watford Junction – First served: April 16, 1917. Last served: September 24, 1982.

★ Watford High Street – First served: April 16, 1917. Last served: September 24 1982.

★ Bushey & Oxhey – First served: April 16, 1917. Renamed ''Bushey'': May 6, 1974. Last served: September 24, 1982.

★ Carpenders Park – First served: April 5, 1919. Closed: November 16, 1952 and re-sited. Re-opened on new site November 17, 1952. Last served: September 24, 1982.

★ Pinner & Hatch End – First served: April 16, 1917. Renamed ''Hatch End (for Pinner)'': February 1, 1920. Renamed ''Hatch End'': 1956. Last served: September 24, 1982.

★ Headstone Lane – First served: April 16, 1917. Last served: September 24, 1982.

Stanmore branch

The Stanmore branch was transferred to the Jubilee Line on April 30, 1979. It joined the main line at Baker Street.

★ Stanmore

★ Canons Park

★ Queensbury

★ Kingsbury

★ Wembley Park

★ Neasden

★ Dollis Hill

★ Willesden Green

★ Kilburn

★ West Hampstead

★ Finchley Road

★ Swiss Cottage

★ St. John's Wood

See also

★ Leslie Green - architect of the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway's early stations

External links

★ Bakerloo Line - London Underground page

★ Clive's line guides

★ Possible Bakerloo line re-extension mentioned

★ TfL information on Bakerloo Line re-extension to Watford

★ A reproduction of the Bakerloo Line for the freeware train simulator BVE