Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway facts for kids
| Overview | |
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| Dates of operation | 1846–1862 |
| Successor | Great Eastern Railway |
The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway (EC&TJR) was a railway line in east London. It connected the important Royal Docks with the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). This railway was approved in 1844 and started running trains in 1846. Just one year later, in 1847, the ECR took it over. Later, in 1862, the ECR joined with other railway companies to form the larger Great Eastern Railway.
Contents
History of the Railway
| Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway Act 1844 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 7 & 8 Vict. c. lxxi |
| North Woolwich Railway Act 1845 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act for making a Railway from the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway, near the Mouth of the River Lea, to North Woolwich. |
| Citation | 8 & 9 Vict. c. lxxxv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 July 1845 |
| Eastern Counties Railway (North Woolwich) Act 1847 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 10 & 11 Vict. c. clvi |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 9 July 1847 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway was officially created by a law called the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway Act 1844. This happened on July 4, 1844. The railway first opened on April 29, 1846. It ran from Stratford to Bow Creek. Its main job was to carry coal from a pier at the mouth of the River Lea.
Expanding the Line
A year later, the railway was extended to North Woolwich. This extension was allowed by another law, the North Woolwich Railway Act 1845. This new section went through Silvertown and allowed people to connect with the Woolwich Ferry. In the same year, 1847, the Eastern Counties Railway took over the EC&TJR. This was done under the Eastern Counties Railway (North Woolwich) Act 1847.
Changes for the Docks
When the Royal Victoria Dock opened in 1855, the railway line needed a swingbridge over the dock's entrance. This bridge would swing open to let ships pass. However, this made train journeys longer. To fix this, the railway line was moved north of the dock. Two new stations, Custom House and Tidal Basin, were built on this new route. The old southern line stayed open for local factories and was renamed the Silvertown Tramway.
Later, when the Albert Dock was built, a similar problem was expected. So, in 1878, the railway built the Connaught Tunnel. This tunnel is about 600 meters (about 2,000 feet) long and goes under the new dock's entrance. It comes out near the old Tate & Lyle factory. In 1935, engineers found that very large ships were scraping the tunnel's roof. So, they put an iron casing along the part of the tunnel under the dock to protect it.
New Branches and Connections
In 1872, the Gas Light and Coke Company opened a branch line. This line ran north-east to Beckton to serve its large gasworks. Then, in 1880, when the Royal Albert Dock opened, another branch line was built to Gallions. This line ran east along the north edge of the dock to the River Thames. Both of these new branches connected to the main line at Custom House.
Around the same time, the railway line was connected to the Palace Gates Line. This allowed trains to run regularly between North Woolwich and Palace Gates in North London. By 1892, the line between Stratford Market and Tidal Basin was expanded to four tracks. However, the two western tracks were used less over the years.
End of the Line
Some parts of the railway closed after being damaged by bombs during the Blitz in World War II. The lines to Beckton and Gallions closed, and so did Tidal Basin station. The Beckton line later reopened for goods, carrying by-products from the gasworks, but it finally closed in 1972. The Palace Gates-North Woolwich line continued until 1963. After that, services were rerouted to Tottenham Hale and later ended at Stratford.
In 1979, the diesel train service from North Woolwich to Stratford was changed. It was rerouted via the old North London Railway through Dalston Kingsland to Camden Road. This new service was called the Crosstown Linkline. It was an early version of what became the North London Line. In 1985, the railway line was electrified from Dalston through Stratford to North Woolwich. This meant electric trains could run all the way from Richmond. However, the service south of Stratford was not as popular. This was partly because only one track through the Connaught Tunnel was electrified, which limited how many trains could run.
Modern Railway Use
Parts of the old Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway have been reused for new railway lines in London.
Jubilee Line Extension
The Jubilee Line Extension of the London Underground was built along the path of the old western tracks. This section runs from Canning Town to Stratford and opened in 1999. This new Underground line took away much of the remaining train traffic from the old railway line south of Stratford.
Docklands Light Railway
A section of the old line between Custom House and Gallions was rebuilt for the Beckton branch of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). A small part of the Beckton line was also used for the DLR.
When the King George V branch of the DLR opened, the North London Line between Stratford and North Woolwich closed in December 2006. The part of the line between Canning Town and Stratford was then changed to become the Stratford International branch of the DLR. This new DLR line opened in September 2011.
Elizabeth Line
The section of the railway from Custom House to North Woolwich, including the historic Connaught Tunnel, has been reused as part of the Elizabeth line. This modern railway line opened in 2022 and provides fast connections across London.
Stations Along the Line
Here are the stations that were part of the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway:
Main Line Stations
The main line opened in 1846 and included these stations:
- Stratford
- Stratford Market (first called Stratford Bridge, closed in 1957, and reopened in 2011 as Stratford High Street)
- Canning Town
- Tidal Basin (opened 1858, closed 1943)
- Custom House (opened 1855)
- Silvertown (opened 1863, closed 2006)
- North Woolwich (closed 2006)
Branch Line Stations
- Branch from Custom House to Beckton (opened 1872, closed 1972):
- Beckton
- Branch from Custom House to Gallions (opened 1874, closed 1940):
- Connaught Road
- Central
- Manor Way
- Gallions
